John Calvin Commentary Genesis 27

And it came to pass that when Isaac was old. In this chapter Moses details, at length, a history that does not appear to be of great utility. It amounts to this: Esau having gone out, at his father’s command, to hunt, Jacob, in his brother’s clothing, was, by the artifice of his mother, induced to obtain by stealth the blessing due by natural right to the firstborn.

It seems even like child’s play to present to his father a kid instead of venison, to feign being hairy by putting on skins, and, under his brother's name, to get the blessing by a lie. But in order to learn that Moses does not pause over this narrative in vain as a very serious matter, we must first observe that when Jacob received the blessing from his father, this token confirmed to him the oracle by which the Lord had preferred him to his brother.

For the blessing spoken of here was not a mere prayer but a legitimate sanction, divinely ordained, to reveal the grace of election. God had promised to the holy fathers that he would be a God to their seed forever. They, when at the point of death, so that the succession might be secured for their posterity, put them in possession, as if they were delivering, from hand to hand, the favor they had received from God.

So Abraham, in blessing his son Isaac, constituted him the heir of spiritual life with a solemn rite. With the same intention, Isaac now, being worn down with age, imagines he will soon depart this life, and wishes to bless his firstborn son, so that the everlasting covenant of God may remain in his family.

The Patriarchs did not undertake this rashly, or on their own private initiative, but were public and divinely ordained witnesses. Relevant to this is the Apostle's declaration, the less is blessed of the better (Hebrews 7:7). For even the faithful were accustomed to bless each other through mutual acts of love; but the Lord entrusted this special duty to the patriarchs, that they should transmit to posterity, as a deposit, the covenant he had made with them, and which they kept throughout their lives.

The same command was later given to the priests, as appears in Numbers 6:24 and other similar passages. Therefore Isaac, in blessing his son, acted in a different capacity than that of a father or a private individual, for he was a prophet and an interpreter of God, appointing his son an heir of the same grace he himself had received.

This makes clear what I have already said: that Moses, in discussing this matter, is not lengthy without reason. But let us consider each circumstance of the case in its proper order; the first of which is that God transferred Esau's blessing to Jacob through a mistake on the father's part, whose eyes, Moses tells us, were dim.

Jacob's vision was also poor when he blessed his grandchildren Ephraim and Manasseh; yet his lack of sight did not prevent him from carefully placing his hands crosswise. But God allowed Isaac to be deceived to show that Jacob was raised to the right and honor of primogeniture, contrary to the course of nature, not by human will.

Behold, now I am old, I know not the day of my death. There is not the least doubt that Isaac implored daily blessings on his sons all his life: this, therefore, appears to have been an extraordinary kind of benediction. Moreover, his declaration that he did not know the day of his death means that death was pressing so closely upon him—a decrepit and failing man—that he did not dare promise himself any longer life.

Just as a pregnant woman, when the time of childbirth draws near, might say that she had no certain day left. Everyone, even in the prime of life, carries a thousand deaths with them. Death claims the fetus in the mother’s womb as its own and accompanies it through every stage of life.

But as death presses the old more closely, so they should keep it more constantly before their eyes and should pass through the world as pilgrims, or as those who already have one foot in the grave. In short, Isaac, as one near death, wishes to ensure the Church's survival through his son.

That my soul may bless you. The faith of the holy man was wonderfully blended with a foolish and inconsiderate carnal affection. The general principle of faith flourishes in his mind when, in blessing his son, he entrusts to him, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the right of the inheritance which had been divinely promised to him.

Meanwhile, he is blindly carried away by the love of his firstborn son, preferring him to the other; and in this way, he contends against the oracle of God. For he could not have been ignorant of what God had pronounced before the children were born. If anyone would excuse him, arguing that he had received no command from God to change the customary order of nature by preferring the younger to the elder, this excuse is easily refuted. For when he knew that the firstborn was rejected, he still persisted in his excessive attachment.

Again, in neglecting to inquire about his duty when he had been informed of the heavenly oracle by his wife, his laziness was by no means excusable. For he was not entirely ignorant of his calling; therefore, his obstinate attachment to his son was a kind of blindness, which proved a greater obstacle to him than the external dimness of his eyes.

Yet this fault, although deserving of rebuke, did not deprive the holy man of the right to pronounce a blessing; rather, plenary authority remained with him, and the force and effectiveness of his testimony remained intact, just as if God Himself had spoken from heaven—a subject to which I will return shortly.

And Rebekah heard. Moses now explains more fully the scheme by which Jacob obtained the blessing. It truly appears ridiculous that an old man, deceived by the cunning of his wife, should, through ignorance and error, have spoken what was contrary to his wish. And surely Rebekah's scheme was not without fault; for although she could not guide her husband with wise advice, it was not a legitimate way of acting to circumvent him with such deceit.

For, as a lie is in itself blameworthy, she sinned more seriously still in this: that she desired to treat a sacred matter lightly with such deceptions. She knew that the decree by which Jacob had been elected and adopted was unchangeable; why then does she not patiently wait until God confirms it in fact, and shows that what He had once pronounced from heaven is certain?

Therefore, she obscures the heavenly oracle by her lie, and abolishes, as much as she could, the grace promised to her son. Now, if we consider further from where this great desire to act arose, her extraordinary faith will on the other hand appear. For, as she did not hesitate to provoke her husband against herself, to ignite irreconcilable hostility between the brothers, to expose her beloved son Jacob to the danger of immediate death, and to disturb the whole family, this certainly flowed from no other source than her faith. The inheritance promised by God was firmly fixed in her mind; she knew that it was decreed for her son Jacob.

And therefore, relying on the covenant of God and keeping in mind the oracle received, she forgets the world. Thus, we see that her faith was mixed with an unjust and excessive zeal. This is to be carefully observed, so that we may understand that a pure and distinct knowledge does not always so illuminate the minds of the pious as to cause them to be governed, in all their actions, by the Holy Spirit, but that the little light which shows them their path is enveloped in various clouds of ignorance and error; so that while they hold a right course and are tending towards the goal, they yet occasionally slide.

Finally, both in Isaac and in his wife the principle of faith was preeminent. But each, by ignorance in certain particulars and by other faults, either diverged a little from the way or, at least, stumbled in the way. But seeing that, nevertheless, the election of God stood firm; indeed, He even executed His design through the deceit of a woman, He vindicates, in this manner, the whole praise of His blessing to His own unmerited goodness.

And Jacob said to Rebekah. That Jacob does not voluntarily present himself to his father, but rather fears that, his deception being discovered, he would bring a curse upon himself, is very contrary to faith. For when the Apostle teaches that whatever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23), he trains the children of God to this sound judgment, so that they do not permit themselves to undertake anything with a doubtful and troubled conscience.

This firm conviction is the only rule of right conduct, when we, relying on the command of God, go fearlessly wherever he calls us. Jacob, therefore, by debating with himself, shows that he was lacking in faith; and certainly, although he was not entirely without it, yet, in this respect, he is proven to have failed.

But this example teaches us again that faith is not always extinguished by a particular fault. Yet, if God is sometimes patient with his servants to such an extent that he turns what they have done wrongly to their salvation, we must not therefore take license to sin. It was by the wonderful mercy of God that Jacob was not cut off from the grace of adoption.

Who would not rather fear than become presumptuous? And since we see that his faith was obscured by doubt, let us learn to ask the Lord for the spirit of prudence to guide all our steps. Another serious error was also present: for why does he not reverence God rather than dread his father’s anger?

Why does it not rather occur to him that a shameful blot would stain the sacred adoption of God, when its fulfillment seemed to owe its accomplishment to a lie? For although it was directed towards a right end, it was not permissible to achieve that end through such a devious path.

Meanwhile, there is no doubt that faith prevailed over these obstacles. For what reason did he prefer the mere and seemingly empty blessing of his father to the peace he then enjoyed, to the comforts of home, and finally to life itself? According to the flesh, the father’s blessing, which he desired so much that he knowingly and willingly plunged himself into great difficulties, was merely an imaginary thing.

Why did he act in this way, if not because, in exercising simple faith in the word of God, he valued the hidden hope more highly than the desirable condition he actually enjoyed? Moreover, his fear of his father’s anger originated from the true fear of God. He says that he feared that he might bring a curse upon himself. But he would not have dreaded a mere verbal rebuke so greatly if he had not considered the grace entrusted to his father to be worth more than a thousand lives.

It was therefore under God’s prompting that he feared his father, who was truly God’s servant. For when the Lord sees us engrossed in earthly matters, he draws us to himself by human means.