A Chiasm Centered on the Deception of Isaac

A: V18 – Who are you?
    B: V19 – I am Esau
        C: Your firstborn
            D: I’ve done what you asked
                E: Get up and eat so you can give me your blessing
                    F: V20 – God granted success
                        G: V21-22 – Parallelism, part 1
                                1. Come near
                                2. Isaac feels Jacob’s hands
                            H: V23-25 – Isaac believes the lie

                        G: V26-27 – Parallelism, part 2

                                1. Come near

                                2. Isaac smells Jacob’s clothes

                    F: V28-29 – Isaac blessed Jacob

                E: V31 – Get up and eat so you can give me your blessing

            D: I am your son

        C: Your firstborn

    B: Esau

A: V32 – Who are you?

Suggested Apostolic Readings for Parsha Toldot

Some Apostolic passages that go well with Parsha Toldot:

• Romans 9:3-33
• Colossians 3
• Hebrews 12:11-17
• James 5:14-18
• 1 Peter 3:1-7

More Reading on Parsha Toldot:

• Soil from Stone
• American Torah

A Toldot Playlist on Youtube:

The Blessing of Isaac and Yom Kippur

Connections between Isaac's blessing and Yom Kippur:

• Isaac sent Esau to hunt the game "that he loved." In preparation for a future Yom Kippur, God will send fishers and hunters to bring his people back from exile. (Gen 27:3-4 & Jer 16:16)
• Rebekah told Jacob to bring two goats. Two goats are required for Yom Kippur. (Gen 27:9 & Lev 16:5)
• Isaac chose blindly between his two sons. The High Priest cast lots (choosing blindly) on the two goats. (Gen 27:1 & Lev 16:8)
• Jacob and Esau were twin brothers. The goats of Yom Kippur are to be alike in appearance. (Gen 25:24 & Yoma 62a)
• Jacob was a man of the tents and Esau was a man of the field. Jacob was accepted, while Esau was rejected. One goat was taken into the Tabernacle, while the other was driven into the wilderness. (Gen 25:27 & Lev 16:8-10, Mal 1:2-3)

Do you see any others? I'm sure there must be more.

Jacob, Esau, Yeshua, Rome, & Judah

I noticed some interesting parallels between the story of Jacob and Esau and the stories of Yeshua and the Jews. Make of them what you will. Comments are welcome.

Torah	Jacob and Esau	Parallels
Genesis 25:21-23	Esau was older and stronger, but Jacob would rule over him.	The nations are older and stronger, but Israel will rule over them.
Genesis 25:27	Esau was a hunter, but Jacob was a man of the tents.	Messiah ben David is a conqueror, but Messiah ben Yosef is a teacher and servant. Rome was a conqueror, but Israel was a teacher and bearer of God's promises and laws.
Genesis 25:29-30	Esau was famished and demanded Jacob's "red stuff".	The world needed a savior and demanded the blood of Yeshua.
Genesis 25:31	Jacob demanded Esau's birthright in exchange for the stew.	The world must humble itself, surrender its own birthright, and submit to Israel's king in order to be covered by his blood.
Genesis 25:32	Esau asked what good was a birthright to someone going to die anyway.	What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet loses his soul?
Genesis 25:34	Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew (red stuff).	Israel gave the body and blood of their Messiah to save the whole world. Yeshua told us to remember his sacrifice whenever we eat of the bread and wine of Passover.
Genesis 25:34	Esau rose and went away.	The body and blood of Yeshua enables either our or our condemnation, depending on the state of our hearts.
Genesis 25:34	Esau despised his birthright.	We must despise our false heritage before we can receive a new one. (Just be careful not to despise the heritage of Israel.)
Genesis 27:15	Jacob wore the best garments of Esau.	Yeshua wore the purple robes of a Roman emperor.
Genesis 27:16	Jacob wore the skins of two young goats, reminiscent of Yom Kippur through which the sins of Israel are atoned.	Yeshua is our atoning sacrifice through which the sins of the whole world are atoned.
Genesis 27:18	Isaac expected Esau, but received Jacob whom he didn't recognize.	Israel expected a conqueror, but received a servant whom they didn't recognize.
Genesis 27:35-41	Esau resented Jacob and plotted to kill him.	The Pharisees resented Yeshua and plotted to kill him. Rome resented the Jews and plotted to kill them.
Genesis 27:42-43	Rebekah warned Jacob to flee Esau's vengeance.	Yeshua warned the Jews to flee Rome's vengeance.
Genesis 28	Jacob went into exile from the Promised Land.	The Jews went into exile from the Promised land.
Genesis 29-30	Jacob prospered and grew despite Laban's attempts to cheat and assimilate him.	The Jews prosper and multiply despite the world's attempts to assimilate and destroy them.
Genesis 31	Jacob returns from exile to the Land.	Jews are returning from exile to the Land.
Genesis 32	Jacob fears Esau and wrestles with the Angel.	Jews fear their enemies in the world and wrestle with their role and the identity of Messiah.
Genesis 33	Jacob and Esau reunite in the Promised Land.	Jews and grafted-in, former gentiles unite in the Promised Land.
Genesis 33:17	Jacob lives at Sukkot (tabernacles).	Messiah returns to tabernacle among his people.
Genesis 33:20	Jacob builds an altar called "God, the God of Israel".	Messiah cleanses the Temple and resumes the daily offerings on the altar.

Forbidden Relationships...aka Love Wins!

Approaching God as a Nation, as Families, and as Individuals

Acharei Mot and Kedoshim (Leviticus 16-20) are about how we are and are not to relate to God. Since marriage is an image of our relationship to God, they contain many examples of forbidden human relationships.

• Leviticus 16 – Approaching God as a nation.
• Leviticus 17 – Approaching God as individuals. Things that will prevent closeness.
• Leviticus 18 – Mistakes other peoples made in their relationships. Judgment as a nation and as individuals.
• Men with women
• The offspring of relationships between men and women
• Men with men
• Men and women with animals
• Leviticus 19 – Being set apart from other nations by a healthy relationship with God and each other.
• Leviticus 20 – Refusing to be different creates unhealthy relationships with God and each other. Don’t blow it.

The Only Love that Matters

In Leviticus 19, God said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." In Leviticus 20, He said "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death."

There is no contradiction. Love means doing what's best for people. It means refusing to tolerate behaviors that destroy the community & its relationship with God.

Celebrating spiritual disease is cowardly. It's an excuse to avoid speaking the hard truth that homosexuality is perverse rot. It's death. Love doesn't see a person committing suicide and say, "Oh, how sweet! Love wins." What vile filth has infected people's souls that they could possibly entertain such things?

No, love says to the man drinking poison, "Stop! No more!"

This is love by God's standard, the only standard that matters: "You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them." (Lev 20:22a)

Open sexual perversion defiles the entire nation, not just those who practice it. The closer a nation is to God, the quicker and more severe is the ruin brought on by their wickedness. Things that will bring a nation to ruin: perversion, blood-guilt, idolatry.

Do you want to save America? Then don't tolerate open perversion. End abortion. God won't wait forever.

Fortunately, forgiveness awaits the penitent. "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked."

Prohibited Degrees of Kinship

There are numerous methods of charting degrees of consanguinity floating around out there, so I thought I should post something about my own. Especially since I have mentioned elsewhere that God prohibits marriage to anyone closer than the fourth degree. 

Ancestors and descendants, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and siblings are all out of bounds. First cousins are acceptable. At least to God. You might feel differently. 

Don't use this chart for legal purposes, of course. Many jurisdictions define the degrees differently.

God's Law prohibits marriage with 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree relations. There are rare, marginal cases that are not addressed or that don't fit neatly into this hierarchy, but that's why God gave us minds and spirits.

Playing Favorites

Genesis 25:28

And Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. It was not that Isaac hated Jacob or that Rebekah hated Esau, but that they each favored one over the other. To a certain extent, when there is more than one of anything, whether they are children, wives, toys, or tools, one will always be loved more than the others. There is not necessarily anything wrong with that. Isaac apparently approved of Esau's skill in hunting, his manliness if you will, while Rebekah approved of Jacob's more broad-based focus. Of itself, this is not a terrible thing, but taken too far it can cause neglect and jealousy, as in the case of Jacob's relationship with Rachel and Leah. Perhaps Jacob learned this behavior from his parents.

On a related note... I’ve heard it said that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who learn from others’ mistakes and those who have to learn from their own. Esau represents a third type: those who don’t learn from anyone’s mistakes and blame others when things go badly.