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When Esau returned and found how Jacob had sup–
planted him, he was very bítter. He pleaded for a bless–
ing, too. But Isaac could not retract the blessíng given to
Jacob. So he passed on to Esau the followíng prophecy:
"Behold, thy dwelling shall be [correct translatíon:
away from) the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of
heaven from above; and by thy sword shalt thou live,
and shalt serve thy brother; and ít shall come to pass
when thou shalt have the donúnion, that thou shalt
break his yoke from off thy neck. And Esau hated Ja–
cob ..."(verses 39-4 1).
In verse 39, quoted above, the Hebrew preposition
min
should be translated "from" or "away from," not
" of." Actually, the prophesied lot of Esau was more of a
curse than a blessing. The Revised Standard Versioo
tran~lates
it: " Behold, away from the fatness of the earth
shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of
heaven on high." Moffatt renders it: "Far from rich soi l
on earth shall you live, far from the dew of heaven on
hígh." Actually, the Hebrew words convey the
dual
meaning, and
both
have happened to Esau's descen–
dants.
Prophecy for Turkey
The sparse records of history, with other proofs, show
that many of the descendants of Esau became known as
Turks. Therefore we must remember that all prophecies
pertaining to the latter days referring to Edom. or Esau,
refer generally to the Turkish na1ion.
In Isaac's dying prophecy, he foretold 1hat Esau's
descendants would come 10 a time when 1hey should
have dominion, and 1hen break 1he yoke of the Israelites
from off 1heir necks. That has happened. The children of
Israel, through sin, were driven out of the promised land
1hat belonged with the birthright. The Turks carne to
power and dominion and for many centuries possessed
that land. Those descendants, 1he Turkish people, occu–
pied Palestine 400 years before Britain took it in 1917.
Esau's descendants always have !usted for that land,
central promise of the bir1hrigh1! The Turks have 1ruly
lived by 1he sword!
The Lesson for Us
But let's return 10 our s1ory. Befare Jacob was boro, God
had spoken to his mo1her and revealed to her that Jacob
should receive the birthright. Instead, however, of wait–
ing for the Eterna! to bring this about in His own way,
she schemed with Jacob to take it by lying and decep–
tion.
There is a lesson here for us today. As Isaac is, in a
sense, a type of Christ, so Rebekah ís, in a sense, a type
of the Church, in which still dwells weakness and carnal–
ity.
Sometimes we become too much in a hurry. We ask
the Almighty for 1hings He has promised
in
His Word.
Then we try to dicta le to Him just
how
and
when
it shall
be accomplished! We need to learn to "wait upon the
Lord." He always does things in His way, and in His
own time. And He distinctly tells us that His ways are
not our ways! Once we commit a thing to the Almighty,
Jet us have not only the trust. but the respect. for the
One so great, that we willleave the matter in His hands.
Had Jacob trusted the Eterna! ínstead of taking this
in1o his own hands in a wrong way, the birthrigh1 would
have come to him more honorably. Under 1he circum–
stances, Jacob, which name means "supplanter," had far
more difficulty securing
God's
blessing upon the precious
possession than his predecessors.
BLESSING:
gofden wheat-míllions of acres-promised to the birthright nations.
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1978
11