Bible Basics: Genesis 26 through 27:40
Genesis 26
Verses 1–6: Isaac faces famine in Canaan, and must decide to either seek greener pastures in Egypt or weather the storm there. God (intimately interested in all the details of Isaac's life, just as he is in ours) appears to Isaac and clearly directs him to stay put. He reaffirms the promise he made to Abraham: “I'm giving this land to you and your descendants, who will be ‘as numerous as the stars in the sky’ [verse 4]. I’ll walk with you and bless you, and your descendants will bring blessing to every nation on earth, because your father honored and obeyed me” (paraphrase). And like his father, Abraham, Isaac honors and lives in God’s ways too, staying in Gerar (King Abimelech’s Philistine territory) and trusting God’s promise of welfare over his life.
7–11: Sadly, Isaac also follows in Abraham's footsteps with regard to his wife. Some men begin inquiring about Rebekah, and Isaac says that she’s his sister. Some time later, though, King Abimelech sees Isaac and Rebekah embracing. Angry that he’s been deceived again, he confronts and questions Isaac, knowing that someone could have slept with Rebekah. Isaac had feared for his life on account of Rebekah’s beauty, but comes clean to King Abimelech about his deception. Abimelech issues a decree of protection over Isaac and Rebekah, commanding a death sentence for anyone who would harm them.
12–15: Despite his foibles with Abimelech, Isaac is blessed incredibly by trusting God and remaining in Gerar, even though it likely would have seemed wiser to leave for Egypt. He becomes so wealthy that the Philistines now envy him. They fill in all the wells Abraham’s servants dug in the past, leaving Isaac without adequate water for his herds and household.
16–22: King Abimelech also feels threatened by Isaac’s prosperity and urges him to move away. In a great display of character, Isaac obliges, avoiding war, and encamps in the Valley of Gerar (likely near the outer reaches of the region).* His servants dig two fresh-water wells, but both times herdsman from Gerar claim the water. After a third try, no one opposes him, and he’s finally able to settle down.
23–25: From the Gerar Valley, Isaac travels to Beersheba. God appears to him again, encouraging him with the promise of his constant presence and full blessing in life (in honor of his father’s faithfulness to God, and undoubtedly in recognition of Isaac’s faithfulness as well). Isaac builds an altar to remember this moment, and finds a new home in the place where his father once lived.
26–33: Desiring peace after conflict and seeing God’s blessing in Isaac’s life, King Abimelech travels to Isaac and proposes a treaty similar to the one he made with Abraham. They swear to live peaceably with each other, and Isaac’s life is further secured by God. The same day, Isaac’s servants tell him of a well they’ve successfully dug, and he names it Shibah, from which Beersheba (“well of the oath”)** derives its name.
34–35: Isaac’s son, Esau, continues to walk in ways contrary to God, and by age forty marries two Canaanite women, who bring grief rather than blessing to Isaac and Rebekah.
Genesis 27
Verses 1–4: When Isaac nears the end of his life and his eyesight has nearly gone, he calls for Esau, his firstborn. He asks Esau to hunt and prepare some wild game for him, so he can speak a blessing over his life.
5–13: Overhearing Isaac’s request, Rebekah schemes to send Jacob in Esau’s place. She tells him to get two goats so she can prepare a meal for Isaac. Jacob protests, fearing that their plan would be discovered and Isaac would curse him instead. Rebekah insists, and Jacob agrees, displaying a serious lack of honesty and integrity.
14–26: Dressed in Esau's clothes and hairy goatskins, Jacob brings Isaac the meal prepared by Rebekah. Isaac questions him repeatedly, but Jacob piles lie upon lie, claiming to be Esau. Isaac touches the goatskins, then asks Isaac to come close and kiss him.
27–29: Once Isaac smells Esau’s scent in Jacob's clothing, he blesses him. The blessing not only provided for full and rich provision in Jacob's life, but also power and authority within his family and even over the nations. Those who curse him would be cursed, and those who bless him would be blessed.
30–33:Just after Jacob leaves, Esau arrives with freshly-prepared game. When he asks for his father's blessing, Isaac becomes enraged, realizing he’s already released it to Jacob.
34–40: Esau cries out in bitterness over Jacob’s deception: the loss of both his birthright and now his firstborn blessing. He begs Isaac to bless him too, but there's no undoing the blessing he's already placed on Jacob’s life. Instead, Esau receives a lesser blessing of toil, violence, and servitude (consistent natural consequences for Esau’s godless character), encompassing the hope of one day casting off Jacob's rule.
*https://www.bibleplaces.com/gerar/
** See footnotes on Genesis 26:33, NIV 1984