Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 15 

JANUARY 15 / Day 15 

Rebekah: Favoritism and a Broken Family 

📖  Genesis Chapter 27 

A Minute of Grace

Genesis Chapter 27 records how Jacob deceived Isaac and received the blessing intended for Esau. Isaac, old and with failing eyesight, wanted to bless Esau before his death. When Rebekah heard this, she quickly arranged for Jacob to disguise himself as Esau. She prepared food, dressed Jacob in Esau’s garments, and covered his hands and neck with the skins of young goats so that Isaac would believe Jacob was Esau.

This is not simply a story about who received the blessing. It is a story about the bitter fruit of long-standing favoritism. Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed the wild game Esau brought him. Rebekah loved Jacob and actively worked on his behalf. The parents took sides. The children competed. Blessing became something to grasp, and the home became a battlefield.

Rebekah’s problem was not only that she favored Jacob. Her deeper problem was that she tried to fulfill God’s promise by her own manipulation. She believed Jacob would receive the blessing, but she did not choose the way of quiet trust, patient waiting, and obedience to God. Instead, she tried to “help” God through deception and control.

In the end, Jacob received the blessing, but he had to flee from home. Esau was filled with hatred. Isaac trembled with shock. Rebekah may never have seen her beloved Jacob again.

Today’s theme reminds us: favoritism distorts love, manipulation destroys trust, and deception tears relationships apart. Love that truly fears God does not use control to secure blessing. It trusts the Lord, walks in truth, and seeks to build rather than break.

Whispers for the Heart

1 When you read that Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob, does it make you think about favoritism or comparison in your own family or relationships? Have you ever unintentionally hurt someone because you preferred one personality, one child, one friend, or one way of doing things over another?

2 Rebekah knew that God had spoken concerning Jacob, yet she chose manipulation and deception to bring about the result she wanted. Have you ever tried to control a situation because you were afraid things would not turn out the way you hoped? Have you ever hidden the full truth in order to make something happen?

3 Jacob received the blessing, but he lost peace in his family. Is there any “blessing” you are trying to secure at the cost of trust, honesty, peace, or a clear conscience?

As you read Genesis Chapter 27 today, do not only notice Jacob’s deception. Notice also the slow breakdown of a family shaped by favoritism. Do not only see Rebekah’s cleverness. Consider how intelligence without surrender to God can cause deep wounds.

May today’s Scripture help us stay watchful in our families and close relationships. May we not allow favoritism to become harm, concern to become control, or fear to destroy the very blessing God desires to give.

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🪕 Response Hymn: In Your Light We see Light 

Genesis 27 ( KJV)

27 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:

3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.

21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine and he drank.

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed:

28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.

36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;

45 Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

🪕 Response Hymn: In Your Light We see Light 

💡 Closing Thought · Let Love Return to Truth 

After reading Genesis Chapter 27, it may be easy to blame Rebekah for manipulation, Jacob for deception, Isaac for favoritism, or Esau for anger. But if we sit quietly with the story, we may realize that these problems are not far from us. Every family can be tempted by partiality. Every relationship can be touched by control. Every person who loves deeply can still use the wrong methods when fear takes over.

As we close this page and return to real life, we may face the expectations of family members, the differences between children, tension in marriage, misunderstandings in relationships, and the inner impulse to control what we fear losing. Let today’s Scripture remind us: love without truth can become favoritism; concern without trust can become control; and a blessing seized through deception can leave behind deeper brokenness.

May God help us relearn honesty, patience, respect, and trust in every relationship. May we stop trying to grasp blessing through our own schemes and instead place our families, relationships, and future into God’s hands. May His light enter the hidden cracks of our homes, so that love may return to truth and broken places may begin to heal.

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