The fact that the prophet asks Esau for food by giving him an order signifies the call that the Word addresses to the first people when he asks them for the fruit of the works of justice, that justice which was considered to be a nourishment for the Father.^[1] In fact, the words go out to the field, and hunt game for me signify worldly life. On the other hand, the fact that he says, Take your quiver and your bow shows that the people, inflated with their personal glory, would not be justified by their faith but by being proud of their wars would ask for a tyrant as their king,^[2] just as Moses had said to them: And the sword is your boast.^[3] ON THE BLESSINGS OF ISAAC AND JACOB 3.^[4]

GOD’S INEFFABLE WISDOM. CHRYSOSTOM: Notice in this, dearly beloved, God’s ineffable wisdom: Whereas the father gave evidence of natural affection by giving these directions to Esau, the wise and resourceful Lord caused his own prediction to be brought to pass by means of Rebekah, thus teaching us the power of virtue and mildness of manner. I mean, one son considered himself to hold pride of place by birthright and by his father’s preference for him, and yet he was suddenly found to be bereft of all this. The other son, on the contrary, being endowed with homely virtues and enjoying the help of favor from above, won his father’s blessing against his will. Nothing is more powerful than the person helped by that mighty right hand.

In any case, look carefully at all this so as to learn the extraordinary nature of God’s designs: One man enjoyed favor from that source and was accorded great cooperation in everything so that the father’s blessing was transferred to him. The other lost everything, forfeiting what was his because of the evil of his ways.

I will try to explain briefly how wonderful, great and full of mysteries according to the promises of God are the events that occurred in these two twins. Isaac, their father, who had become blind in his physical eyes while his interior light continued to shine, promised Esau, his firstborn son, to give him the blessing, if he would prepare a tasteful dish of game for him.^[1] And Esau immediately hurried to carry out what had been ordered. The mother, who had heard the promise of the blessing for the elder brother, since she was divinely inspired, prepared a mystical plot made with prophetical art in order to direct the blessing to Jacob, the younger son. She took the garments of the firstborn son that she had at home, and dressed the younger brother with them, and put skins of young goats on his arms and his naked neck and dressed him in such a way that who he was would not be recognized.^[2] And this symbolical action in a sense shows us the Christ: he did not take the sinful flesh but the likeness of sinful flesh^[3] by receiving also the law of the Old Testament as the garments of the firstborn, since the Lord said that he had come not in order to abolish the law, but in order to accomplish it.^[4] In this attire Jacob, the younger son, who had already taken away from his brother the right of primogeniture, also gets hold of the blessing.

See a mother’s affection, or rather God’s designs: He it was who prompted her to make plans and also made sure all turned out well. Do you see the mother’s excellent planning? See also Jacob’s circumspection in showing his mildness of manner in his reply. He replied to his mother, ‘My brother Esau is hairy, whereas my skin is smooth. Perhaps my father may touch me, and I will appear ridiculous to him and bring on myself a curse, and not blessing’ ^[1] Remarkable the child’s dutifulness and his respect for his father: I am afraid, he says. My efforts may have the contrary effect. I may seem out of step with my father’s wishes and win a curse instead of a blessing. So what does Rebekah do, this extraordinary woman of great affection? Since she was not concocting this only out of her own thinking but was also implementing the prediction from on high, she took every care to banish fear from the child and instill courage so as to bring off the plan. Instead of promising him that he would be able to deceive his father and elude detection, what did she say? Let the curse on you fall on me, child; just heed my word, and go and fetch it for me.^[2] Even if anything like this should happen, she is saying, you personally will suffer no harm. So don’t be afraid: Take heart, ‘heed my word,’ and do what I advise you. This really is a mother’s love, readily accepting everything for her child’s sake.

On the one hand, Rebekah, who bears the image of the church, already prefigures the future events that would be accomplished through her younger son. She says to him, Go to the pasture of the sheep, and fetch me from there two small, tender and beautiful young goats. Esau is sent to the plain as if he lived abroad in the world; but Jacob is sent [to the pasture] of the sheep, in order that the words of the Lord, I have been sent only to the lost sheep of Israel,^[1] might come true.

On the other hand, by saying, Fetch me from there two small, tender and beautiful young goats, she signified the two calls that appear to have been addressed by the Gospel. In fact, even though we are originally goats, because we are all sinners, through obedience we become tender and beautiful, justified by faith in Christ. No more [are we] like condemned goats^[2] but like sheep in pure sacrifice, in sweet savor,^[3] offered to God and made nourishment for the Word, who gives similes their full accomplishment by saying to his disciples, I have food to eat that you do not know.^[4]

How clearly Jacob has shown here his piety! . . . In other respects it was also true what was said by Jacob, that is: My brother Esau is a hairy man, that is, a sinner, but I am a man of smooth skin. In fact, through these words the faultless and sinless character of the flesh of the Lord is revealed.

We can see that the words spoken by Rebekah a long time ago have now been fulfilled in the church. The words Let your curse be on me, my son show that now certain people offend the church by their blasphemies, because she worships the Crucified, and for that reason they throw curses and contempt at us. In fact, the passion of the Lord is held to be a curse for the unbelievers, whereas his life is peace for those who believe.^[1] The apostle says, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.^[2] That is what the Savior has now accomplished by receiving in himself, through his body, death on the cross. By his obedience he has erased the curse of Adam, which was received in the law: You are dust, and to dust you shall return.^[3]

The fact that Jacob wears the robe signifies that the Word has been clothed by the flesh, while the skins of the kids wrapped around his arms show that he has received in himself all our sins by stretching his hands and arms on the cross, as Isaiah himself has said: He has borne our sins and carried our diseases.^[1]

Accordingly Jacob received his brother’s clothing, because he excelled the elder in wisdom. Thus the younger brother took the clothing of the elder because he was conspicuous in the merit of his faith. Rebekah presented this clothing as a symbol of the church; she gave to the younger son the clothing of the Old Testament, the prophetic and priestly clothing, the royal Davidic clothing, the clothing of the kings Solomon and Hezekiah and Josiah. She gave it too to the Christian people, who would know how to use the garment they had received, since the Jewish people kept it without using it and did not know its proper adornments. This clothing was lying in shadow, cast off and forgotten; it was tarnished by a dark haze of impiety and could not be unfolded further in their confined hearts. The Christian people put it on, and it shone brightly. They made it bright with the splendor of their faith and the light of their holy works. Isaac recognized the familiar fragrance that attached to his people.^[1] He recognized the clothing of the Old Testament, but the voice of the people of old he did not recognize; therefore he knew that it had been changed. For even today the same clothing remains, but the confession of a people of greater devotion begins to sound harmonious; Isaac was right to say, The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.^[2] And Isaac smelled the fragrance of his garments.^[3] And perhaps that means that we are not justified by works but by faith, because the weakness of the flesh is a hindrance to works, but the brightness of faith puts the error that is in humanity’s deeds in the shadow and merits for us the forgiveness of our sins.

Notice here, I ask you, along with Rebekah’s affection, her great wisdom as well. Since it was mentioned previously that one was hairy and the other smooth-skinned, she clad him in Esau’s clothing, the text says, and covered his skin, disguising him all over so as to bring off the deception. And after putting the food and bread into Jacob’s hands she had him take it to his father.

Consider here again, I ask you, how it was all due to grace from above. I mean, whereas we contribute our utmost, we enjoy in generous measure as well cooperation from God. You see, in case we show indifference and prove recalcitrant, he wants us also to make an effort so that in this way our contribution may be demonstrated. It is neither the case that everything is due to help from on high (rather we, too, must contribute something), nor on the other hand does he require everything of us, knowing as he does the extraordinary degree of our limitations. On the contrary, out of fidelity to his characteristic love and wishing to find some occasion for demonstrating his own generosity, he awaits the contribution of what we have to offer.

The words of Jacob to his father, I have done as you told me, demonstrate that the Word is always obedient to his Father, as is confirmed by what he says in Ezekiel: I did just as I was commanded.^[1]

This signifies that the Word, who in Jacob prefigured the mysteries, has also become the voice of the prophets, since he is the one who predicts in them what will happen. On the contrary, his hands have become hands of Esau. In fact he [the Word] was executed because of the sins of the people.

For of him it is written, Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field. He had been made perfect in virtue’s every flower and was fragrant with the grace of the holy blessing and of the happiness of heaven. He is indeed the field that the Lord has blessed. [This field is] not the earthly field with its rugged woods and crashing torrents, its swampy, sluggish waters, unproductive grain lands, and barren vineyards, filled with sterile rock and gravel, pockmarked and arid with drought or wet with blood, and choked over with brambles and thorns, but the field of which the church speaks in the Canticle, I have adjured you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and virtues of the field.^[1] This is the field of which the Lord also says, With me is the beauty of the field.^[2] In this field the grape is found that was pressed and poured out blood and washed the world clean. In this field is the fig tree, and beneath it the saints will find rest and be renewed by a good and spiritual grace.^[3] In this field is the olive tree fruitful in the overflowing ointment of the Lord’s peace. In this field flourish the pomegranate trees^[4] that shelter many fruits with the one bulwark of faith and, so to speak, nurture them with the warm embrace of love.

And so Jacob was fragrant with the fragrance of such fruits; he followed God amid dangers and believed that he was safe everywhere, led by the Lord. Although the fragrance of the field is pleasant and sweet because it is a natural fragrance, still there breathed in the holy patriarch the fragrance of grace and virtue. How moderate and restrained he was! He did not claim the food that had been prepared for him but yielded without delay to his brother’s request for it and received from him the birthright of the firstborn.^[1] How respectful he was toward his parents! Through his mother’s love he earned the preference over his elder brother,^[2] and through the gift of his father’s blessing he was made holy.^[3] How respectful of God’s commands he was! He refused to do wrong to his brother. How honorable! He resisted practicing deceit upon his father.^[4] How respectful! He could not refuse his mother what she ordered.^[5]

He smelled his clothes and said, ‘Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of an abundant field, which the Lord has blessed.’ ^[1] This field is the church. Let’s prove that the church is a field. Listen to the apostle telling the faithful: You are God’s tilled field; you are God’s building.^[2] Not only is the church a field, but also God is the tiller of the field. Listen to the Lord himself: I am the vine, you the branches, and my Father is the vinedresser.^[3] Toiling in this field as a laborer and hoping for an eternal reward, the apostle claims no credit for himself, except a laborer’s due. I planted, he says, Apollo watered, but God gave the increase. And so neither the one who plants is anything, nor the one who waters, but God who gives the increase.^[4] Notice how Paul safeguards humility to make sure of belonging to Jacob, to that field which is the church, and of not losing the robe whose scent was as the smell of an abundant field. He does not pass over to the pride of Esau, materialistic in thought and abounding in arrogance. So the smell of the field comes from the garment of the son. But this field is nothing in itself. That’s why he added, which the Lord has blessed. And the Lord will give you from the dew of heaven above and from the fruitfulness of the earth, and quantities of corn and wine. And nations will serve you, and you shall be lord of your brother, and the sons of your father shall pay you homage. Whoever curses you shall be cursed, and whoever blesses you shall be blessed.^[5] That is the blessing of Jacob. If Esau had not been blessed too, there would be no problem. But he is blessed too, not with this blessing, and yet one not altogether different from this one.

What advice does Rebekah give? That Jacob should take the skins of the kids and go to his father. The father is expecting the elder and blesses the younger. The Old Testament has the Jews in mind according to its literal meaning, and by the spiritual understanding of it, it is a blessing to Christians. Would your holinesses please concentrate on this great mystery, this great sacrament.

Isaac says, Your brother came with guile about a man without guile. Isaac undoubtedly knew what was happening since he had the spirit of prophecy, and he himself was acting symbolically. He stakes everything on the sublime truths being symbolically, sacramentally enacted. For if he hadn’t known what he was doing, he would surely have been angry with his son for deceiving him. The elder comes and says, Here, father, eat; I have done just as you ordered me. He says, Who are you? He replies, I am your elder son, Esau. And who is the one, Isaac says, at whose hands I have already eaten, and I blessed him, and blessed he shall be?^[1] He seemed to be angry; Esau was expecting from his lips some sort of curse upon his brother. While he is expecting a curse, Isaac confirms the blessing. What splendid anger, what marvelous indignation! But he knew the mystery being enacted. The blindness of his bodily eyes stood for the mental blindness of the Jews. But the eyes of his heart were able to see the sublimity of the mysteries being unfolded.

In fact, these things were not completely fulfilled in Jacob but in Christ and in those who were justified through faith, who were also made sons according to the promise in Isaac.^[1] Therefore the meaning of the prophecy will also suit the new people and Christ himself, who is beginning and leading. He is also considered to be a second Adam^[2] and was born as a second root of humanity. For that which is in Christ is a new creation,^[3] and we are renewed in him to sanctification, incorruption and life.^[4] The words of the blessing, I believe, signify the sweetness of the spiritual perfume in Christ, like that of a garden or a plentiful field spreading a sweet and beautiful perfume from its spring flowers. And so Christ described himself to us in the Song of Songs: I am the flower of the field, the lily of the valleys.^[5] He was actually a lily and a rose born of the earth for the sake of humanity. Since he did not know sin, he was the most divine of all those who inhabited the whole world and produced a perfume though his works. For this reason [Scripture] compares Christ with a field blessed by God, and with very good reason, because he is the perfume of the knowledge of God the Father. So again the divine Paul says, But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him.^[6] Our Lord Jesus Christ is revealed through the holy apostles like the perfume of the knowledge of God the Father. If someone knows the Son, he also fully knows the Father,^[7] because of the sameness of nature, as in everything he possesses the same things in the same degree.

If one believes that this blessing was accomplished in Jacob, he is mistaken. Nothing of this ever happened to Jacob. First we find him in Mesopotamia at the service of Laban for twenty years;^[1] then he prostrates himself before his brother Esau and tries to make himself pleasing to him by offering presents;^[2] after this he goes down to Egypt to avoid starvation with his children.^[3] In whom then have the words Ah, the smell of the clothes of my son is like the smell of a fruitful field that the Lord has blessed been accomplished? In nobody else but Christ, Son of God. In fact, the field is the world, and the smell of his clothes are all those who believe in him, according to what the apostle says: We are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.^[4]

The words May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine signify clearly the Word, who came down from heaven like dew. The earth is the flesh that he has assumed from the Virgin. Through the words plenty of grain and wine, the prophet signifies the saints, who are gathered together like the grain in a barn^[5] and are justified by the Spirit as by wine.^[6]

These things therefore fit with Christ and also fit quite reasonably with the new people: May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. The dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, that is, the Word, was given to us by the Father, together with the participation through the Spirit, and therefore we were made participants in the divine nature through him.^[1] And we also received plenty of grain and wine, that is, strength and happiness. In fact, it is said truly, Bread strengthens the heart of man, and wine makes glad his heart.^[2] Bread is the symbol of spiritual strength, wine of the physical. They are given to those who are in Christ through him. In which other way were we made stable and firm in piety and immovable and aware to think the right things? Certainly the power to trample serpents and scorpions underfoot and the whole power of the enemy^[3] was given to us. This, I believe, is the meaning of the abundance of grain. But we have also received wine. We rejoice in hope,^[4] and we have become glad,^[5] according to Scripture. We expect heavenly dwellings, an eternal life in incorruption, and to reign together with Christ. Therefore these things may be said about us.

And also the words Let peoples serve you, and princes bow down to you have been accomplished now. Whom else do the faithful peoples serve and the princes of the church worship but Christ, in whose name they also receive their salvation? The Word has predicted all this through Isaiah by saying, My servants shall be called by a new name, which will be blessed on the earth; for they shall bless the true God, and those who swear upon the earth shall swear in the name of the true God.^[1] And he adds, Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall hunger; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall thirst; behold, my servants shall exult with joy, but you shall be ashamed and shall cry for the vexation of your spirit.^[2]

Then he continues by saying, Be lord of your brother, and the sons of your father shall bow to you. But nobody adored Jacob, nor did he become lord of his brother Esau; on the contrary, he ran away from him in a fright and was the first to adore him, for seven times.^[3] Therefore the words of Isaac have been accomplished in the Savior: He has become lord and master of those who are considered to be his brothers by the flesh, in order to be adored by them as their king. That is why Isaac says, Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you.

Afterward the power of blessing is transferred again to the Immanuel himself. And let nations serve you, and princes bow down to you, and be lord of your brother. The Immanuel was called the firstborn when he became so with reference to us, among many brothers.^[1] But for this reason we must not forget that he is God and the Lord of the universe. We worship him as God, and he has reigned as God over those who are called from the brothers through grace. Who in the heavens shall be compared to the Lord, and who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God?^[2] Therefore the Immanuel has reigned as God over those who were received into the brotherhood, and to him every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father.^[3] And cursed is he who curses, and blessed is he that blesses. These words are quite clear. Those who curse are detestable and hateful to God; those who bless, that is, who announce his divine glory, are filled with heavenly and divine goods. This is the blessing of Jacob, whose strength refers to the Immanuel himself and to those who are justified in the faith.

Afterward, when the blessing had been pronounced, the elder brother arrived. By this it is revealed that the kingdom was predestined to be bestowed on the church rather than on the synagogue but had secretly entered the synagogue so that sin might abound, and, when sin had abounded, that grace might also abound.^[1] At the same time, it would be clear that the candidate for the kingdom of heaven must be quick to carry off the blessing and to appropriate the prerogative for which he has been recommended. On this account the younger son was not blamed by his father but praised, for Isaac says, Your brother came deceitfully and received your blessing.^[2] For deceit is good when the plunder is without reproach. Now the plunder of piety is without reproach, because from the days of John the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away.^[3] Our fathers celebrated the Passover in haste and ate the lamb in haste,^[4] not making delay, and the holy Joseph summoned his brother Benjamin by a holy fabrication and deceit.^[5]

The other one, you see, comes along in the evening, and brings what his father ordered, and finds his brother has been blessed instead of himself and is not blessed with a second blessing. Because those two men were two peoples.^[1] One blessing signifies the unity of the church. But they are two peoples. . . . But the two peoples who belong to Jacob are represented in other ways. You see, our Lord Jesus Christ, who had come to Jews and Gentiles, was repudiated by the Jews, who belonged to the elder son. However, he chose some of them who belonged to the younger son, who had begun to desire and understand the Lord’s promises, not taking that land they desired materialistically but spiritually desiring that city where no one is materially born, because in it no one either materially or spiritually dies.

The dishes of Esau signify the cult of the people under the law. Since they are inflated with pride and are certain of being justified by circumcision, they offer the pagan converts as nourishment, whereas they themselves need nourishment because they cannot touch the heavenly bread.

What had actually occurred from the action of Jacob was a mystery of the [divine] economy in view of the Christ prefigured [by Jacob], [of the Christ] who, blessed by the Father, has been blessed forever after his [temporal] birth.

The words of Scripture, Besides himself, Isaac was seized with great amazement, have the same meaning as Isaac was filled with admiration for what had happened, because he foresaw that the Gentiles, according to the will of God, had to be blessed and take part in the covenant of the promise made to the fathers through the younger son. That is why Jacob, when he was brought forth and emerged the last from his mother’s womb, took hold on Esau’s heel.^[1] This means that by closely following the footsteps of the prophets the last peoples had to take hold of the right of primogeniture, since they are the first ones to be found in the New Testament.

And Esau cried out and wailed bitterly, not because he lost his spiritual blessings but because he was now deprived of the bountiful produce of the blessed earth. [Esau wept] not because he was no longer able to be righteous but because he would not be able to make his brother his servant; not because he would not inherit eternal life but because the land of the Canaanites would not be his portion. Since Esau had such spite for his brother that he wished to kill him, Rebekah persuaded Jacob to go to the house of Laban lest they kill each other in their strife, and she became bereft of both of them at the same time.

The fact that he says to him, Your brother came by trickery and took away your blessing means, in a way that implies a mystery, that the Word of God, after his incarnation, had to take the form of a slave. [Thus] thanks to him who was unknown in his generation, he might receive the blessing of the Father and transmit it to us, who believe in him.

So what can it mean when it says, Your brother came with guile and stole the blessing? . . . So what can it mean when it says, He came along with guile and stole the blessing?

First of all, let us note what guile means, and so see what Jacob ought to do. He is bearing the sins of others, and he is bearing them patiently although they are other people’s. That is what it means to have the skins of the kids on him; he is bearing the sins of others, not clinging to his own. In this way all those who put up with the sins of others for the sake of unity in the church are imitating Jacob. Because Jacob too is in Christ, inasmuch as Christ is in the seed of Abraham; as it was said, In your seed shall all the nations be blessed.^[1] So our Lord Jesus Christ, who committed no sin, bore the sins of others. And will those whose sins have been forgiven disdain to bear the sins of others? So if Jacob turns into Christ, he bears the sins of others—that, is the skins of the kids. And where is the guile in that?

What then is guile? Guile is when one thing is done and another pretended. When there is one thing in intention and another in deeds, it is called guile. So guile in the proper sense is reprehensible, just like rock in the proper sense. If you said Christ was a rock in the proper sense, it would be a blasphemy, just as if you said Christ was a calf in the proper sense it would be blasphemy. In the proper sense a calf is a beast; in the figurative sense it is a victim in a sacrifice. In the proper sense a stone is compacted earth; in the figurative sense it is firmness. Guile in the proper sense is deceit; in the figurative sense. . . . Every figurative and allegorical text or utterance seems to mean one thing materially and to suggest another thing spiritually. So he called this figurative sense by the name of guile. At long last then, what does it mean, He came with guile and stole your blessing? The reason it says He came with guile is that what was being done had a figurative sense. Isaac, after all, would not have confirmed the blessing on a guileful, deceitful man who more justly would deserve a curse. So it wasn’t a case of real guile, especially since he did not in fact lie when he said, I am your elder son Esau.^[1] For that one had already made a bargain with his brother and sold him his rights as firstborn. So he told his father that he had what he had bought from his brother; what that one had lost had passed to this one. The title of firstborn had not been eliminated from Isaac’s household. The title of firstborn was still here—but not with the one who had sold it. Where else was it but with the younger brother? Because he knew the symbolic mystery in all this, Isaac confirmed the blessing and said to this other son, What am I to do for you? He answered, Bless me too, father; you do not only have one blessing.^[2] But Isaac knew only of one.

And Esau said, ‘Rightly is his name called Jacob.’ Tripping up is what Jacob means. And not even tripping up is empty of meaning, because it is to be taken figuratively, like guile. Jacob, you see, was not yet so malicious as to plan to trip his brother up, when he was given his name. He was called a tripper-up when as his brother was being born he held his foot with his own hand. That is when he was called Tripper-up. Now tripping up the materialistically minded is the very life of the spiritually minded. All the materialists are tripped up when they envy the spiritual people in the church, and they thereby become worse. Listen to the apostle saying this very thing, especially because he there mentions the smell that Isaac talked about here, saying, Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of an abundant field, which the Lord has blessed. So the apostle says, We are the sweet smell of Christ in every place, and he says, For some indeed the smell of life, for life; for the others the smell of death, for death. And for this who is sufficient?^[1] Sufficient, that is, to understand how we can be the smell of death for the death of other people, without any fault of ours. Spiritual people walk their ways, knowing nothing except how to live a good life. And those who are spiteful about their innocent lives commit grave sins, which is why God will punish them. And thus a person who is a sweet smell for life to others becomes to them a smell for death. For the Lord himself was the first to become a sweet smell for life to believers and a bad smell for death to persecutors. Because so many people had believed him, the Jews were full of spite and committed that enormous crime of killing the innocent one, the saint of saints. If they had not done this, the sweet smell of Christ would not have meant death for them. So Esau was tripped up in his father’s blessing.