Genesis 27:31 Daily Devotional & Meaning – Esau Came With His Venison
- Benjamin Michael Mcgreevy
- Jun 30
- 7 min read
Daily Verses Everyday! Day 145
“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.”
This verse shows Esau entering the scene with expectation. He has done what Isaac asked him to do. Earlier, Isaac told him to take his weapons, go out to the field, hunt venison, prepare savory meat, and bring it so that Isaac might eat and bless him before his death. Now Esau returns from the hunt. He has prepared the meal. He brings it to his father. He speaks respectfully and confidently: “Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.”
The tragedy is that Esau does not yet know the blessing has already been given.
This is a heartbreaking moment because Esau is acting as though the plan is still open, but it has already been completed without him. While he was away obeying Isaac’s command, Jacob came in disguise and received the blessing. Esau brings real venison, but Isaac has already eaten the counterfeit. Esau comes as himself, but Jacob has already come pretending to be him. Esau asks for the blessing, but Isaac has already spoken it over another.
The verse says, “he also had made savoury meat.” That small word “also” is painful. Rebekah had already made savory meat for Jacob to bring. Now Esau also has made savory meat. There are two meals in this story: one prepared in deception, and one prepared according to Isaac’s request. The first meal was false but came first. The second meal is genuine but comes too late.
This shows how sin creates painful confusion and wasted effort. Esau went into the field. He hunted. He prepared. He returned with expectation. But because of the deception, his labor now leads to shock instead of blessing. Jacob’s lie has not only gained something for himself; it has taken something from Esau’s expectation.
This reminds us that sin affects more than the person who commits it. Jacob’s deception does not stay private. Rebekah’s scheme does not remain contained. Isaac’s partiality does not affect only him. Esau’s earlier despising of the birthright does not disappear either. Every person in this chapter is affected by the brokenness of the household. Sin moves through families, relationships, hopes, words, and futures.
Esau’s words closely resemble Jacob’s earlier words. Jacob had said, “arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me” (Genesis 27:19). Now Esau says, “Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.” The similarity intensifies the scene. Jacob had imitated Esau’s role before Esau arrived. Now the real Esau speaks the words Jacob had already stolen.
There is deep irony here. Esau brings what Isaac originally wanted, but the blessing has already gone to Jacob. Isaac’s desire for savory meat set the stage for the deception, and now the true meal arrives after the false one has already served its purpose. What Isaac loved became the doorway through which he was misled.
This is another warning about disordered desire. Isaac’s appetite for Esau’s venison was not innocent in how it functioned in the family. Genesis 25:28 tells us that Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison. That favoritism shaped the family atmosphere. Isaac’s plan to bless Esau privately was tied to the meal he loved. Rebekah knew this and exploited it. Jacob used it. Now Esau returns with it.
When appetite becomes too influential, it can cloud judgment. It may be food, comfort, praise, money, approval, control, success, or affection. If a desire becomes stronger than obedience, it becomes a weakness. Isaac wanted to eat and bless Esau, but God had already revealed that the elder would serve the younger. Isaac’s preference for Esau and his love for the meal pulled him away from the revealed direction of God.
Yet Esau’s side of the story must also be remembered. Esau had earlier sold his birthright for a meal. Genesis 25:34 says, “thus Esau despised his birthright.” That matters. Esau wanted the blessing now, but he had already treated the birthright lightly. He wanted the benefit of the inheritance, but he had not treasured the spiritual weight of it when it seemed inconvenient.
This is a sobering warning. A person may despise spiritual things in one season and then grieve the loss of them in another. Esau was hungry, and the birthright seemed useless to him. Later, when the blessing was at stake, he wanted what he had not valued. This does not excuse Jacob’s deception, but it does show the tragedy of Esau’s own heart. He had not cherished the covenant privilege as he should.
There is a lesson here about delayed sorrow. Sometimes people do not feel the weight of spiritual neglect immediately. They trade obedience for appetite, worship for convenience, truth for comfort, or eternal things for temporary satisfaction. At the time, the trade seems small. Later, when the consequences become visible, the grief is great.
Esau now comes seeking blessing. He says, “that thy soul may bless me.” Those words reveal his expectation. He believes the blessing is still available. He believes his father will eat and speak the words over him. But he does not know that the moment he expected has already passed.
This should make us think seriously about spiritual urgency. There are blessings that must not be treated lightly. There are opportunities to obey that should not be postponed. There are holy things that should not be despised because of temporary hunger. Esau’s story warns us not to treat spiritual inheritance as something we can value later, after we are done satisfying the flesh.
At the same time, Jacob’s story warns us not to seize spiritual blessing through sin. Esau despised the birthright. Jacob deceived to gain the blessing. Both are wrong in different ways. Esau’s error is carelessness toward holy things. Jacob’s error is grasping holy things through unholy means. One treats the blessing too lightly. The other wants it badly enough to lie for it.
Both reveal a heart not fully submitted to God.
The right way is faith. Faith values what God gives and waits for God to give it rightly. Faith does not despise the promise like Esau, and faith does not steal the promise like Jacob. Faith receives from God with reverence, patience, and obedience.
This verse also shows the pain of coming too late to what was mishandled. Esau arrives with the meal, but the blessing has already been given. Soon Isaac will tremble. Esau will cry with a great and exceeding bitter cry. The family will realize what has happened. The hidden deception will become known.
Sin often looks manageable until the moment of revelation. Jacob and Rebekah may have focused on getting the blessing. But now Esau’s entrance begins the unraveling. The secret cannot remain secret. The counterfeit meal is followed by the real one. The lie is about to meet the truth.
This is why it is better to walk in truth from the beginning. Lies may delay pain, but they do not remove it. Deception may secure an outcome, but it brings exposure. It may silence the moment, but it creates a louder grief later.
There is also a gospel contrast in this verse. Esau comes bringing venison to his father so that he might receive a blessing. Jacob had already brought false venison to receive that blessing by deception. Both brothers, in different ways, are connected to meals and blessing. But Jesus Christ gives us a better picture. He does not come to the Father with a meal to earn blessing for Himself. He gives Himself as the sacrifice so that sinners may receive blessing from the Father.
Esau comes too late with food. Jacob comes falsely with food. Christ comes at the appointed time with His own body and blood. Esau seeks blessing. Jacob steals blessing. Christ purchases blessing. Esau’s hope is shattered. Jacob’s blessing is troubled by guilt and consequences. Christ’s blessing is secure, righteous, and freely given to those who trust in Him.
This verse reminds us that human blessing, when pursued apart from God’s way, becomes filled with sorrow. But in Christ, the blessing of God comes through truth, sacrifice, and grace. We do not have to despise holy things like Esau. We do not have to steal them like Jacob. We are invited to receive them through faith in the true Son.
Genesis 27:31 asks us to examine how we respond to God’s blessings. Do we treat them lightly until we lose them? Do we chase them wrongly because we fear missing them? Do we let appetite, favoritism, or ambition shape our decisions? Do we assume there will always be another chance to value what God calls holy?
Esau enters with savory meat and expectation, but the situation has already changed. The verse leaves us feeling the weight of what is about to be revealed. The blessing has been spoken. Jacob has left. Esau has arrived. The truth is coming into the room.
May we learn not to despise what God calls precious. May we also learn not to grasp through deception what God alone can give. May we value spiritual inheritance more than temporary appetite. May we pursue blessing in truth rather than through sin. And may we look to Christ, the true Son, who gives us the blessing of grace without deception, without delay, and without regret.
If you would like to explore Genesis in a sustained, verse-by-verse way with space to reflect, journal, and trace how these foundational truths unfold through Scripture the Verse by Verse book expands these reflections into a unified reading experience. The book gathers these meditations into a structured journey through Genesis, designed to help readers linger in the text and engage God’s Word more deeply over time.
Comments