Genesis 27:37 Daily Devotional & Meaning – What Shall I Do Now Unto Thee, My Son?
- Benjamin Michael Mcgreevy
- Jul 2
- 8 min read
Daily Verses Everyday! Day 147
“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?”
This verse shows the painful finality of Isaac’s blessing. Esau has begged his father, “Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?” But Isaac’s answer reveals that the main covenant blessing has already been given. Isaac does not say, “Do not worry, Esau, I can simply take it back.” He does not say, “Jacob deceived me, so the blessing does not count.” Instead, Isaac says, “Behold, I have made him thy lord.”
Those words must have landed heavily on Esau’s heart. Isaac is telling Esau that Jacob has not merely received a small favor or a private word of encouragement. Jacob has received authority. Isaac has placed Jacob in the position of lordship over Esau and over his brethren. The younger brother has been placed above the older brother. The one Esau accused of supplanting him has now been confirmed as the one who will rule over him.
This is important because it connects directly to what God had already spoken before the twins were born. In Genesis 25:23, the Lord told Rebekah, “The elder shall serve the younger.” Isaac may have tried to bless Esau, but God’s word could not be overturned. Human favoritism could not cancel divine election. Isaac’s intention could not defeat God’s purpose. Even through a painful and sinful situation, the word of the Lord stood firm.
Yet we must be careful here. The fact that God’s word stood firm does not make Jacob’s deception righteous. God had promised that Jacob would be the heir of the covenant line, but Jacob did not need to lie in order for God to be faithful. Rebekah did not need to scheme in order for God to keep His promise. God’s sovereignty does not excuse human sin. God can accomplish His purposes even through human failure, but the failure is still failure. The lie still hurt Isaac. The deception still crushed Esau. The family still fractured.
Isaac continues, “and all his brethren have I given to him for servants.” This strengthens what he has already said. Jacob has not only received personal blessing; he has received family headship. In the ancient world, the blessing of the patriarch carried real weight. It was tied to inheritance, authority, leadership, and the future direction of the family. Isaac is saying that he has already spoken Jacob into the place of dominion. The words have gone out, and they cannot simply be gathered back as if they were never spoken.
There is a sobering lesson here about the power of words. Isaac’s blessing was not a casual sentence. It was not a careless opinion. It was a solemn pronouncement over the future. Once spoken, it had weight. Once given, it carried meaning. This reminds us that words can shape lives. A word spoken in faith can strengthen. A word spoken in anger can wound. A word spoken in deception can fracture trust. A word spoken by a parent can remain in a child’s heart for years.
Isaac then says, “and with corn and wine have I sustained him.” Corn and wine represent provision, abundance, and the fruitfulness of the land. Isaac had blessed Jacob with material prosperity, agricultural blessing, and the sustaining gifts of the earth. Earlier, Isaac had said, “God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine.” Now he repeats the substance of that blessing to Esau. Jacob has been sustained. Jacob has been supplied. Jacob has been blessed with what Esau expected to receive.
This is part of what makes the moment so painful. Esau is not merely hearing that Jacob received a blessing. He is hearing the contents of that blessing repeated back to him. It is like standing outside a house in the cold and hearing someone describe the warmth, food, and inheritance that have just been handed to another. Every phrase Isaac speaks reminds Esau of what he has lost.
Then Isaac asks, “and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?” This question is filled with sorrow. Isaac is not speaking coldly. He still calls Esau “my son.” There is affection in the phrase, but there is also helplessness. Isaac loves Esau, but he cannot undo what has been done. He wants to comfort him, but he cannot give him the covenant blessing that has already been given. He can grieve with him, but he cannot reverse the word that has gone forth.
That phrase, “my son,” makes the verse even heavier. Isaac is not speaking to a stranger. He is speaking to the son he loved. Esau was the son who hunted for him. Esau was the son who prepared the savoury meat. Esau was the son Isaac intended to bless. But now Isaac has to tell him that the blessing has gone to Jacob. The father who wanted to give Esau the blessing must now confess that he cannot.
This is one of the most tragic parts of Genesis 27. Everyone in the family is suffering under the weight of sin and misplaced desire. Isaac favored Esau and tried to bless him despite what God had spoken. Rebekah favored Jacob and chose deception instead of trust. Jacob lied his way into a blessing that God could have given without his deceit. Esau had despised his birthright and now grieves the blessing connected to it. Each person’s failure has contributed to the sorrow of this moment.
Isaac’s question also teaches us that there are some consequences that cannot simply be erased. Forgiveness is real, mercy is real, and God’s grace is greater than sin. But grace does not always remove every earthly consequence. A person may repent of a lie, but the trust broken by that lie may take years to rebuild. A person may regret a choice, but the effects of that choice may still remain. A family may seek healing, but scars may still testify that wounds were once there.
This does not mean God is not merciful. It means sin is serious. We should never treat sin lightly because we believe God can forgive. God can forgive completely, but sin can still damage deeply. Jacob will receive the blessing, but he will not enjoy it without sorrow. He will soon flee from home. He will be separated from his mother. He will later experience deception in his own life. The blessing is real, but the path he took to grasp it brings pain.
Isaac’s words also reveal a turning point in his own heart. Earlier, Isaac seemed determined to bless Esau. He called Esau secretly and told him to bring venison so that his soul might bless him before he died. But after discovering that Jacob had received the blessing, Isaac trembled exceedingly. Now, instead of trying to fight against what happened, Isaac confirms it: “I have made him thy lord.” He seems to recognize that something greater than his own preference has taken place. The blessing stands.
There is a spiritual warning here about resisting the will of God. Isaac knew the family history. He knew the promises given to Abraham. He knew that God had appeared to him and confirmed the covenant. He likely knew the word spoken before the twins were born. Yet his affection for Esau pulled him toward a different outcome. His appetite, preference, and fatherly attachment clouded his obedience. This should humble us. Even godly people can be pulled away from clarity when desire becomes stronger than submission.
Esau’s pain is also a warning about seeking blessing too late and for the wrong reasons. He wants the blessing now, but he had already despised the birthright. He wants the benefits of the covenant, but earlier he treated the covenant privilege as something cheap. His tears are real, but regret is not the same as repentance. Regret grieves what was lost. Repentance grieves the sin that led there and turns back to God.
This verse presses that distinction upon us. Many people mourn consequences without mourning rebellion. They weep over what sin cost them, but not over how sin offended God. Esau’s sorrow is intense, but Scripture later presents him as a warning. Hebrews 12:16-17 describes Esau as a profane person who sold his birthright for one morsel of meat and afterward found no place of repentance, though he sought the blessing carefully with tears. That does not mean tears are meaningless. It means tears alone do not equal a heart surrendered to God.
At the same time, we should not read this verse with pride, as if we are naturally better than Esau. The human heart often wants blessing without surrender. It wants comfort without holiness, inheritance without obedience, and God’s gifts without God Himself. Esau’s grief exposes something common in all of us. We all need God’s mercy because we all have moments where we value immediate satisfaction more than spiritual treasure.
Isaac’s final question, “what shall I do now unto thee, my son?” also points us to the limitations of earthly fathers. Isaac cannot solve Esau’s deepest problem. He cannot manufacture another covenant blessing. He cannot undo the past. He cannot heal the whole wound with one sentence. Earthly fathers, even loving ones, are limited. They may bless, guide, provide, and comfort, but they cannot save.
This makes us look beyond Isaac to the greater Father and beyond Jacob to the greater Son. In Genesis 27, blessing appears scarce, fought over, and seemingly limited to one. Jacob gets it, and Esau is left asking what remains. But in Christ, the blessing of God overflows to all who belong to Him. Jesus is the true Son who does not steal the blessing, but earns it in perfect righteousness. He does not deceive the Father, but obeys the Father. He does not take by disguise, but gives Himself openly at the cross.
Jacob received blessing while dressed like another son. The believer receives blessing because he is clothed in Christ. Jacob came before Isaac pretending to be Esau. The believer comes before God united to Jesus. That is a very different kind of blessing. We do not trick God into accepting us. We are accepted in the Beloved. We do not steal a place at the table. We are invited by grace.
Genesis 27:37 therefore shows both the pain of a blessing wrongly obtained and the certainty of God’s purpose. Isaac’s words confirm that Jacob now stands in the place of covenant authority. Esau stands wounded and asking what remains. The family stands fractured. Yet God’s promise continues forward.
This verse should make us slow to manipulate, slow to deceive, and slow to chase blessing through sinful means. It should make us tremble at the weight of words and the seriousness of spiritual inheritance. It should remind us that God’s will cannot be overthrown, but we can bring needless sorrow into our lives when we refuse to trust Him.
Isaac asks, “what shall I do now unto thee, my son?” In that question, we hear the ache of human limitation. But in the gospel, we hear a greater answer. What can God do for sinners who have lost, failed, lied, grasped, despised, regretted, and wept? He can give Christ. He can give mercy. He can give a blessing that is not stolen, not fragile, and not exhausted. The blessing of Isaac could not be divided in the way Esau wanted, but the blessing of Christ is abundant enough for all who come to Him by faith.
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.
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