At a first reading, I thought Jacob, the second born of Isaac and Rebecca, was a spoiled brat and something of a momma's boy. It even says in Genesis 27: 28 that Rebecca preferred Jacob while her husband Isaac preferred Esau--Esau and Jacob were twins, with Esau being born first while Jacob was "born holding on tightly" to his brother's heel.
Jacob tricks Esau into giving up his first-born rights in Genesis 27:31-33.
Then in Genesis 27, the entire chapter is devoted to the exchange between Isaac and Jacob, and then Isaac and Esau. Isaac told Esau to kill an animal and cook a great meal for him, and then he would give Esau his final blessing before he died. Rebecca, overhearing this, prepared a meal and had Jacob pose as his brother to receive the final blessing.
After Jacob received the blessing, and Esau arrived and spoke with his father, Esau was outraged at what Jacob had done. Isaac told Esau that he already blessed Jacob into being the master of Esau--rather deceitfully, I might add.
In the end, Jacob runs off to another land to find a wife, leaving Esau to "cool off" over what his brother had done. In Genesis 28, Jacob dreams about a ladder leading up to Heaven, the ladder filled with angels, and the Lord God said to He would protect him and all of his people. This is the famous Jacob's Ladder. Jacob then blessed the spot and calls it Bethel, and says, "I will give you a tenth of everything you give me."
In the beginning of this tale, before the birth of Esau and Jacob, Rebecca is told by the Lord: "Two nations are within you; You will give birth to two rival peoples, One will be stronger than the other; The older will serve the younger." This last line sums up and erases everything I originally thought. Rebecca knew that Jacob would be the one to rule the people, not Esau. That is why everything was done for Jacob, to help fulfill his destiny.
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