Jacob - Pt. 3

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the LORD before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.” (Genesis 27:1-13 ESV).

 

Today’s story brings us to a decisive moment in Jacob’s life. Isaac has grown old, and he is nearly blind. And now he intends to pass along his blessing to Esau as the firstborn, including special blessings and promises from God. So Jacob is spurred to action by his mother. Jacob rightly senses the potential for disaster: What if his mother’s plan doesn’t work? What if his father discovers the lie? But Jacob goes along with the plot anyway, and the result will be painful for everyone.

 

However there is a great lesson to be learned from the bad example of Rebekah. It leads us to the answer of whether a person can really scheme their way into God’s gifts of prosperity, success, and honor. It is the preeminent example of what is wrong with the prosperity gospel so popular today. Despite his misgivings, Jacob is willing to try. But he is not the only one. We too can ignore our conscience when we think that maybe our best bet is to cut corners, to stretch the truth, or to subtly undermine others. Like Jacob, our main concern is often only that we should get what we want, no matter how we go about it. But the Bible reminds us that the blessing of a relationship with God cannot be gained by manipulation. Honor and prosperity in God’s sight can only be a gift. All other efforts will set us on a painful course until we learn to live by grace through the Lord’s work.