Genesis 27:1-29 NKJV
27 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”
And he answered him, “Here I am.”
2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”
13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.”
And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”
20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”
And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”
21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.
24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”
He said, “I am.”
25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
“Surely, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field
Which the Lord has blessed.
28 Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth,
And plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brethren,
And let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
And blessed be those who bless you!”
While we may focus on Rebekah and Jacob’s deception of Isaac, we must not fail to understand how Isaac and Esau are sinning as well. The Lord had promised Jacob preeminence over Esau while they were both in the womb. Later, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a meal. Despite these things, Isaac worked to get Esau the blessing that God had promised for Jacob in the womb and which Esau had forfeited. Rebekah and Jacob, on the other hand, conspired to obtain for Jacob what God had promised him while in the womb and which Esau had forfeited.
It is easy to learn the wrong lesson from this episode of Jacob’s life. The wrong lesson is that God is okay with lying and deceiving if done for a godly purpose. What Rebekah and Jacob did was wrong, and the fact that God does not condemn them should not be seen as divine approval of deception, especially lying and deceiving by God’s name. In fact, Jacob will undergo divine discipline in faith and godliness in Padan-Aram.
The lesson the Holy Spirit wants to teach us in this text is that even when sinful men and women work against God’s word and try to fulfil their own plans, or try to work it out themselves, God uses their schemes to fulfil His word. It isn’t God’s will that Jacob lies and deceives his father. But God foresaw Isaac’s attempt to divert the blessing to Esau and Rebekah’s response and determined from eternity to use both to fulfill His word.
God has given believers many promises in Scripture. Christ Jesus promises to be with us always, even to the end of the age. He promises that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church. God the Father promises the Holy Spirit to all who ask so that they may walk in faith and godliness. God, who has begun a good work in you, promises to complete ituntil the day of Jesus Christ. The devil, the world, and wicked men work to thwart God’s promises. But God has foreseen all this from eternity, set a boundary to their wickedness and determined how He would use all things for the good of those who love Him. Trusting God to fulfill all His promises, we put off lying and speak the truth in love to those around us.
Let us pray: We give You thanks, heavenly Father, for working all things for our eternal good. Amen.