The Book of Genesis
Part 51
Family Favours and Frauds
Chapter 27:1-40
There is a great change in Isaac and Rebekah since the time of their marriage. On that occasion we read, “And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death” (Gen. 24: 67). Domestic disagreement has developed, and the home is torn by paternal and maternal partialities. How unfortunate that the boys which God had given them should become the cause of discord between Isaac and Rebekah!
Obviously there is more in connection with this story of deception than appears on the surface. Let us submit the entire matter to careful scrutiny.
The Will of God
It was an extremely happy day when in the childless home of Isaac the twins were born. Isaac had in-treated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren (Gen. 25:21), and God had blessed the household with two boys.
Shortly before the babies were born, Rebekah enquired of the Lord about them, and received the reply, “Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger” (Gen. 25:23). When the boys were born, Esau was the elder and Jacob the younger. Consequently, in the natural course of events the birthright and the patriarchal blessing both belonged to Esau, but God had prophesied otherwise. To this divine predetermination the Holy Spirit further bares record, “When Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; … It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Rom. 9:10-13).
From before they were born, the will of God concerning the boys was known by the parents. When there was yet no ground for making any difference, God had distinguished between them. The ordinary basis upon which either could be preferred was that of priority of birth, but this was disregarded by the Lord; Esau was rejected and Jacob made heir of the Abrahamic promises.
The Will of Man
One wonders why Isaac, in possession of such a knowledge of God’s purposes, should propose to bless Esau. It is impossible to acquit Jacob of deception and intrigue; nevertheless, it is clear that, while on the one hand God had spoken, on the other, Esau had shown complete indifference to spiritual values; moreover, he had forfeited his claim to the blessing by marrying Canaanitish women. How, then, Isaac could disregard the Word of God and the evil tendencies of Esau and make preparation to bless him whom God had not blessed, is a matter that baffles the student.
This domestic conflict within the ancient household arose from carnal zeal, the father attempting to follow the course of nature, and the mother engaging in evil that good might come, the blessing upon her favourite son.
From that day until now similar conflicts have disrupted many a home and many a Christian congregation. The flesh is as ready to carry out the Word of God in its own way as it is to directly thwart the will of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6). “He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption” (Gal. 6:8).
Isaac would be approximately 135 years of age at the time referred to in this account, and, no doubt, the condition of his eyes was the result of old age. Furthermore, ophthalmia, an inflamation of the eyes, was very common in the East. His impaired vision made him, therefore, the more susceptible to the deception.
The Wiles of the Flesh
We are forced to question the sincerity of Isaac’s statement, “Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death,” for he lived at least another 40 years (Gen. 35:27-29). There lurks the suspicion that Isaac, at long last, to gratify himself asserted his own will and determined to honour his ill-deserving firstborn. He would feast himself, and then favour his son; therefore, he instructed Esau, “Make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die” (Gen. 27:4).
“God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent” (1 Sam. 15:29). The Lord would have to interfere in this matter for Esau was not His choice, the heir of God’s promises. The purposes of God are yea and amen. The whole matter would have resolved itself properly according to the word of prophecy had Rebekah entrusted it to the Lord. Alas, how dark are the ways of unbelief! How rash the acts of impatience!
The Wickedness of Duplicity
Jacob, we admit, manifested a keener sense of spiritual values than Esau and had a deeper desire to walk in the traditional ways of his predecessors, but his means of securing the blessing from his father cannot be justified. We might have challenged him, “Shall we do evil that good may come?” “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” “Does the end really justify the means?”
The mother’s scheme: After overhearing the suggestion of Isaac to Esau, and knowing that considerable time would be necessary for the hunting and the preparing of the savoury dish, she conceived a plot devoid of all rectitude and honesty. With Jacob’s help she would prepare the savoury meal. She would take Esau’s best clothes, not those he used in hunting, and in order that the smell of the great out-of-doors appeal to Isaac, she would probably lay them among the herbs that grew near-by. After the skin of the kid had been put on the exposed parts of Jacob’s body, she would place on him the garments of Esau. Rebekah’s plot was to deceive her husband by feeling, fragrance, and food. In the fraudulent act her future meant nothing to her, that of her son was paramount. She was willing to assume all loss if only he could secure the blessing. Propriety and honesty were set aside, and her behaviour became most unethical. Both she and her son, Jacob, were later to learn that “God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Years of suffering and separation formed part of the carnal sowing.
The son’s subtlety: There was only one deterrent in Jacob’s heart, fear, the fear of being discovered. The wickedness of the whole plan did not seem to disturb his conscience. In him there does not appear any revulsion to the crafty duplicity of the entire idea.