1. Jacob the Deceiver (Genesis 25:19-34; 27:1-41)
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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James J. Tissot, "The Mess of Pottage" (c.
1896-1902), gouache on board, 21.3 x 26.8 cm, Jewish Museum, New
York. |
We've entered an era that seems so very far removed
from the twenty-first century. How can shepherds and nomads living in
goatskin tents in the arid climes of the Middle East four millennia ago have
any relevance to us? Once we understand the culture a bit, we find that
people haven't changed that much in three or four millennia. The special
factor, however, is God, who reveals himself to these ancients. He is the
One we seek to learn about, the One we seek to know.
"19 This is the account of
Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and
Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the
Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean." (25:19-20)
Abraham -- patriarch of what will become Israel -- has
one legitimate son, Isaac. This son has married his cousin, Rebekah, who
moves from far-away Haran (near the border between Turkey and Iraq), to
Canaan.
Rebekah feels isolated in this new land -- and is
shamefully barren. It is shameful because for a women to be childless in
that culture is to be incapable of performing her primary function -- bearing
children. Failure to produce an heir is a major calamity for the family in
the ancient Near East.
She has a husband who loves her -- that is something!
(24:66). And her husband prays for her.
"Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his
wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife
Rebekah became pregnant." (25:21)
The Lord answers his prayer -- twice over. Rebekah is
pregnant with twins!
"22 The babies jostled each other
within her, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?' So she went to
inquire of the LORD. 23 The LORD said to her,
‘Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.'" (25:21b-23)
Rebecca has heard from the Lord. She is a
spiritual woman.
"24 When the time came for her to
give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to
come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named
him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand
grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when
Rebekah gave birth to them." (25:24-26)
The birth itself is an acted prophecy of the future.
Esau comes out first, red and hairy.1
Jacob follows his brother straightaway. His tiny hand grips2
his brother's heel (‘āqēb) as they pull Esau out, and they have to
pry his little fingers off to free Esau. Jacob is born second, but he is
grasping to be first from the earliest moments of his life. They name him
Jacob (yaʿaqōb),
which means, "he grasps the heel," or figuratively, "he deceives."3
Isaac is sixty when the boys are born. Rebekah is in
her early to mid-thirties by this time. The boys bring great joy into
Isaac's life, especially his firstborn. Esau loves the out-of-doors4
like his dad and they would go hunting together. The boy becomes a skilled5,
renowned hunter, who tracks deer in the wilderness and brings them down with
his bow and arrow. Esau is happiest when he is out hunting in the wild
(25:27a).
Jacob is just the opposite. He is quieter6
and stays around the tents (25:27b). He and his mother Rebekah grow
close, and she helps him understand something of his destiny. No doubt, she
tells him of the prophecy that he will rule over his brother. She implants
the idea, reinforces it, and -- as we'll see -- pushes him to fulfill it.
One day while Esau is out hunting, Jacob is at home
cooking lentil7
stew8
in a pot over the fire. (The KJV calls it "pottage."9).
Esau is exhausted and famished. He craves the red-colored stew. "Quick, let
me have some of that red stew!" He can't wait. This is Jacob's opportunity.
"First, sell10
me your birthright," he says. The "birthright" or "primogeniture" (bekōrâ)
involved the legal rights of the firstborn to a double portion of the
inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:17), plus leadership of the family or clan when
the father died. Esau, the firstborn, is destined to rule over Jacob all his
life -- unless he is foolish enough to part with his legal rights.
"Hey, I'm about to die," replies Esau. "What good is the birthright to
me?"
This exchange tells us a great deal about the character
of both brothers.
Esau betrays his own tendency towards instant
gratification. "I want it now. I can't wait for the future." In so doing, he
bargains away his future options. Jacob, on the other hand, is willing to
deny himself in the present to obtain in the future what he values most.
Each of us faces temptations -- strong temptations -- to get our gratification
now. We want instant pleasure, instant wealth, instant popularity. And for
this we trade away our futures. Jacob is an example of a person who can live
with delayed gratification.
Jacob's motives aren't pure, of course. Esau accuses
him of deceiving (27:36), though Jacob isn't guilty of deception -- this
time. Instead, Jacob takes advantage of Esau's weakness. In a weak moment he
extracts from his brother a binding promise.
"'Swear11
to me first.' So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob."
(25:33)
Could such an inherent right as a birthright be sold or
transferred in this manner? There's no clear precedent, either in ancient
literature or Biblical literature. There is a 15th Century BC text from Nuzi
as a parallel where a man named Tupkitilla transfers his inheritance rights
to a grove over to his brother Kurpazah in exchange for three sheep. While
not parallel in every aspect, it does indicate that one brother could sell
inherited property to another.12
In Ruth 4 we see a legal transaction between Boaz and his relative which
gives Boaz the right to marry Ruth -- and purchase her mother-in-law Naomi's
property. The relative relinquishes his right and formalizes it by taking
off his sandal and giving it to Boaz in the presence of witnesses.
Though Esau sells his birthright on the spur of the
moment in a casual setting, it seems to have been considered binding.
Neither Esau nor Isaac seem to question that Jacob has indeed obtained the
birthright (25:34; 27:35-36).
Is Jacob being honest? Is he being a good businessman?
Do we really get ahead by taking advantage of others' weaknesses and
shortsightedness? Are we obligated to disclose to others their potential
mistakes? How can we love our neighbor as ourselves in business?
Jay Conrad Levinson wrote a whole series of books
beginning with Guerrilla Marketing (1984), based on the hypothesis
that business is war and conflict, and that the little guy can gain
advantage by being smarter, quick on his feet -- and ruthless.
I think Jesus calls us to a higher standard in our
business practices. He would be much more pleased by the "win-win" deal,
than the one that took advantage of the weakness of a brother. His "Golden
Rule" is: "Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Luke 6:31). Jacob
doesn't love his brother as himself.
"Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some
lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised
his birthright." (25:34)
This incident also says a lot about one's value of
spiritual things, if we can consider the birthright in a spiritual as well
as legal light. Esau values stew more than the birthright, while Jacob
values the birthright more than his own integrity. The narrator notes, "So
Esau despised his birthright" (25:34). "Despised" is bāzâ, "to
despise, distain, hold in contempt," with the root meaning, "to accord
little worth to something."13
The author of Hebrews discusses this incident:
"See that no one ... is godless like Esau, who
for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward,
as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He
could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with
tears." (Hebrews 12:15-17)
Indeed, Esau did seek his father's blessing with
tears:
"When Esau heard his father's words, he burst
out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, ‘Bless me -- me
too, my father!'" (27:34)
"‘Do you have only one blessing, my father?
Bless me too, my father!' Then Esau wept aloud." (27:38)
God is merciful and can forgive us of sin, but there
are some doors we forever close for ourselves by our actions, actions that
cannot be undone. This is for us a sobering warning, which speaks directly
to our character and what we value most.
Q1. Why does the New Testament condemn Esau
for selling his birthright? (Hebrews 12:16-17) What did
selling the birthright represent? What does this transaction say
about Esau's character and values? What does it reveal about Jacob's
character and values?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=923
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While Jacob's acquisition of the birthright might have
been strictly legal, his acquisition of his father's blessing is grossly
deceptive and unrighteous on its very face.
Genesis 27:1-40 contains the fascinating but dark story
of conspiracy and fraud. Pause now and read it from your Bible.
Isaac is now about 135 years old, bedridden and nearly
blind. Tent walls are thin. Jacob's mother Rebekah overhears Isaac telling
Esau to hunt some venison and cook it for him, and then receive the formal
father-to-son blessing of the firstborn before Isaac dies.
Rebekah remembers -- though Isaac doesn't seem to -- that
this is all wrong. The Lord had told her "the older will serve the younger"
(25:23).
Now Rebekah takes it upon herself to make the prophecy
happen. She decides that Isaac must not bless Esau. You could argue that
Rebekah is more spiritual than her husband Isaac, in that she remembers
God's word and makes sure that nothing -- not even righteousness and her
husband's will -- will stand in the way of God's will for her favorite son,
Jacob. Call it what you will, what she proposes is pure deceit.
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James J. Tissot, "Jacob Deceives Isaac" (c. 1896-1902), gouache on
board, 16.9 x 25 cm, Jewish Museum, New York. |
Quickly, Rebekah calls her favorite son Jacob. Do what
I say, she says. Trick your father into giving you his blessing rather than
Esau. She comes up with a scheme to trick the old man:
- Prepare a well-cooked meal of domestic livestock -- he'll never
know it wasn't venison.
- Wear Esau's gamy-smelling clothing to make blind Isaac think
he is speaking to Esau. (Isaac has apparently lost his eyesight, but not his
sense of smell.)
- Put goatskin pieces on your arms and neck to simulate Esau's
hairiness. (Can you really fool Isaac with fur? Or was Esau that hairy?)
Jacob is afraid that if his father discovers the
ruse, he will curse him. "Let the curse fall on me," says his mother. "Just
do what I say."
Jacob follows his mother's instructions and thus begins
the deception. Isaac seems to suspect something and asks Jacob directly:
"Are you really my son Esau?"
"I am," Jacob says without hesitation.
Later, when Isaac realizes what has happened, he calls
this deceit. Note the Hebrew play on words in verse 36.
"35 But he said, ‘Your brother came
deceitfully and took your blessing.'
36 Esau said, ‘Isn't he rightly named Jacob (yaʿaqōb)?
He has deceived (ʿāqab)
me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!'"
(27:35-36)
"Deceitfully" (NIV, NRSV), "subtilty" (KJV) in verse 35
is mirmâ, "deceit, treachery," from the verb rāmâ,
"beguile, deceive, mislead."14
Esau remarks that Jacob (whose name means "supplanter, deceiver") has acted
in accordance with his name.
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Q3. (Genesis 27:6-29) God had told Rebekah
that Jacob is supposed to rule over Esau (Genesis 25:23). To what
extent does this excuse her plan to deceive her husband Isaac? How
much responsibility does Jacob bear in the deception?
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And so Isaac blesses Jacob with a blessing Isaac had
intended for the minutes-older twin Esau. It includes:
- Heaven's dew and earth's richness -- an abundance of grain and
new wine
- The subjection of whole nations.
- Priority and superiority over his brothers,
- Protection from the curses of others, and
- To be a source of blessing to others.
The key words that Rebekah had sought for were
spoken:
"Be lord
over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you." (27:29b)
Now Jacob has obtained both the birthright and
the coveted blessing from his father. Jacob has won; Esau has lost.
When Esau returns too late, his father gives him not a
blessing, but a kind of anti-blessing, which is the promise that he will
overthrow his brother's domination at some point (27:39-40).
What kind of blessing is this? It is clear from Isaac's
reaction when he discovers the deception ("violent trembling," 27:33), that
he didn't realize he was pronouncing the blessing on the wrong person.
It becomes clear that this is more than the simple
blessing of a father to a son. It is a kind of spoken prophecy that comes
from the Lord himself, given through Isaac as a spokesman to the person God
intends to bless. We see two additional examples later in Genesis, which
we'll study in detail in Lesson 7.
- Jacob's blessing of Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh
(Genesis 48)
- Jacob's blessing of his twelve sons (Genesis 49)
In each case Jacob prophesies a specific
blessing, speaking of future things that he has no way of knowing except for
God's word in his mouth.
In one sense, Isaac's blessing of Jacob and Esau is
God's, not Isaac's. In that case, I wonder if Rebekah's and Jacob's
deceitful intervention was "necessary," if God would have blessed Jacob in
spite of Isaac's intentions to the contrary? Some of Isaac's blessing of
Jacob might be attributed to a father's good wishes for his firstborn, but
there's more. Isaac's later blessing of Esau includes at least one phrase
that sounds much like prophecy:
"You
will live by the sword
and you will serve your brother.
But when you grow restless,
you will throw his yoke from off your neck." (27:40)
Indeed, Esau later does prevent Jacob from ruling
over him. But Esau does not attempt to subjugate Jacob, even when he had a
chance. We'll explore that further in Lesson 4.
Of course, there's an ethical problem with Rebekah's
and Jacob's deception. If God is a God of truth, then this is the opposite
of truth. It is a sin. It is unrighteous. And though it is quite in keeping
with Jacob's opportunistic and deceptive character so far, it is hardly
worthy of approval -- except perhaps by shrewd people who value expediency
over integrity.
Can God -- does God -- allow sin to be a part of the
working out of his purposes? The surprising answer of Genesis is, "Yes."
Later in Genesis we come to the sordid tale of Joseph's brothers selling him
into slavery out of jealously. After Jacob's death his brother's are
terrified. Listen to Joseph's answer:
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it
for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
(50:20)
Though Joseph's brothers had sold him into
slavery with the basest of motives, and a clear sin against him and against
their father, "God intended it for good...." Does this mean that somehow
Joseph's brothers are innocent, that God made them do it and they had no
choice? No. They were responsible for their sin, just as Judas was
responsible for his sin, even though in his sin he was fulfilling prophecy.
We see human sin and responsibility on the one side and
God working out his plan on the other. Of course, we're getting deep into
things we scarcely understand. We throw around such words as predestination,
foreknowledge, foreordination, and the like, as if we understood them. They
are merely theological constructs to label what we've never experienced
firsthand. Whole churches have been divided over views of God's sovereignty
and man's will. There's no need to re-visit these sorry controversies.
But to be biblical and balanced we must affirm two
seemingly contrary truths:
- God is sovereign
- Man has a free will
Both are somehow true.
"And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose." (Romans 8:28)
In spite of man's evil, God will still work good out of
it and further his plan in spite of it. True, man's evil causes great pain
and suffering, which God does not always shield us from -- nor did he shield
his own Son -- but he will work out his plan.
I struggle against saying about every tragedy, "It must
be God's will." Many times tragedies are the result of man's sin. But I can
affirm that God can work good out of every tragedy. Indeed, he delights in
doing so!
Rebekah loved Jacob, while Isaac loved Esau (25:28).
What trouble this caused! Jacob himself made the same mistake by loving the
sons of his beloved wife Rachel -- Joseph and Benjamin -- to the obvious pain
and jealously of their brothers. Later, David makes a similar mistake to the
ruin of his family.
As parents, we need to learn from this. While we cannot
love our children the same, we must love them equally if we desire a
peaceful household and children whose lives are blessed. Of course, each
child is different and we show our love in different ways to them. Love is
the key.
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Q5. (Genesis 25:28) What happens when your
children sense that you love one child more than another? Did such
discrimination happen to you when you were growing up? If so, how
are you finding healing? How can we as parents love our children
equally but differently?
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We can't leave this passage without looking for a
moment at God's preference of Jacob over Esau. Esau was a descendent of
Abraham, but didn't have the spiritual acuity to appreciate it. Though God
blessed Esau's descendents with nation-status, the country of Edom, they
were subjugated again and again by the sons of Jacob (Israel).
Here we really get into the thick of predestination. In
explaining God's sovereignty in Romans 9:10-13, Paul uses Jacob and Esau as
examples, quoting Malachi:
"‘Was
not Esau Jacob's brother?' the LORD
says.
‘Yet I have loved Jacob,
but Esau I have hated,
and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland
and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.'" (Malachi 1:2-3)
This indicates, says the Apostle Paul, "... that God's
purpose in election might stand: not by works, but by him who calls" (Romans
9:11b-12a). "It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort," Paul
concludes, "but on God's mercy" (Roman 9:16).
God is in ultimate control and we can't do anything
about it. This is hard for us humans. We don't like anyone taking away our
control over our destiny -- not even God!
Did God really love Jacob and hate Esau?
No. God loved them both, but for his plan of redemption, he preferred
Jacob over Esau, and decided to bring the blessings of Abraham to the entire
world through the offspring of Jacob rather than Esau. "Love" and "hate" are
used hyperbolically in place of "prefer" or "show favor" in order to make a
point.
It's pretty obvious that neither Jacob nor Esau had a
sterling character. God didn't chose Jacob over Esau because Jacob was more
righteous. God had a plan in spite of Jacob's character. God works on
Jacob's character and changes it, as we'll see, but God's plan and purpose
for Jacob is not dependent upon Jacob's goodness and worthiness, but on
God's grace and plan.
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While we haven't got all our questions answered, this
passage gives us lots to think about, to grasp insights about character and
personal growth. What have we learned?
- There is hope for flawed people such as us.
- God's choice to bless us is based on his own purposes, not on
ours.
This should give us hope. God has made clear in
the New Testament that he intends to bless us in spite of ourselves, in
spite of our flawed character. He is faithful to us, not for our sakes
alone, but for the sake of Jesus who died for us to redeem us.
Prayer
Father, as the story of Jacob and Esau unfolds, I find
that both of them have deep flaws. When I'm honest, I see deep flaws in
myself. I ask you to heal what is broken in me. And work in me and through
me, not based on my righteousness, but by the mercies of Jesus. In His name,
I pray. Amen.
References
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JesusWalk: Beginning the
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