So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the LORD your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.
Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,
“See, the smell of my son
is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed!”
Deception is such an evil thing. Manipulating deception for personal gain is worse. Manipulating deception for personal gain and trying to accomplish what God already promised is sinful to its core. In the above passage we read the deception that Jacob and his mother Rebekah conspired against Isaac. Isaac had told his oldest son, Esau, that he was going to give him the blessing of the firstborn. Rebekah, however, remembered this promise from God to her:
Genesis 25:23 (ESV)
And the LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”
Instead of trusting God to work out the details of His own plan, she plotted this deception to fool her husband and trick him into obeying God’s plan. Isaac was so desirous of a good meal he was willingly duped. The mom thought she had to do the plan of God. The dad was so hungry for food he didn’t even think of God’s plan. One son had already sold his birthright and now desired a blessing that was not based upon God’s plan. The other son was willing to deceive his father to get a blessing God planned to give him, but he surely did not merit in his heart. Families are complicated for sure. Here is the beginning of the nation of Israel since Jacob’s name will be change to Israel. It started in deception but God would honor it because of His plan and promises. We can mess things up and have all parties guilty of deception and, yet, God, somehow, turns it out for His glory:
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
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