Genesis 27:17-24
Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have
done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may
give me your blessing.”
Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my
son?”
“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.
Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my
son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and
said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He
did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau;
so he proceeded to bless him. “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“I am,” he replied.
Comments
Jacob was his mother’s favorite son and she was determined
he should have his father’s blessing rather than Esau. The plan to steal the
blessing intended for Esau was his mother’s, but Jacob’s lies played a central
role in it.
This is a troubling story because the liar is rewarded for
his blatant lies. Scripture gives no explanation as to why God would allow such
a thing to happen.
When asked how he so quickly killed and cooked meat for his
father, Jacob replied, “The Lord your God gave me success.” In this case, Jacob’s
lie was truer than he imagined because it was ultimately God who allowed Jacob’s
deception to succeed in fulfillment of the prophecy given to Rebekah about her
two sons.
Reflections
Jacob tells his father “your God” gave me success; he did
not speak here of “our God” or “my God.” Was there a point at which the God of
your parents became your God as well and faith became something you discovered
for yourself? In what way did your parents’ view of God shape your own?
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