Found in the FightMuestra

A Cheated Blessing

Jacob has already cheated his way into a new identity by convincing Esau to trade his birthright for supper, and in Genesis 27 we read about his next move to secure his desired position. Despite the prophecy of Genesis 25:23 indicating that the inheritance should pass to Jacob, Isaac plans to give it to Esau. Isaac hides this plan from Rebekah, knowing she favours Jacob. Perhaps Isaac thought Esau more suited to the role of successor. But God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called. God chose Jacob, and Isaac failed to recognise that human ingenuity could never qualify Esau for what God had already pre-ordained for Jacob.

Rebekah eavesdrops on the conversation between Isaac and Esau and sets in motion the scheme for Jacob to dupe his aging father. Jacob only seems concerned about getting caught. Rebekah’s response is effectively, ‘Trust me. I’ve got this. I’ll take one for the team.’ Jacob does everything his mother tells him to do – the goats, the clothes, the fake hairiness. It’s clear Rebekah is the main instigator of the deception. And once it’s all gone down, Rebekah’s final – and tragic – instruction to Jacob is, ‘Run away.’ It’s unlikely they’ll ever see each other again.

Perhaps Jacob justified his actions, thinking, ‘God wants this; I’m claiming what’s rightfully mine.’ But this was an attempt to fulfil God’s good plan, by the human means of greed, deception, blasphemy, and lies. Jacob and Rebekah refused to accept that you can only come to God in your own skin. Today, take time to do the necessary soul search to establish whether or not you’ve ever – consciously or unconsciously – wanted God to bless your ‘avatar’ – the version of yourself you present to the world to fit in, be admired, or gain influence. Your own skin fits you best – no one else’s.

Isaac’s family is blown apart because of Rebekah and Jacob’s conniving. Sadly, although Jacob did get what he wanted (the firstborn inheritance), he ended up losing his home, family, true identity, and peace of mind. In the end, he didn’t really win. Ironically, in Jacob’s quest for identity and security, he ended up losing both.

By circumventing God’s way and refusing to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions, Jacob missed out on seeing God’s faithfulness at work to achieve His purposes. Like Jacob, we need to learn to wait on God to see His purposes revealed. His ways and timing are perfect. He’s not into shortcuts, bartering, or haggling. He doesn’t need our help; He requires our patience. Though it may seem the harder choice in the moment, we’ll never regret trusting an unknown future to a known God. If you’re faced with a significant juncture in your journey, you’ll need to choose either to wrestle with who you are, or to run away – to respond in faith or in fear. Allow Jacob’s story to inspire you to trust God.