Thursday, July 31, 2008
Genesis 27:21-29
21 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." 22 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." 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. 24 "Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "I am," he replied. 25 Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing." Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me." 27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. 28 May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness — an abundance of grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed."
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3 comments:
A father's final blessing seems to have been a huge deal at that time in history. So Jacob may have been motivated for all the right reasons but it's still hard to accept how cunningly he acted in order to completely deceive his father. If a Christian did something like this today, I think he/she would be reprimanded by most everyone, Christians and non-Christians alike. And if he/she claimed to have been motivated in the Lord's name, people's reactions would probably be even more negative.
I think it's very bold and courageous of Jacob to go into his father's room with his brother's clothes and goatskins on his body, knowing he could be cursed until the end of his days if the truth would be revealed.Throughout this scene, Isaac shows a little doubt since the voice sounds like that of Jacob. In verse 24, Isaac asks if he is really Esau.... Without any hesitation, Jacob confirms that he is Esau and his series of cunnings continue....Again as I repeat myself, why did God let that deception happen? In our human eyes, we feel that Jacob deserves a hard punishment for deceiving his father, brother and most importantly the God Almighty who will pour out the blessings to his later generations... Maybe that's the reason why Jacob suffers hardships later, as he is being persecuted by Esau and mistreated by his uncle Laban.
I see something similar to Abraham's story of how he tells some king that his wife was really his sister and then have the king be cursed by God.
I believe God wants us to realize the consequences of our own use of the authority He has given us. In order for us to grow and gain wisdom, perhaps he allows these types of things out of our own free will but uses it to train us.
Even though Christ died for our sins and through our faith we are sinless, the consequence of sin doesn't go away.
This story reminds me again of the accountability we must realize and take from the actions we make.
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