God’s promises overcome our attempts at favoritism or deception....

This week, we have been looking at a story that is recorded in the book of Genesis. Wednesday, we looked on as a mother and a son came up with a deceptive plan to counteract a plan of deception by a father and a son. Today, we see mother and son put the plan into action in verse 14:

 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food such as his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. She also gave the savory food and the bread, which she had made, to her son Jacob. Then he came 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. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me." Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?" And he said, "Because the LORD your God caused it to happen to me." Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come close, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not." So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. And he said, "Are you really my son Esau?" And he said, "I am." So he said, "Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son's game, that I may bless you." And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, "Please come close and kiss me, my son."

So Jacob basically lies to his father by claiming to be his older brother Esau and that he had hunted down the game and made the meal that they were about to share. And if that is not bad enough, when questioned about how he was able to be back so quickly from the hunt with the prepared meal, Jacob lies again by saying that God caused it to happen. Jacob uses God as a means to cover up his deception.

However, while Isaac has issues with his vision, he does not have issues with his hearing. Isaac recognizes that the voice is that of Jacob, and questions his true identity. Isaac, confused and conflicted between his lack of sight and what he was hearing and feeling, attempts to use the only other sense to determine who the person who was in front of him really was. Isaac calls his son to come close to him, in order to smell him.

Now imagine yourself as Jacob. Place yourself in his shoes. Would you be nervous? Would you be worried that you would be exposed as you drew close to your father? We see what happens next in verse 27:

 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed; Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine; May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you."

The scent of Esau’s clothes on Jacob’s body provided the deception necessary to convince Isaac that he was speaking to Esau, instead of Jacob. And as the deceptive plan came to completion, Isaac responded by pronouncing a blessing on Jacob. The blessing that Isaac pronounced upon Jacob was comprehensive in both nature and scope.

Isaac prayed that God would bless Jacob with prosperity and with a position of preeminence and prominence over his relatives and over nations, along with protection against those who would insult or oppose him. Instead of bypassing God’s prediction and promises, Isaac had unknowingly fulfilled the prediction and promises that God had proclaimed to Rebekah concerning Jacob and Esau. We see Isaac himself become aware of this reality in the verses that follow, beginning in verse 30:

 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. Then he also made savory food, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me." Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" And he said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, "Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed."

When Moses tells us that Isaac trembled violently, this phrase means that Isaac trembled from panic. You see, Isaac now recognized that he had been deceived. Isaac recognized that he and Esau’s plans had been overcome by an even more deceitful plan. And as a result, even though Jacob had deceived Isaac into giving his blessing to him, Isaac proclaimed that his blessing on Jacob was irrevocable. Isaac had one blessing to give and that blessing had been given.

Now a natural question that arises here is “why was the blessing irrevocable? Why couldn’t Isaac change his mind?” We discover the answer to this question, and see how Esau, who was his father’s favorite, responded to his father’s proclamation, in verse 34:

 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!" And he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing." Then he said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." And he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"

Imagine yourself as Esau. Place yourself in his shoes. When Moses says that Esau cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, he is revealing that Esau was screaming out to his father in desperate despair. You see Esau recognized that his brother had passed him up a second time by deceit. And now Esau was left with no birthright or blessing. Esau was left with nothing. And Esau, who had always been daddy’s favorite, cried out to his father "Bless me, even me also, O my father! Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" We see his father’s response in verse 37:

But Isaac replied to Esau, "Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?" Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." So Esau lifted his voice and wept.

You see, Isaac had deceitfully planned to give his favorite son Esau a blessing that included everything and leave nothing for Jacob. But now, having been deceived himself, Isaac had nothing left for Esau after he had given everything to Jacob. Isaac had actually prayed for God to bless Jacob with the blessing that God had predicted and promised to Rebekah when she was pregnant with the twins.  And Esau, recognizing that his father had nothing left for him, is left to weep with sobs of despair.

You see, a parents blessing is powerful, isn’t it? Parents, our words and our attitudes toward our children weigh a thousand pounds. Parents our words and our attitudes profoundly shape our children. Parents, our children long for our blessing, affirmation, and attention, just as deep down we long for our parents blessing, affirmation, and approval. And parents, when we play favorites when it comes to our children, that favoritism will eats away at our ability to provide a blessing to all of our children. We see this reality revealed for us in verse 39:

 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him, "Behold, away from the fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling, And away from the dew of heaven from above. ⁴⁰ "By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck."

Because Isaac had nothing left for Esau after he had given everything to Jacob, all Isaac could offer Esau was a life devoid of blessing. I mean how can you give something that you had already given away to someone else? Isaac proclaims to Esau that he and his descendants would live as wanderers. In addition Esau and his descendants would be a militant people who would oppose Jacob and his descendant throughout history. Isaac also proclaims to Esau that there would be a day in the future when his descendants would gain independence from Jacob and his descendants.

You see, that’s what happens when there is favoritism. When there is favoritism, the favorite tends to get everything, while everyone else tends to get nothing. Favoritism results in a disproportionate amount of provision, protection, and prosperity for the favorite. And because time and treasure are finite, the result is a lack of provision, protection, and prosperity for everyone else. And where there is favoritism, the result is division and dissension. The division and dissension that destroys families. We see the wake of division and dissension that favoritism leaves in this family as the story concludes:

 So Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob." Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, "Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. "Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban! "Stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury subsides, until your brother's anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?"

As a result of the favoritism and deception of this dysfunctional family, Moses tells us that Esau bore a grudge towards Jacob. And from the animosity that Esau harbored toward Jacob, a plan was formed that would enable Esau to regain the birthright and the blessing that had been deceitfully taken away from him by killing Jacob. Fortunately for Jacob, Rebekah became aware of the plan and responded by sending Jacob on an out of town trip to stay with her brother Laban.

And it would be this out of town trip that would set the stage for the next chapter in God’s story. starting next week, we will spend our time leading up to Christmas looking at how this trip would impact the next chapter of God’s story and human history. In the meantime, it is in this strange story of a very dysfunctional family that we see God reveal for us a timeless truth about God and God’s promises. And that timeless truth is this: God’s promises overcome our attempts at favoritism or deception. Just as it was for Isaac and Rebekah; just as it has been for humanity throughout history; God’s promises overcome our attempts at favoritism or deception. Just as God overcame the favoritism and deception of Isaac and Rebekah to fulfill His promises and plan, God will and does overcome our attempts at favoritism and deception to accomplish His promises and plans.

So here are some questions to consider: Are you attempting to bypass God’s promises and plans by deceptively coming up with your own plan? Are you trying to deceive God or others in a way that ignores God and His promises or plans? Parents, are you playing favorites? Are you playing favorites with your children instead of embracing and celebrating the differences of your children? Are you playing favorites with your children that divide your family instead of finding common ground and cultivating relationships that unite your family?