Hebrews 11:20 NIVUK
[20] By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. https://bible.com/bible/113/heb.11.20.NIVUK
There us little doubt that this is quite an unusual text.
It is a one line commentary on Genesis 27:1-40.
Now, I am a fan of sport. I have often seen supporters of teams that have been thrashed 4-0 or 5-0 at football rationalise their failure by saying that most of the goals were not legitimate, or that the referee is biased, even though the result speaks for itself. I am therefore fully aware that two people can have a thoroughly different perspective on the same event.
But this seems to be quite removed from the event that actually happened.
Another similar situation is in 1 Samuel 21:10-15, where David runs away from Saul to the Philistine King Achish in Gath and is outed as one of his nation’s most legendary soldiers, so he pretends to be insane so he can escape.
Yet in Psalm 34, which is written about this incident (Abimelek was an ancient title for the Philistine kings) we see these words:
Psalms 34:1-6 NIV
[1] I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. [2] I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. [3] Glorify the Lord with me: let us exalt his name together. [4] I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. [5] Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. [6] This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. https://bible.com/bible/113/psa.34.1-6.NIVUK
But it doesn’t seem like the Lord saved David at all – it seems like it was his own trickery and chicanery that got him out of Gath in one piece.
This creates for us a massive ethical conundrum. Jacob was clearly a conman. In fact, the ancient Hebrew idiom of someone who ‘grasps the heel (meaning ‘he deceives’ – see Genesis 25:26) appears to have been created for and because of Jacob. Likewise, David pulled a massive con trick on Achish.
So does God support con tricks, deceit and chicanery?
In Culiacan, Sinaloa State in Mexico, people come from far and wide to worship at the shrine of a so-called ‘Narco-Saint’ Jesus Malverde – a kind-of Mexican Robin Hood – and pray for his protection of their evil plans.
But these verses appear to go further. They appear to show God at least taking the credit for a con trick.
What exactly is going on here?
We must start firstly by understanding the setting. That is: who are the main characters? Where are they? What are they doing? When are they doing it?
There are four characters in this little family vignette.
We have Isaac and his wife Rebekah. Isaac is a quiet chap. The only feat of faith we heat about up to this point was his obedience to his father Abraham on Mount Moriah, when Abraham almost sacrificed him (Genesis 22:6-12).
That’s it. Nothing else.
His whole life.
The book of Genesis is largely silent about most of it.
It’s almost Isaac is the quiet man of the Patriarchs.
By the time we reach this event, he is old, partially sighted and approaching death, having lived what seems to be a relatively anonymous existence.
His wife Rebekah is really known for one ‘feat of faith’ and one only: leaving her home in Harran (south-eastern Turkey) to marry an unknown rich bloke from a distant branch of her family (Isaac – see Genesis 24).
And that’s it.
Nothing more.
Then she bore twins: Jacob and Esau.
Two very different men.
Esau was a ‘man’s man’: rough and ready, instinctive and impulsive, a game hunter. He was his father’s favourite.
Jacob, on the other hand, was a seemingly thoughtful, gentle man, like his father, but in reality was a confidence-trickster and conman who wasn’t afraid to exploit other people’s weaknesses – including those of his own brother, whom he tricked out of his birthright as firstborn (Genesis 25:29-34).
So yet again, we see dysfunction at the heart of the family of the Patriarchs.
But that might well bring us some comfort and reassurance.
What follows next appears to be the antithesis of faith, because we move on from the setting to the swindle.
This is it. The heist is on.
Isaac is dying. As is traditional among the people of the day, Isaac wants to bless his sons before he passes – in particular his firstborn and favoured son, Esau. Whether or not this is to reset the balance from Esau’s earlier capitulation of his firstborn rights in exchange for a bowl of stew, we don’t know. All we know is that an infirm, elderly and blind man wants to bless his son.
And this is where the con comes in. On hearing this, Rebekah wants Jacob to receive this blessing. And so, together with her younger son, she concocts a ruse where he will dress up as his older brother and obtains his blessing through fraud and deception (Genesis 27:1-41).
This is a mess. There is just no other word for it.
Bad blood is generated between Jacob and Esau that lasts for years.
Generations later, their descendants will even go to war against each other to sacrifice Him for you, is it right to hold anything back from Him?
So yes, this is a timely reminder that parents should never play favourites.
But it is much more than that.
You see, its entry in the Hall of Faith might seem odd to say the least. Isaac has essentially been conned.
So how on earth can his words be said to come from faith?
That leads us from the setting and the swindle to the spiritual reality.
And this really is quite something.
You see, later on the Bible has some really striking words to say about Jacob and Esau:
Malachi 1:2-5 NIV
[2] ‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord. ‘But you ask, “How have you loved us?” ‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the Lord. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, [3] but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.’ [4] Edom may say, ‘Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.’ But this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. [5] You will see it with your own eyes and say, “Great is the Lord – even beyond the borders of Israel!”
This prophecy came true. After all, here is a reason why we don’t see representation of the land of Edom in the Olympics or the World Cup – Edom no longer exists as a nation. Its territory is part of Jordan now. In fact, if you head to the ancient city of Petra – which is quite a sight – this city is in what used to be Edomite territory and was occupied by Edomite tribes.
These verses may be a reaction to the way the Edomites reacted to the misfortune of their Jewish cousins when they were taken into exile – the Edomites took bitter revenge on them when they were at their lowest (Ezekiel 25:12-14; Amos 1:11-12).
But interestingly, elsewhere in the Bible, this verse is quoted to show God’s sovereign election in choosing Jacob’s branch of the family to work out His plan of salvation and not Esau’s (Romans 9:6-29).
So although it is very difficult to comprehend, it seems that God had already decided for Jacob to receive the rich blessing of participating in His salvation plan, and not Esau. Therefore the con trick pulled by Rebekah and Jacob, although neither commanded nor prompted by God, worked out His will.
There is another example of this later on, in the life of Joseph:
Genesis 50:20 NIVUK
[20] You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
What this does not mean is that we can live any way we like and do whatever we like to whomever we like, because God will work it all out anyway.
Far from it.
Instead, this gives me tremendous comfort, that no matter the intentions of other people, God is always working His purposes out and His purposes are always good (Romans 8:28), and unstoppable.
But that doesn’t answer the question of how this event came to be mentioned in the Hall of Faith.
The reason is simple. Isaac planned the correct blessing. He just planned to give it to the wrong person.
Jacob himself appeared to have learned from this when he blessed Joseph’s sons (Genesis 48:1-20).
But what these verses teach us, more than anything else, is that God is working His purposes out no matter what, even when people of faith don’t always get it right.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You that even when I get it wrong, I can’t thwart Your plans. Help me to listen to You more carefully and follow You more closely, I pray. Amen.
Questions
1. What was Isaac’s intention? Why was it thwarted with a con job? What was Rebekah’s intention?
2. What was God’s will in all of this? Does that mean that God supports deception? Why / why not?
3. What can we learn from this unusual event?
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