A Cheater and a Liar

A Cheat and a Liar

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!”

Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son…Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”

Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”

Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank.

After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting…Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

-Sections of Genesis 25 and 27

Passages like this can be hard and confusing to read. After all, this is Jacob. As in, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is a “hero” of the Bible, yet we see here that he cajoled and cheated his brother out of both his birthright and his blessing.

To be sure, Esau isn’t blameless here either. He sells his birthright for meal and the Bible says “Esau despised his birthright.” Yet, it’s Jacob’s behavior that is most concerning. Jacob isn’t done here, either. He will continue a pattern of bad behavior for quite a while, but he will also grow and God will work on him over time.

There’s another pattern that we’ll see in the Bible. God will continue to work through people who have moral failings as He works out His plan of redemption. Sure, Jacob isn’t perfect, but God still works through Him, continues to fulfill His covenant with Abraham, and continues to bring about the salvation of the world. Of course, if God didn’t work through sinful people, He would have no one to work through. We all sin.

The pattern is one of God’s faithfulness in the midst of our unfaithfulness. I find it reassuring as I read through stories like Jacob and Esau. If God is willing to work with Jacob, then He can work with me. Even in Genesis we see what kind of God we have, a God who loves sinners.

Dear Jesus,

You ate with sinners. You love and died for sinners. Your Father also loves sinners. Thank you for loving me, a sinner, and dying for me. I pray that You would work in my life that through me others would come to know Your salvation.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

You can read the full story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis Chapters 25, 27-32. Click here to read it.