How is Jacob deceiving Isaac to think he was Esau okay?

[Dan_Defender]

Like others have said, it is not only Jacob, but others like Moses and David, that sinned in the beginning. Bottom line: it is not important how you start but how you finish.
St Ambrose told Emperor Theodosius regarding King David: ‘You have followed him in sin, now follow him in repentance’.

 

[francisca.chapter3]

The story of Jacob going along with his mothers plot and deceiving Isaac into thinking he is Esau has always troubled me.
How are his actions justified? It seems like a heinous sin that he would do that to his brother and yet God doesn’t seem to mind? It almost is like teaching us to use deception to get ahead. How is this okay?

It shows:

1. God respects consent/ agreement among humans.
2. Our faith is about fulfillment of ones promise/ vow/ any form of agreement
3. Firstborn right was takenaway from the person who look down on his own words (Esau), and be given to the one who knows the importance of a promise (Jacob)
4. Jacob stole the firstborn blessings because he fully believed in the importamce of such blessings.
5. Esau traded such important right with a bowl of soup shows he didn’t deserve such a right. He got his blessings stollen because his brother more resolute to get it.

This is not about stealing a possession. There was no tangible things stolen. This is about two people with two believe systems. Which one of those two wins God’s respect.

As I have said in the past, the core of christian teaching is not about morality. It’s more about the law and forgiveness.

 

[francisca.chapter3]

I’d like to add that in the continuation of the story, Jacob later tried to make peace with Esau. This is “moral Jacob”. Jacob who stole God’s blessings was “Jacob who believed”. I know it’s a weird story. But through this story we undrestand the difference between a person who 100% resolute to get God’s blessings versus any “moral” person who was lukewarm in his believe.

Moral teaching is good at human level, but it cannot explain some of God’s actions in the bible. Because God is not under any moral teaching. We assume God’s choices is always moral, but due to our lack of understanding, it appears immoral. God reveal himself through His word. His word is a promise. He works through His law. And His mercy. Through this revelation, we understand God: His Justice & His Mercy reveal His ways to our limited understanding about who/ what/ why God is.

For example: Jacob did not steal any tangible or intangible things. He stole blessings. For us, we see it as if it is immoral, because we see now how God favor Jacob because of the blessings. But at the time it was something that was not really there: it was something could be seen only by the eyes of faith.

 

[mythbuster1]

It was on account of these very sins that the Angel of the Lord confronted him before he reconciled with Esau. Even as a victim of his uncle Laban’s greedy schemes, Jacob lived deceptively. He became the devout patriarch we venerate only after receiving the name “Israel” which he received for contending with the Angel of the Lord to receive His blessing. Indeed, the name “Jacob” means “Supplanter,” as in “He who will usurp Esau’s birthright.”