Jacob, Isaac and the lie

[teresannp]

Hello,

We have been doing Bible reading with our kindergarteners. We have read Genesis 27 with Jacob and Rebecca lying to Isaac and getting Esau’s rightful blessing. How can this be explained, that a blessing came out of an evil act?

Thanks and God Bless,

Teresa

 

[Nickkname]

Hello,

We have been doing Bible reading with our kindergarteners. We have read Genesis 27 with Jacob and Rebecca lying to Isaac and getting Esau’s rightful blessing. How can this be explained, that a blessing came out of an evil act?

Thanks and God Bless,

Teresa

Out of evil, God brings forth a greater good. That’s the only explanation I know.

 

[Joysong]

On the surface, I suppose it looked like a blessing. However, Jacob had to flee from Esau who wanted to kill him. Enmity between brothers is not a blessing, do you think?

27: 41 Esau therefore always hated Jacob for the blessing wherewith his father had blessed him: and he said in his heart: The days will come of the mourning of my father, and I will kill my brother Jacob. 42 These things were told to Rebecca: and she sent and called Jacob her son, and said to him: Behold Esau thy brother threateneth to kill thee. 43 Now therefore, my son, hear my voice: arise and flee to Laban my brother to Haran.

It’s interesting that Jacob got his come-up-ins when he went to Laban. In Gen. 29:25, he was tricked in return and given the wrong bride after serving the set number of years to win her. It seems to me that God allowed him to undergo his own trickery so that he might realize his deceit regarding Esau and repent.

 

[Nita]

Hello,

We have been doing Bible reading with our kindergarteners. We have read Genesis 27 with Jacob and Rebecca lying to Isaac and getting Esau’s rightful blessing. How can this be explained, that a blessing came out of an evil act?

Thanks and God Bless,

Teresa

I always find it difficult to explain tough concepts to very young children - and admire those who are able to do it.

I’ll just give my way of looking at it.

First, the lying by Rebecca and Jacob were wrong. It’s true that God had not yet given the Ten Commandments (Moses wasn’t born till a few hundred years later), but lying is one of those human acts that we know from natural law is not good.

God did want the blessing to go to Jacob. If it would have been against His Divine will (that is, if He had wanted Esau to have it) He would have intervened in some way to prevent it.

**God does not take away our free will **- even when we use it to make choices contrary to His will (eg to lie). Because the consequences of their lies would not irrevocably thwart His Divine will regarding who He intended should receive the blessing, God did not intervene in some way to prevent the lies from being told. Neither did He intervene in some way to prevent Isaac from being deceived, or once deceived, intervene to prevent him from actually bestowing the blessing. (To clarify what I mean here, I’ll give an example. Let’s assume it was God’s Divine will that the blessing should have gone to Esau instead of Jacob. Then, God would have intervened in some way to prevent it from ever being bestowed on Jacob. Just a couple examples of possible interventions: He could of course have Jacob die; or He could have intervened in some way to have Isaac recognize that it was in fact someone other than Esau. One can imagine quite a few different ways that God could have intervened without ever violating the free will of any involved.)

Now, that’s my way of understanding it. But I wouldn’t know how to put it in “kindergartenese”.

Nita

 

[tobinatorstark]

Haydock Bible Commentary on Genesis Chapter 27
haydock1859.tripod.com/id354.html

 

[Joe_Kelley]

On the surface, I suppose it looked like a blessing. However, Jacob had to flee from Esau who wanted to kill him. Enmity between brothers is not a blessing, do you think?

It’s interesting that Jacob got his come-up-ins when he went to Laban. In Gen. 29:25, he was tricked in return and given the wrong bride after serving the set number of years to win her. It seems to me that God allowed him to undergo his own trickery so that he might realize his deceit regarding Esau and repent.

A Jewish friend pointed out that he was tricked again by his sons when they faked Joseph’s death.

 

[Fidelis]

In addition to what others have already said, keep in mind that just because we read in the Scriptures (usually the Old Testament) that a certain character did such and thus, that does not mean that what they did is endorsed by God. In other words, if we read that Jacob lied to get the birthright, that doesn’t mean the Bible endorses lying; it is simply reporting the fact and leaving it up to us to read on and see what became of this lie. As others have pointed out, even though God is always able to work his plans despite our wickedness, the bad action of people in the Scriptures always results in eventual grief or misfortune for those who performed them. In the above case, Jacob had to flee the land and he and his beloved mother Rebecca, whos only two sons were estranged from each other for the rest of her life, never saw each other again.

A similar thing can be said about the apparent practice of polygamy or concubinage by people like Abraham and that same Jacob. Though the Scripture mentions it without comment, it is clear that because of these unions that were against the natural law of God, conflict and grief never left their homes because of it.

All you have to do is read The Rest of The Story.

 

[Mintaka]

You can tell the kids right off that Jacob is making trouble for himself, and then you can show them how the trouble continues down the years again and again, even after he’s dead. God does forgive Jacob, but the effects of his sin continue.

 

[Angelos]

Jacob was deceived by his wife, his wife’s father, and by his sons. Jacob sinned when he played a tricky game on his father. However, his intention was not altogether evil as his deceitful act represented his zeal for God and he had to struggle throughout his life.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Jacob was deceived by his wife, his wife’s father, and by his sons. Jacob sinned when he played a tricky game on his father. However, his intention was not altogether evil as his deceitful act represented his zeal for God and he had to struggle throughout his life.

As I recall that is called *Situation Ethics. *Loosely defined as fearing that God can’t handle the situation; so one bends the rules to help Him out. It seems to have been endemic in the family. Note his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac, passing their wives off as their sisters - Genesis 12:10-20 and Genesis 26:1-11.

 

[Angelos]

As I recall that is called *Situation Ethics. *Loosely defined as fearing that God can’t handle the situation; so one bends the rules to help Him out. It seems to have been endemic in the family. Note his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac, passing their wives off as their sisters - Genesis 12:10-20 and Genesis 26:1-11.

I partly agree with that definition, but think that what Abraham and Isaac did (repeated the same incident) aimed to foreshadow the things to occur many years later in Egypt at the time of Moses.

There are remarkable similarities between Abraham and Moses with regard to visiting Egypt and confronting the Pharaoh.

**1)Abraham gets access to the Pharaoh’s house only by making himself pass as his wife’s brother for the fear that he would be killed if known as a husband. Moses gets access to the Pharaoh’s house when he is saved from death and adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter. (he meets the Pharaoh as someone else than a Hebrew infant)
**
2) God judges and punishes Egypt because of their Pharaoh and closes the wombs of all Egyptian women when the Pharaoh wants to have Abraham’s wife and not let her go. The same God judges and punishes Egypt because of their Pharaoh and kills the firstborn children of all Egyptians when the Pharaoh does not let Moses and his folk leave the land.

.

 

[Muzhik]

Excuse me, but didn’t Esau SELL his birthright to Jacob? Selling his birthright for a bowl of pottage? So I don’t see Jacob and Rebecca as lying or stealing to get what was now rightfully Jacob’s.

If their family dynamics were anything like mine, I’ll bet if Jacob had gone to Isaac and told him that Esau sold his birthright, and didn’t just sell but swore an oath to G_D that he did sell his birthright for a bowl of pottage, Isaac might have said, “Oh, no, he didn’t!”

On the other hand, G_D might have told Isaac to say, “Well, too bad for Esau.” Both Jacob and Rebecca suffered a lack of faith that G_D would respect oaths made to Him, and command Isaac to honor Esau’s oath. This trickery was how they showed their lack of faith.

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[Nita]

Excuse me, but didn’t Esau SELL his birthright to Jacob? Selling his birthright for a bowl of pottage? So I don’t see Jacob and Rebecca as lying or stealing to get what was now rightfully Jacob’s.

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The birthright and the blessing were two separate things.

Gen 27:36 Esau 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.”

 

[Muzhik]

The birthright and the blessing were two separate things.

Gen 27:36 Esau 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.”

I always thought the blessing was the confirmation of the birthright. Esau sold his birthright, so Jacob rightfully took the blessing.

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[Nita]

I always thought the blessing was the confirmation of the birthright. Esau sold his birthright, so Jacob rightfully took the blessing.

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The Genesis passage doesn’t give that sense.
Also, there would have been no need for deception if the blessing rightfully belonged to Jacob after he got Esau’s birthright.
[If the blessing automatically went to the one holding the birthright, all Jacob would have had to do was remind Isaac (or tell him if he didn’t yet know) that Esau had sold him the birthright.]

Nita

 

[joecap]

You can tell the kids right off that Jacob is making trouble for himself, and then you can show them how the trouble continues down the years again and again, even after he’s dead. God does forgive Jacob, but the effects of his sin continue.

This is true.
I believe it was one of Jacob’s grandsons (Onan, son of Judah) who was destroyed by God for spilling his seed.