Gen. 27:30-40. Isaac discovered the terrible deception of his wife and younger son when Esau arrived to be blessed. He trembled violently, enraged no doubt by the duplicity that had duped him. There was no way that Isaac could backtrack and change the situation.
Although Esau tried to shift the blame to Jacob of the loss of his inheritance, he was also at fault. He did not take any of the blame upon himself, although in his cavalier attitude toward the inheritance, he too had been culpable in its loss.
Gen. 27: 41-28:22. In order to protect Jacob from Esau’s rage and expected revenge, Isaac and Rebekah prepared to send him to his Uncle Laban. Rebekah and Isaac had a second reason for wanting to send Jacob to Uncle Laban. They wanted to make sure that he would select a wife from his own people. Isaac and Rebekah had suffered from the intermarriages Esau had made with neighbouring tribespeople and they didn’t want Jacob, the inheritor of the Abrahamic covenant, to marry in the wrong circles. Before sending him off, Isaac again blessed Jacob, this time calling on the name of God Almighty to bestow Abraham’s blessing on Jacob.
Esau reacted to the news of Jacob’s being sent to look for a wife from the extended family by marrying a woman from Ishmael’s tribe. Was he trying to curry favour with his parents? Was he trying to improve a bad situation? Whatever his motives, he dismally failed, since a wife from Ishmael’s family would hardly have been welcomed any more warmly than his previous wives had been welcomed by his parents. I can’t help but feel sorry for Esau who seemed to flounder at every step.
Meanwhile, Jacob on his arduous journey to Laban had an amazing dream of a ladder to heaven and a visitation from God Himself. God came to Jacob with his angels—God’s servant messengers. At a time when Jacob felt particularly lonely and vulnerable, the stairway to heaven would surely have communicated to Jacob that he had access to God’s power and help. At this point in time, God initialized his covenant with Jacob, assured Jacob of his place in the Abrahamic line and also assured him that God would protect and care for him. God enumerated the blessings that Jacob would receive: (1) A relationship with “the God of your forefathers”; (2) land; (3) numerous descendants; (4) they would be a blessing to all the earth; (5) divine protection; and (6) the fulfilment of God’s will in Jacob’s life. It didn’t matter that Jacob had been duplicitous and undeserving; God showed his mercy toward Jacob and affirmed His plans for Jacob.
Jacob’s response to this dramatic incident was: “Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it.” How many times has God been present and actively working, but I have not been aware of His presence and action? Jacob may have been on the run for his life, lonely, and seemingly unprotected, but God was there all the time, actively working out His purposes in Jacob’s life.
Two lessons stand out in this riveting story. First, I am reminded of the strand of God’s mercy and grace that continues throughout Scripture. We do not deserve God’s mercy anymore than Jacob did, but He wants to shower it on us. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Second, I am reminded that, although I may not immediately see the results of God’s action, He is at work in my life, bringing His purposes for me to completion. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
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