WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE TRY TO GET WHAT WE WANT BY DOING WHAT GOD SAYS IS WRONG? For example, we want an A on the exam, but we use the internet on our phone to get answers and cheat. We want relief from our stressful life, but we use addictive substances to feel pleasure. We want our children to obey us, but we use guilt to manipulate them. We want to get the job, but we lie about our abilities. O how important it is for the church to trust God enough to live life God’s way!
Favoritism Divides
Genesis 27:1-17. It is here where we see favoritism on full display. Isaac favored Esau, and Rebekah favored Jacob. These realities frame the choice to ignore God’s revealed plan (“the older will serve the younger”). Rebekah forms a scheme to deceive her husband, out maneuver her son Esau, and secure the blessing for Jacob. The blessing was different from the birthright. The blessing was a declaration about the recipient’s future, family leadership, and inheritance. In this case, it also included the Abrahamic Covenant being passed on to Jacob.
Instead of working together as a family following the one true God, this family allowed personal preferences to motivate their decisions and divide their family unit. In the end, this brought a destructive quality to any peace or harmony that was left in the home. Proverbs 14:12.
Ben Johnson won the 100 meter race and won the Olympic gold in 1988. However, he had to return the medal days later after testing positive for a banned steroid. He achieved the right end by the wrong means!
We will never accomplish God’s purposes by disobeying God’s principles.
Selfishness and favoritism ultimately divides and conquers! We cannot allow personal preferences, selfish desires, or family loyalties replace what is good and right before God. Look at the things we learn from the first 17 verses of this chapter!
Favoritism damages relationships (especially in a family). It will devalue and provoke to wrath the one not favored. It will give entitlement and pride issues to the one favored. As a result, but by the grace of God, these children will grow into adults with mental health struggles needing trauma informed counseling! Things like: believing they are not worthy or too worthy, they are not enough or everyone needs to serve them, they must earn someone’s love or other’s must earn their love, and deep rooted bitterness and anger can all saturate such favored children.
The end does not justify the means. Rebekah only wanted something good and special for her son; however, it required deception, manipulation, and straight forward lies.
Manipulation is not God’s way to receive our wants and needs. Rebekah clearly manipulates Isaac and Jacob. We can see the horror of this scene as we read the account (and can predict the fallout will be immense!). So we need to ask, what about the manipulation in our lives?
Do we only tell half the story to manipulate the truth so they will take our side?
Do we exaggerate our situation to manipulate and gain greater sympathy?
Do we hide information to manipulate a person into making a specific decision?
Do we manipulate through guilt and say things like, “If you loved me, you would do this,” or “I guess I will just have to handle everything myself.”
Do we manipulate by withholding affection or approval?
Do we manipulate by using fear and make others fear the loss of our relationship if they disagree?
Do we manipulate by disguising our real motives? So, we offer to help, but only because we want influence or recognition. Or, do we pretend to agree while working behind the scenes against the person?
Trust God to do things His way. This is the last principle we learn from the first 17 verses of chapter 27. I get it. We all grow impatient and see a faster or better way; however, our way comes with baggage (consequences). God already told Rebekah that Esau would serve Jacob, but she chose to manipulate and embrace sinful choices to make God’s way happen. This brought decades long contention between the two brothers, broke trust with her husband, provoked Esau to wrath, and removed Jacob from her presence for the rest of her life. Her choices were not worth the baggage she was left holding! Have you considered the inevitable consequences rejecting God’s way will bring you?
Deception Destroys
Genesis 27:18-29. Jacob deceived (disguised himself) and lied to his father to obtain the blessing. In fact, Jacob not only wore Esau’s clothing (27:15), and put animal hair on his hands and neck (27:16), but he invoked God’s name as well (27:20).
My wife and I bought backpack suitcases a few years ago. They looked easier to carry and more compact. In the end, we discovered they were too heavy and hurt our backs. The backpacks were not the short cut we had hoped them to be, but we ended up having to carry them anyway!
We have two lessons to glean from these verses. First, listening to the Holy Spirit convicting and convincing us before we make the wrong choice is crucial. I Corinthians 10:13 tells us how God provides a way of escape from temptation, and that way of escape is almost always at the very beginning of temptation (before we start walking on that pathway). Second, doing the wrong thing for the right reason is still the wrong thing. The sinfully obtained blessing can become the burden you never planned on carrying. Do not let the father of lies (Satan; Jn. 8:44) convince you that such sinful choices are worth it! Are you tempted to choose some sinful choices to get what you want? Consider the baggage!
Sin Leaves Scars
Genesis 27:30-46. The consequences for this family’s choices of deception, lies, and cheating are now appearing. Esau’s grief turns to hatred. Jacob flees for his life. Rebekah never sees her son again. God’s purposes continued, but the family endured carrying some very heavy baggage for many years to come. The pain of these consequences was immense!
The Hatfield and McCoy families from the late 1800’s are notorious for their feuds over property, legal decisions, and personal grievances. Such problems lasted for years and were fueled by deep bitterness. It was just two or three people at war with each other. These whole families and extended relatives even got involved!
Up to this point in this family’s life, Esau was the one visibly struggling spiritually (despising his birthright and marrying Hittite women). However, he is far from the only one struggling! The entire family has got some sin problems. The parents struggle with favoritism for a child and conflict in their marriage, and Rebekah and Jacob end up embracing deception and lies. Our choices can cause damage that reaches far beyond ourselves! Look at the immense damage.
Deep wounds will require forgiveness, but forgiveness will not remove the consequences.
Broken trust will be hard to heal and will take time and humility to rebuild the family. It will be about 20 years before these twin brothers will make amends with each other, but they will remain distant!
Hiding from the consequences of sin only delayed the healing process.
A man decided to build a house, but to save money, he chose to cut corners. He used cheaper materials, covered up a few problems, and ignore other warnings. The finished product from the outside looked really nice, but beneath the surface the problems were already weakening the foundation.
Years passed and then cracks began showing up in the drywall and doors would not shut probably. The damage that was hidden years ago was now impossible to ignore! He didn’t want to destroy his house. He just wanted to build it faster and cheaper; however, the shortcuts ended up costing far more than he ever expected!
Rebekah wanted what God had promised for Jacob; however, she just wanted it faster and cheaper. So, instead of trusting God, she took deception shortcuts. They got the blessing AND the consequences that followed their deceiving ways.
We may be able to hide our sin from others for a time (maybe even for years), but we cannot and will not be able to erase the consequences simply by getting what we want.
Church, do not sacrifice your integrity to secure a desired outcome. Trust God enough to do things His way!