The Jacob Epiphany

I am often amazed at the epiphanies which occur at Bible college.  I shouldn't be.  In my heart, I know that I do not really know my Bible and that there is so much more to discover. Yet, in my head I think that I do know enough of the basics so that my paradigm will remain un-shifted.

Today*, my paradigm was not only shifted, it was thrown out the window of a speeding train.

Jacob.  We all know the story.  Abraham and Sarah had a miracle-son named Isaac; Isaac married Rebekah; Rebekah conceived after Isaac prayed for her.  She soon discovered (through a revelation from the Lord) that she was pregnant with twins.  When the time came, out came Esau with Jacob clutching onto his heel.

The boys grow up.  Esau comes home one day and is starving, so he asks Jacob for some stew.  Jacob offers to give him some stew if Esau will sell him his birthright.  Esau agrees.  Time passes, we don't know how much time, and the time comes for Isaac to bestow the blessings before he passes.  Rebekah talks Jacob into pretending he is his brother Esau; Jacob goes in wearing goat hair and receives the blessing from his father.

And he receives the reputation of being a deceiver.  After all, did he not deceive his father into thinking he was Esau?  And he receives the reputation of being a stealer.  After all, did he not steal the birthright from his brother?

Hold up.  Did he steal the birthright from his brother?  Because when you read Genesis 25, it seems pretty clear that Esau sold Jacob his birthright.  There is no stealing involved.  And before you start to defend Esau, notice what the author says about the exchange:

so he [Esau] swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau the lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way.  Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Hmm...

As for the deceit, who's idea was it that Jacob go into his father wearing goats hair?

Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Behold, I heard your father speaking to your brother Esau... Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you... so that he may bless you before his death."

So Rebekah tells Jacob what to do and Jacob quite simply obeys.  Yet, can we actually say that the idea was Rebekah's?   

...the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is so, why then am I this way?"  So she went to inquire of the Lord.  
The Lord said to her,
    "Two nations are in your womb;
    And two peoples will be separated from your body; 
    And one people shall be stronger than the other;
    And the older shall serve the younger."

So it seems that Rebekah gets her idea from God.  Now, this does not excuse what was done either by her or by Jacob, but it does give some perspective.  It seems to be an honest attempt on Rebekah's part to seek after God and His will.  Not that her method was correct, but we should at least consider that perhaps her heart was.

Also, if Jacob owned the birthright, then who does the blessing belong to?  Jacob.  So he is being obedient to his mother, and is trying to get what legitimately belongs to him to begin with.

One final thought... Jacob was not only a willing participant in obeying his mothers' advice; he seems to have wanted both the birthright and the blessing.  Esau, on the other hand, despised these things.  Why did Jacob value the birthright and blessing so highly?  Genesis 25:27 tells us that Esau was a man of the fields and a skillful hunter.  Jacob, in contrast, was a peaceful man, "living in tents."

Esau spent his time in the fields.  Jacob spent his time in the tents... If Jacob was in the tents, who would have been in the tents with him?  His mom... and his family.  Remember, this is not American culture!  Families stayed together - extended families lived together.

So who would have been hanging out in the tents with Jacob?  Very likely his grandfather... Abraham.  It is very likely he would have grown up hearing Abraham's stories of God... and he would have heard of the promises given to Abraham, passed down to Isaac.  And he would have understood that these promises would belong to the child with the birthright.  And Jacob wanted the birthright.

Jacob wanted the promises of God.  Esau despised them.

* This post was over a month in the making - so "today" does not refer to the day that this was posted, but instead to the day that the writing of this post began.
** Much credit is due to Ms. Domani Pothen, who provided these insights during a British Literature class... although I could not tell you how this tied to any of our readings in British Lit, the insight was still greatly relevant to us all.