“May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
~ Genesis 27:29
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you ever intentionally deceived one of your teachers? Have you ever purposely deceived a kid friend? Have you ever deliberately deceived your dad and/or ma? Have you ever intentionally connived with another kid against one of your teachers? Have you ever purposely connived with another kid against another kid? Have you ever deliberately connived together against your dad and/or ma? Have you ever been intentionally deceived by one of your teachers? Have you ever been purposely deceived by a kid friend? Have you ever been deliberately deceived by your dad and/or ma? Have you ever had one of your teachers intentionally connive against you? Have you ever had a kid friend purposely connive against you? Have you ever had your dad and/or ma deliberately connive against you? What Moses scribed in what became Genesis 27 is a deception, conniving true story. The true story has in it a blind old guy – Isaac, a conniving wife – Rebekah, and twin kids – Esau and Jacob. The birth of Esau and Jacob about 4000 years ago begins this chapter in this family’s story. Jacob was born seconds after Esau was born. Jacob and Esau were not identical twins. Jacob was a mama’s kid. Esau was a man’s man. Jacob was a stay at home kid. Esau liked the rugged outdoors. Jacob was calculating. Esau was rash. A family protocol 4000 years ago was that the oldest boy in a nuclear family was ascribed a double portion of his family’s birthright benefits. When a dad died, the oldest boy in the family would be the one who would inherit a double portion of equal shares of what his dad had owned. Before a dad died, the dad would bless his oldest boy with a verbal blessing. Because Esau was born before Jacob, Esau was automatically ascribed the birthright benefits. Because he wanted his older bro’s birthright benefits, Jacob was able to one day trick Esau into promising him the birthright benefits that were endorsed to Esau. Because Isaac did not know that Esau had impulsively given up his birthright rights to a double portion of everything that his dad owned, Jacob had to do something deceptive and conniving in order to receive his dad’s final verbal blessing. Jacob had the conniving help of his ma to deceive his dad into thinking that he was his older bro. Because Isaac was blind and on his death bed, it made it easier for Jacob and Rebekah to fool Isaac into thinking that Jacob was Esau. While Esau was hunting wild game – which Isaac had asked his kid to do as Isaac was hankering for a tasty meal of wild game, Rebekah fixed a tasty meal from a couple young goats for her husband to eat. Before Jacob went to his dad’s bed to receive his dad’s verbal blessing, Rebekah had Jacob put on his older bro’s clothes – which smelled of Esau, and she used some goatskins to cover Jacob’s smooth skin that Esau’s clothes did not cover.
How far would you go to get what you think that you really have to have? Would you pull a Jacob to get what you think that you really have to have? Would you lie and conspire to get what you think that you really have to have? Jacob got what he thought that he really had to have. Jacob got his dad’s final verbal blessing. Jacob got his family birthright benefits of a double portion of everything that his dad owned. Verse 29 recounts the words of the blessing that Isaac gave to his kid Jacob, “May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”” Because of Jacob’s imprudent, selfish desires, Jacob became estranged from his big bro. Because of Jacob’s deceit and deviousness towards him, Esau ended up wanting to literally kill his kid bro. Jacob ended up having to flee to his Uncle Laban – who was living in the town of Haran, in order to stay alive. Because of her deceiving and conniving help to make it possible for her kid Jacob to get what he thought that he really had to have – which was the family birthright benefits, Rebekah essentially lost both of her sons. BUT – the blessing that Jacob was ‘unwittingly’ given to by his dad came true. Jacob – who had his name changed by God to Israel, was blessed to become the patriarch of God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals.
Your grandpaa does not think that it is ever worth it to deceive another kid – or a guy or gal. Your grandpaa also does not think that it is ever worth it to connive against another kid – or a guy or gal. When your grandpaa began to work for Liberty Loan in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, your grandpaa’s job was to call up guys and gals who were late with their monthly loan payment or with more than one loan payment – to get them to pay their delinquent scheduled monthly payment or payments. Sometimes an account – an account being the guy and/or gal who had been loaned money, would skip – skip being leaving the area without giving a forwarding address of where he, she or they moved to. Your grandpaa got quite good at finding skips. Your grandpaa would fabricate a detailed story in order to locate a skip. When a loan was made, the guy and/or gal would be asked to list on a form several contact guys and/or gals as references. Your grandpaa would call these contact guys and/or gals – such as relatives and/or friends, using his made up story in order to get one of the guys and/or gals tell him where a skip had moved. When your grandpaa began to work for Beneficial Finance in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, your grandpaa was still fabricating stories to locate skips. When one day one of the gals in the Sioux Falls Beneficial Finance office heard your grandpaa tell one of his made up stories as he tried to find a skip, the gal looked at your grandpaa and said ‘I thought a Christ-follower never lied’. Your grandpaa realized on that day that a lie can destroy the testimony of a Christ-follower guy, gal or kid. Your grandpaa stopped making up stories to find a guy and/or gal who had skipped.
Genesis 27 (805)