Jacob is about to deceive his blind father Isaac to steal his brother's blessing. Before he goes in, he voices his fear: What if I get caught? What if he feels my hands (I'm not hairy like Esau)?
Rebecca has the solution ready - goat skin to fake the hairy skin. They proceed with the deception. And it works. Isaac never finds out.
I study family systems, and this story paralyzes me every semester. Jacob doesn't have to do this. He could wait, trust God's promise about serving the younger. Instead, he manipulates. And the text doesn't condemn him for it - it just shows him getting caught in the consequences for the rest of his life. His deception doesn't come back in a neat way; it spirals. His mother loses him. His brother wants him dead. He lives decades in exile.
The passage suggests that getting away with deception doesn't mean you got away. You just don't know the bill yet.
No comments yet. Be the first.