Chapter 6: What does God do with our bad decisions?
Lessons from the life of Isaac and Rebekah
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Last week we saw how he tested Abraham’s faith by asking Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. At the last moment, God stepped in and provides a ram in Isaac’s place. If you want to read more about the critical place sacrifice and faith play in God’s rescue plan, you can read more about that here:
This week, we will be jumping ahead several chapters in Genesis to observe how God reacts to threats against his rescue plan. To examine how God handles such challenges, we will focus on the lives of Isaac, Rebekah, and their two sons, Esau and Jacob. Here's the situation: God had promised Abraham that he would create a great nation through him, but Sarah, Abraham's wife, was barren. Miraculously, God provided Isaac as the bearer of the promise. However, Isaac's wife, Rebekah, was also found to be barren. She prayed to God, who revealed to her that she would have twin boys even in her barren state. God then made an unexpected statement: the younger son, Jacob, would be the ruler over Esau. This went against the cultural norms of the time, as the oldest son typically received the bulk of the inheritance. Yet God revealed that his plan to save the world from sin would be fulfilled through Jacob, the younger son.
As time passed, Isaac and Rebekah raised their children in a dysfunctional manner, with Isaac favouring Esau and Rebekah favouring Jacob. In the upcoming story, we see the parents actively working against each other. The children grow up with a fierce sibling rivalry, and when their father Isaac senses that his end is near, he decides to give his last will and testament: he intends to pass on the blessing, the promise he received from his father Abraham to Esau, his favourite son. But he knew that God had promised Rebekah that the blessing would come through Jacob. This background sets the stage for the passage we are about to read, which we will examine in detail.
Genesis 27:1–46 CSB
When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death. So now take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out in the field to hunt some game for me. Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die.”
Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said, ‘Bring me game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ Now, my son, listen to me and do what I tell you. Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father—the kind he loves. Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies.”
Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin. Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself.” His mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.” So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved. Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them. She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
When he came to his father, he said, “My father.” And he answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?” He replied, “Because the Lord your God made it happen for me.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?” So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he replied, “I am.”
Then he said, “Bring it closer to me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it closer to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me, my son.” So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he blessed him and said: Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. May God give to you— from the dew of the sky and from the richness of the land— an abundance of grain and new wine. May peoples serve you and nations bow in worship to you. Be master over your relatives; may your mother’s sons bow in worship to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.
As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from his hunting. He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.” But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.” Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. “Who was it then,” he said, “who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!” When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?” But Isaac answered Esau, “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?” Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau wept loudly.
His father Isaac answered him, “Look, your dwelling place will be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of the sky above. You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will break his yoke from your neck. Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, and stay with him for a few days until your brother’s anger subsides— until your brother’s rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”
Setting yourself up against God’s plan.
This story portrays two types of decisions that can affect God's plan.
The first type is exemplified in the life of Isaac, who attempted to oppose God's plan. He knew about God's promise to Rebekah that Jacob would become the greater son and fulfill the covenant promise through his family. Nonetheless, Isaac wanted to pass on this blessing, but to the wrong son, Esau, his favourite child, instead of Jacob, the one whom God had chosen. Isaac was aware that he was doing the wrong thing.
Normally, when the patriarch sensed his death was near, he would assemble the family and bless the children publicly. However, Isaac called Esau in secret to bless him secretly. This secret ceremony contradicted God's rescue plan, which was jeopardized by Isaac's choices. Despite God's declaration that the promise would come through Jacob, it seemed that the covenant blessing would now pass to the wrong son. Isaac acted against God's revealed will to give the blessing to Esau, not Jacob, placing his own will, desires, and love above God's call on his life.
Isaac's selfishness put him at odds with God's plan, but he could not derail it. No matter how hard we try, we cannot undo God's plan for our lives. "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). Even if we actively work against God's plan, He will ultimately prevail. This is good news because He knows what we need far better than we do.
Isaac wanted to sidestep God's plan, but he could not. He deliberately disobeyed God, but he was not the only one who made mistakes. Rebekah also erred by rushing ahead of God's plan.
Running ahead of God’s plan
Isaac was plotting to have a secret ceremony with Esau, but Rebekah overheard them. She may have been eavesdropping or simply cutting bushes near the window. Regardless, she learned of Isaac's plan and schemed a plan of her own. She wanted to deceptively pass on the blessing to Jacob, so she set out to deceive Isaac. Jacob was a bit worried about getting caught, but he went along with it.
However, Rebekah and Jacob were running ahead of God's plan. They knew the blessing was supposed to pass to Jacob, but instead of trusting in the Lord, they took matters into their own hands. They believed in the "ends justify the means" philosophy.
What should they have done instead? They should have trusted in the Lord and believed that He would fulfill His promise, even if they did not understand how He would do it. Rebekah had ample evidence that God was a promise-keeper. God had spared her husband's life when he was almost sacrificed, and she had miraculously conceived after being barren. Despite all this evidence, Rebekah still ran ahead of God's plan.
It is easy for us to judge Rebekah and Jacob, but we often make the same mistake. We settle for the wrong partner or job because we are desperate or ambitious. We take shortcuts that hurt others and fail to trust God. However, when we run ahead of God's plans, we damage ourselves and others.
Rebekah's actions had devastating consequences. Her relationship with Isaac suffered, and there was a breakdown between Esau and Jacob. Rebekah lost both of her sons as a result. But even though our choices can have severe consequences, they cannot derail God's plan. He is sovereignly in control of the outcomes of our actions. Isaac, Esau, Rebekah, and Jacob may have stood in God's way, but in the end, God's plan prevailed.
God will sovereignly work out his plan
One final thought: Faith redeems broken actions, just like it did for Isaac and Rebekah. Faith reworks and redeems our sinful running ahead of God, to bring about the good God was going to do in the first place. Do you know how the New Testament remembers Isaac’s actions?
Hebrews 11:20 CSB
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
That is what God does! He takes our broken, twisted, corrupt, selfish, evil actions, and brings about good. He re-frames and redeems them, because of what Jesus did on the cross. This pattern shows up again and again in God’s rescue plan. The weak things of the world are repurposed by God for Good. Even sinful acts, are redeemed and push along God’s rescue plan.
Isaac and Rebekah’s family is a classic dysfunctional family. Their lives are very messy. They are just like us! But even though they failed individually, God’s rescue plan was worked out through his family.
God chooses and continues to use everyday, dysfunctional people like these, to bring about his blessings to the world. People with marital problems. Children with daddy and mummy issues. Siblings who hate each other enough to want to kill each other. Schemers, ragers, venison stew makers. People, who are just like us.
Maybe you have been feeling guilty about where you stand with God. Maybe your spiritual life has veered off the path, and you can’t see how you can ever get back to being in God’s good books. Maybe you are feeling sorrow or guilt about a marriage that has fallen apart.
Maybe you see those super Christians, who are always optimistic, who are always doing the right things, who always seem to have a good word to encourage everyone around them, and you believe you can never be like that.
If this is you friend, there is great hope and comfort to be found in this story of Isaac, Esau, Rebekah and Jacob. Because you see, God doesn’t just work through those super Christians.
He delights in working through messy, broken, sinful, not-together people. People just like you and me. He can even use our sinful acts to bring about his purposes.
Yes, Rebekah and Jacob should have waited, should not have run ahead of God. Yes, Isaac should not have arranged a private ceremony to bless Esau. But all the more yes, God used these very sinful things, to pass on the Blessing to Jacob. God used these very sinful things, to bring about his rescue plan.
Ultimately, we see this most powerfully on the cross. Here God used the worst thing we could have done to Jesus to bring about his rescue plan. Jesus was sentenced to death without committing a single crime. He died with the crowds jeering at him. He died unjustly. He died at the hands of evil, sinful men. But what had been intended for evil, God turned out for good. It is through the cross that we are redeemed. And if God can do that with something as terrible as the cross, just imagine what he can do with you.