Do It My Way: Genesis 27:5-13
Human beings can be very good at being bad. I smile every time I read Romans 7:14-20. I feel Paul’s argument within himself as he writes those words. I know what to do, but I find it difficult to do what I know I should be doing! The same tension occurs in this passage in Genesis.
Rebekah was listening to the conversation between Esau and Isaac. Perhaps Rebekah was eavesdropping. However, Isaac was old and growing blind. He needed more assistance than usual. It is reasonable for Rebekah to be near and ready to help her husband if he needed it. Given the fact that Rebekah’s response to Isaac’s conversation with Esau was to scheme, context makes it feel like Rebekah was eavesdropping. Perhaps she was simply being a good wife and mother.
Once Esau leaves, Rebekah gets Jacob and gives him a plan. She wants him to get a pair of goats so she can prepare the food. As Isaac’s wife, she certainly knows how he liked his food. There shouldn’t be any trouble making him a dish to put her husband in the right frame of mind to be deceived.
Jacob questions his mother. He doesn’t question whether her actions are honorable, though. Nowhere does Jacob ask if they should be making such plans. Rather than ethics, Jacob is worried about the consequences of getting caught. Jacob is worried about receiving a curse.
This is another story of how worldly God’s people can be. Isaac, the second of the patriarchs, thinks about himself. Rebekah, the woman willing to leave her own home to become a part of God’s promise, is relying upon her own deviousness to scheme. Jacob, the son interested in thinking and meditation, is only worried about getting caught. Esau, who married Hittite women to bring bitterness into Isaac and Rebekah’s life, is willing to play nice to receive a blessing. There isn’t a person in this story who acts honorably.
The problem is nobody in this story follows God. Instead of listening to God and blessing Jacob as God indicated to Rebekah, Isaac wants to do it his way. Instead of trusting in God and honorably reminding Isaac of God’s directive, Rebekah schemes to manipulate her husband into bringing about God’s will. Instead of uplifting righteousness as God would desire, Jacob thinks of himself. Instead of reconciling with his parents, Esau participates in his father’s delusion.
This is a big problem with humanity, me included. Anyone can follow God when the right choice is clearly marked. Anyone can follow God when other people are watching. It’s much harder to follow God when we bury our motivations deep within where others cannot see them. It’s much harder to follow God when the people around us are so caught up in their own sin they struggle to help us recognize our sin. Human beings can be very good at being bad.
