BULLETIN ARTICLE
18 August 2019
FAMILY DECEITS

We are familiar with dramas of deceits within the family. Isaac and Rebekah’s family was no different. Father and mother had their favourite son and each took sides. The author distinguished between ‘his son’ and ‘her son’ (Gen.27:5-6). Moreover, each member of the family behaved badly.

As the head of the household, Isaac was supposed to be loyal to God. However, we see him as a man at war with the will of God. Isaac should have known of the prophecy that “the older will serve the younger” (Gen. 25:23) and he should have found out that Esau despised his birthright and sold it to Jacob (Gen.25:33-34). Moreover, he lived through the grief Esau caused both him and Rebekah by marrying Hittite wives. Yet he loved the tasty game which Esau the hunter could hunt and prepare for him. For that he favoured Esau and tried to give him his blessings secretly without informing Rebekah and Jacob. Such blessings, usually made near death, were usually declared in front of witnesses (Gen.49, Deut.33).

What about Rebekah? Finding out Isaac’s plan, she countered it with her own to secure the blessing for her favourite son. In fact, she was the one who did most of the work to ensure the plan worked and she was not troubled by the deceptive way she was going about it. Granted that the older was to serve the younger, she could have shown more faith in God to carry out his plan through more honourable ways than to deceive her almost blind husband. This incident also sheds some light on the couple’s marital situation. Instead of working together on matters, they were against each other.

Next we have the older twin Esau. He married two Hittite wives who were a source of grief to his parents (Gen.26:34-35). This hints that he was not fit to inherit the covenantal blessing. Moreover, he had previously despised his birthright for a pot of stew. Now, he was in cahoots with his father to gain his blessings secretly despite the fact that he had already sold his birthright to his younger brother. He did not honour the oath he made to his brother.

Then there was the younger twin Jacob. He seems at first to be helplessly under the control of his mother. However, it is disturbing that he was more concerned about being found out and cursed by his father, than he was in the morality of the plan. Furthermore, when he was subsequently questioned by his father, he lied blatantly twice (Gen.27:19, 24) and even invoked the name of the Lord (Gen.27:20).

So much for a dysfunctional ‘covenant’ family! Christians today fare no better. Yet in spite of their and our moral failings, God is merciful and chooses us not because we deserve it but because of his mercy and grace. Questions for reflection:

 Do we practice favoritism within the family?
 How does sin affect our relationships?
 How is God merciful?