Betrayed By Man

Through Joseph's story we get a glimpse of Jesus.

Genesis 37:2-4 This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. 

3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph— a beautiful robe. 4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 

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We have learned a lot about God in the recent post in the book of Genesis, we have seen through the life of Jacob that God is in control and that he takes care of his people. We have seen God promise, prepare, prosper and provide for his people despite the mistakes that they make.

The blessings of the birthright were taken from Reuben because he sinned against his father but instead of the next oldest, the son that received the rights was the second to the last born son. Maybe Joseph was chosen because he is the first born son of Rachel, the wife that Jacob thought that he married at his first wedding, or maybe it was just because Jacob liked him more.

You may come to the conclusion that Joseph is a spoiled brat because of the favoritism, it seems that the fancy coat may have been a symbol of Jacob's decision to give the birthright to Joseph, Jacob has put his son in a situation that is very similar to the situation in his parents home. 

Favoritism destroyed Jacob's family and he was forced to run away from home because of it. Jacob was forced to run from Esau but Joseph would have to leave by force because his brothers were ruthless. It seems that his brothers were as immoral as the Canaanites that were around them. (Genesis 37:1-4) Joseph's willingness to inform his father about his brothers may have been the motivation for sending him to check on them while they were away from home. (Genesis 37:12-14)

It seems that Joseph is headed for greatness, he has the birthright, instead of the clothing of a shepherd he has the fancy coat that a ruler would wear and to top it all off he has God given dreams predicting his rise to a powerful position. What could go wrong?

Betrayed By His Family

Genesis 37:18-36

Joseph’s older brothers are a bunch of rowdy guys who slaughtered a whole village because one guy raped their sister. The Canaanite moms in the household, the maids of Rachel and Leah, may have had a very negative influence on all of the brothers. The family tree can be seem here.

God's people have always had a difficult time being in this world but not of it. You could speculate that the slavery in Egypt was God's way of separating his people from the Canaanites until the day of judgment when the Canaanites would be destroyed. 

How could God use his people to judge the Canaanites if his people looked just like them?

Betrayed By The World

Genesis 39:1-23

What looks like the obvious conclusion may be the furthest from the truth. In this situation, Potiphar thought that he had been betrayed by Joseph when in fact it was his wife that betrayed both of them.

Joseph was about eleven years old when his sister was raped. This may have been part of the reason that he had such an intense reaction to the advances of Potiphar's wife. Joseph knew the devastating effects that sexual sin could have and he didn't want any part of it.

Betrayed By A Friend

Genesis 40:1-23

The only thing that Joseph asked the cupbearer to do when his dream came true was to put in a good word for him. This guys life was spared and he couldn't remember the guy that predicted that it would happen.

Joseph was always the favorite, it make me think that he really wasn't a spoiled brat, he went from being a favorite in his father's house to being a favorite in Potiphar's house and then he became a favorite with the prison warden. Spoiled brats don't usually have that much success at making friends and influencing people. 

But having man's favor doesn't last when you are living for God. If Joseph had shared the values of his brothers or Potiphar's wife things would have gone much better for him from man's perspective.

Genesis 39:2, 21 The Lord was with Joseph

But even if man turned against him, Joseph knew that he was in the presence of God which resulted in receiving the blessings of God. Living for God proves to be the best way even if it means living in a situation that looks like you are being punished. The difficulty we encounter may make us question God's presence and we may forget that his presence is always accompanied with his blessings.

2 Timothy 3:12  Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Through Joseph's story we get a glimpse of Jesus. The dearly loved son was a shepherd of his fathers flocks, he was sent to his brothers that hated him, they took his robe and sold him for the price of a slave. The father suffered the loss of his favorite son because the son was wrongly accused. The son was placed with two other prisoners which included one that was saved and the other one lost.

I know you may be disappointed where you are. I know you may be unhappy where you are, but I want you to look beyond where you are and thank God for where He's going to take you.

-Tony Evans

Joseph would overcome it all to become God's man that was prepared for God's purpose but for now he is still in prison. This story bothers us because we want good things to happen to good people but the reality is that God is using the good and the bad to shape us and most importantly to accomplish his purpose.

Thank you Lord for your interest in me and allowing me to be a part of your plans. Help me to realize that you are working all thing for my good and for your glory.

God Provides For His People

Prayer helps us rely on God to take care of us.

Genesis 32:9-12 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac— O LORD, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ 

10 I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! 

11 O LORD, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. 12 But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”

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The childhood and early adult life of Jacob was such a mess that it produced a young man that would have a difficult time overcoming his upbringing. We can see part of his personality before he was born as he struggled with his brother in the womb. It is too bad that his parents didn't mold him and help him use his aggressive, outgoing personality for good but instead their actions only made him worse.

Despite his dysfunctional upbringing and his lack of godly character he still inherited the promises of God that began with Abraham and Isaac. Jacob was forced to leave home empty handed and all alone as he dealt with the consequences of cheating his brother.

God would use this time away from home to shape Jacob and prepare him for his future role in God's plans. He would have success and he would fail but God still prospered Jacob as he promised.

In todays scripture we see some progress in Jacob's spiritual journey, he is on a journey back to his physical home because God told him to go back, we can see some small amount of growth in his reaction to the news that his brother is on the way to see him but he still has a long way to go.

Jacob's fear of his brother drove him to pray and then immediately into implementing a plan of action. It seems to be the prayer of a weak, unbelieving man with little faith in the outcome. This guy is familiar with God, he knows his character and he has his great promises for the future but he still seems to be praying in desperation.

Jacob Prayed For God's Help Based On:

God's Covenant

The promises given to Abraham have been reaffirmed with Isaac and Jacob. Notice that Jacob approached God on the basis of the old covenant but we approach on the basis of the new covenant.

God's Command

When God told Jacob to go back home it probably wasn't so that he could be killed by his brother. The will of God will never lead us where the power of God can't protect and provide for us.

God's Care

There was a history now of God's protection and care for Jacob, God has been working on Jacob's character for twenty years now, I don't think that God will let that go to waste.

God's Purpose

Esau's anger could not hinder God's purpose and plan for Jacob and his descendants, especially for Judah (Jesus lineage), Levi (the lineage of the priest and the Apostle Paul (from the tribe of Benjamin).

God's Promise

Jacob needs to review the promises made by God at Bethel. He should know by now that God's promises will come to pass. (Genesis 28:12-15)

We need to know that we can't mess up God's plans and purposes in our lives even if our trust and faith in him is weak. God uses the consequences of our success and our failures to help us grow closer to him.

Our prayers are an indicator of the state of our heart, if we struggle in our own strength to overcome our problems after we prayed about something then we have trust issues with the only one that we can fully trust without any doubts.

Thank you Lord for hearing my prayers despite my little faith. Help me to rely on you to sustain and protect me from anything that comes my way.

God Says Go - Jacob Delays

If Jacob had faith in God you can't tell it by his works.

Genesis 31:3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.” 

Genesis 31:13  I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made your vow to me. Now get ready and leave this country and return to the land of your birth.’”

Genesis 35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”

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When God chose to start a new group of people that would be set apart for himself he chose one ordinary man that didn't do anything at all to have God's favor on his life. Abram probably didn't even believe in God but when he was told to go he was convinced to leave his fake gods behind and step out in faith to an unknown destination.

Fast forward to Abraham's grandson and you find that he had a very different response to God's command to go. Jacob was a hard headed, stubborn man that didn't have very much concern for spiritual things. God told him to go and he made a very long detour before going the right way.

Jacob had a rough upbringing in a dysfunctional family, his father Isaac failed God many times, but Jacob has also had some amazing experiences with God that should have helped him become more concerned about God's plans for his life.

Jacob was always aggressive and made sure that he got his way, he was fighting with his brother before he was born, so it is no surprise that when he was told to go he decided to go somewhere else. God says go in Genesis 31:3 and Jacob doesn't go to the right place until we get to Genesis 35:1-3.

After a lengthy delay with Laban he finally starts his trip (Genesis 31:1-55), Jacob meets some angels (Genesis 32:1-2) and then he meets his brother. (Genesis 32:3-33:17) But out of nowhere Jacob decides to go to the wrong place.

Genesis 33:14 Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will meet you at Seir.

Esau wanted to help Jacob get home but Jacob wasn't ready to go. Jacob let his brother think that he would be right behind him but he started traveling in the opposite direction. After all of the kindness that was extended to Jacob by his brother he deceived him again. (Genesis 33:14-17)

It seems like God wanted Jacob to go back to Bethel but instead he is buying property at Shechem and he will spend about 6 years there. (Genesis 31:13, 33:18-20) Jacob will look back on this decision with great regret as he recalls the tragic events that are going to happen while he is in the wrong place. (Genesis 34:1-31) 

the pasture was vastly superior in the Jordan Valley where Succoth was located, while Bethel was in the mountains It reminds me of the decision that Lot made to live next to Sodom and the tragic consequences that he had to endure.

Genesis 35:2-3  So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing.  3  We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”

For 30 years Jacob has been 30 miles away from where God wanted him to be. He has been in the wrong place and he has been tolerating the wrong "gods." (Genesis 31:30-36) At least he knew that it wasn't a good idea to go back to the place that he named "House of God" with a bunch of little "gods" along for the ride.

Jacob's grandfather, Abraham, was willing to step out without a destination but Jacob wasn't willing to go where God wanted him to be even though it was a familiar location where God had met with him previously.

If Jacob had faith in God you can't tell it by his works. Thankfully God had begun a work in Jacob's life that would be completed despite the wrong turns and setbacks that Jacob would make. 

Genesis 35:9-11  Now that Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel. God blessed him,  10  saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel.  11  Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants!

God's purpose and plans will come to pass despite ourselves, when he finally returns to God's plan and purpose for his life God restates the promise that has been passed down from Abraham and Isaac.

If we cooperate with God we can be used by him with a lot less heartache, regret and wasted years, just like Jacob we can delay and stay across town when God says go. It may be just 30 miles from where God wants us, so close that it may not seem to matter but God doesn't want us to second guess him and come close to being fully obedient.

Thankfully the gospel message is that we don't have to be perfect, we will make a mess of things but God can use all of it to accomplish his plans if we will return to him. I have confidence that the good work that he started in my life will continue until it is completed on the day that Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6)

God Prospers His People

God blesses whoever he chooses despite the fact that nobody deserves it.

Genesis 30:25-26 Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country. 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.”

Genesis 30:43 As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys.

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It is so easy in the United States to believe that prosperity is an indication that God is pleased with his people. We fail to realize that we can be very prosperous and blessed despite the fact that we are living outside of the will of God.

Earlier in life Jacob didn't rely on God to get the blessings and privileges that were promised to him. He and his mother relied on their own cunning to make God's will happen but instead of realizing the blessings of God Jacob has to leave home emptyhanded and lonely. 

In todays scripture it seems that Jacob hasn't learned much about relying on God to come through for him. Jacob is still relying on self to get things done and he devises a scheme that was based on superstition to make his flocks grow in number.

It is amazing that even after the way that Jacob was treated by Laban he still stayed with him and continued to work for him. Perhaps he stayed because Laban only had two daughters and Jacob would be the adopted son as the heir to Laban's wealth. His decision to leave Laban and return to his homeland seems to happen after Laban's sons were born.

Success cannot be equated with spirituality and it is not a sign that God is pleased with you. We adopt the prosperity gospel because we live in the greatest country in the world with the greatest amount of personal riches among the general population but God didn't bless us because of us and our prosperity doesn't mean that he is happy with us. 

Genesis 28:14  Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.

God wasn't always happy with the heroes of the faith but God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that they would be blessed and that through them the rest of the world would be blessed as well. Have you considered what that means for you and I? 

We have been blessed physically, financially and spiritually so that we can pass the blessing on to others:

• I can bless others physically by doing things for them that they don't have good health, time or energy to do. (Matthew 5:41, Galatians 6:9-10)
• I can bless others financially by being a good steward of the riches that God has given. I need to use God's financial blessings wisely for his purpose instead of fulfilling my desires to have nice things and to impress others. (Luke 12:13-21)
• But most of all I can bless others spiritually by sharing the good news about God's son so that they will inherit the riches of Heaven by becoming a child of God. (Isaiah 61:1)

I would like to suggest to you that blessing others isn't just about meeting basic needs. We tend to look for the down and out when we think about blessing others, that's not a bad thing, but God wants us to be a blessing and go the extra mile with anyone that we have contact with.

It's not wrong to be rich but there are a lot of warnings in scripture about the dangers of being rich. We need to ask ourselves if we are being good stewards with the physical, financial and spiritual wealth that God has given us? 

Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can. -John Wesley

The average church member does so little with their blessings for the kingdom. If we squander the riches and blessings of God on ourselves, while the scriptures go untranslated and nations go unreached because of a lack of funds to take the gospel to them, we’re not being good stewards.

The level of blessings that I have received from God is very inappropriate for the way that I have behaved. I have been like Jacob, I have tried to get ahead without consulting God, I have used my methods to help God out and yet he has still chosen to bless me so that I can re-gift the blessings for his purpose and for his glory.

God Prepares His People

Jacob's character is changed by the consequences of his sin.

Genesis 29:15-20  Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”  16  Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel.  17  There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face.  

18  Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”  19  “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.”  

20  So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.

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Jacob has a reputation for being a deceiver but in reality he came from a family full of deceivers that was as dysfunctional as you can find anywhere. As a result of Jacob's home life he will fail to be a good father and husband for his family and he will repeat many of their mistakes.

Each of Jacob's parents had a favorite child that was their accomplice in the deception that eventually got Jacob thrown out of the house. Despite the sinful and twisted way that Jacob received what God said he would inherit, God kept his covenant promises that started with Jacob's grandfather Abraham. (Genesis 28:1-9)

Jacob left home to run from his brother but his departure was disguised by saying that he needed to get a wife. If he was really going to get a wife he should have packed some essentials before he left home. Remember back in Genesis 24:1-67 when Isaac needed a wife, Abraham sent his servant with everything that was needed but Jacob was running for his life.

Jacob did the initial work that Rebekah did when she met Abraham's servant but then he also worked for fourteen years for the wife that he really wanted. The consequences of sin forced him into working for his bride instead of giving his future father in law the dowry that was expected.

It is ironic that Jacob cheated his brother out of the rights of the firstborn son and then he gets cheated by his father in law because of the rights of the firstborn daughter. Leah treated Jacob the same way that he treated his father when he pretended to be Esau. The cheater was forced to deal with being cheated. (Genesis 29:25, Galatians 6:7-8)

Jacobs new family looks a lot like the dysfunctional home that he grew up in. His parents had two sons and one was preferred over the other and now Jacob has two brides and they both know that they are not loved equally. Imagine on the first morning of married life, your husband wakes up and gets angry when he sees you, and then he storms off to see your father.

But if having two wives that are sisters isn't bad enough, Jacob also slept with their handmaids and had more sons through them, it looks like God allowed Jacob to punish himself through his relationship with these four women.

But wait, there's more, the rivalry between the two wife's rubbed off on their sons and to make it worse Jacob did like his father and had his own favorite son. The trouble that existed between Jacob and Esau was nothing compared to the deception that occurred between Joseph and his brothers.

Despite all of his lies, deception and the times that he made commitments without asking for his will, God used all of this to shape Jacob's character. God allowed Jacob to go through many self made trials before he brought him safely home.

God's Boot Camp
1. Recognize and submit to God’s hand in the daily events of your life.  2. Submit to God when you reap the consequences of your sin.  3. Don’t run from the difficult people in your life until God gives you the okay. 4. Plan to persevere over the long haul. Christianity isn’t a 100-yard dash; it’s a marathon. 5. Thank God for the gracious blessings He bestows in spite of your sin.

The consequences of Jacob's sin took a long time for him to live through. All of us can testify that we have had the same experience. As many preachers have stated, sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay. (Hebrews 12:10-11)

I have been too much like Jacob but I need to remember that all of God's children make plenty of mistakes. We should be encouraged by the imperfect humanity of the people in the Bible. We all have desires that don't need to be fulfilled, we all want what others have and wonder why God has blessed someone else more than we think he should. (James 4:1-3)

1 Corinthians 9:25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

We tend to think that God's people in the Bible were more adequate for being used by him but most of the examples in scripture show us that God uses ordinary people that must yield to God's work of preparing us into the person that he wants us to be. 

Thank you Lord for being patient and willing to help me learn to be more like your son through my circumstances, places and the people that you placed in my life.

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Steven Cole - God's Boot Camp (bible.org)

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God Promises His People

Jacob receives the promises of God without working for them.

Genesis 28:3-4 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.”

Romans 9:10-12 This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. 11 But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.”

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In the previous post we saw how an entire family was working outside of the will of God. Isaac and Esau conspired together to go against God but Rebekah and Jacob were also outside of God's will even though they were trying to accomplish God's will. They really thought that they needed to help God and protect his interest even if it meant sinning.

Because of all of this deception the family became even more dysfunctional than it already was. As a result of all of these sinners actions, Jacob would have to leave everything behind even though he received the blessing and would be the heir of God's promises.

But before Jacob leaves home his father Isaac willingly reaffirms the blessing to Jacob without the deceit that happened the first time around. Validating the authenticity of the blessing will be helpful to Jacob when he begins to be confronted by guilt and doubts start to creep in.

Despite the wrongs that were done to get the blessing God's plans would not be changed. God said that Jacob would be the heir of the covenant that he made with Abraham and nothing that man can do will change that. Jacob hadn't done anything to be chosen and he didn't do anything that would make God change his mind. 

The conflict between our rotten sin nature and God's holy grace lives on in God's story with mankind. Jacob proves that he isn't the hero of the story that deserves the blessing any more than his brother or his forefathers did but he receives it anyway.

Genesis 28:12-13 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 13 At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, “I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants.

After Isaac confirmed that Jacob was the chosen son, Jacob gets another confirmation that would be much more impressive. God restated the covenant that he made with Abraham and Isaac while Jacob slept. Jacob found out that resting in God's grace and mercy is much better than striving to accomplish his will by working it out in the flesh.

God made all three provisions of the original promise to Jacob: the land, descendants who will be like the dust of the earth, and that all the families of the earth would be blessed through his descendants.

Jacob learned that the gateway to Heaven cannot be approached by our good works and determination. Jesus told us the same thing, he saw people all around him that were striving to get to God by grit and determination, he taught them over and over again that you can't get yourself to heaven.

John 1:49-51  Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”  50  Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

51  Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

In Jacob's dream Jesus was up in Heaven at the top of the ladder that God provided but now Jesus has come to earth to be our access to Heaven. Jesus told his audience everyday that he is the straight and narrow way that we must use to get to Heaven. (John 3:16, 5:18, 10:9, 14:6)

Jesus wasn't all talk, his claims were validated by his extraordinary abilities, he saw Nathanael under the fig tree and he sees each of us. Jesus miracles proved his identity so that we will know that he has the authority to tell us how to get to heaven. We are saved only by resting in His Word and His work on our behalf. 

Thank you God that you provided us access to Heaven that mankind has been struggling to achieve. Help me to rest in you and in the promises that you have made. (Isaiah 64:6, Titus 3:5)

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The Promised Son Rebels

Gods sovereign will cannot be stopped.

Genesis 25:21-23 Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked. 23 And the LORD told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”

Genesis 27:1-4 One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.” “Yes, Father?” Esau replied. 2 “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.”

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Hold on, did you see what just happened? In chapter 25 of Genesis God said that the older son, Esau would serve the younger son, Jacob and then over in chapter 27 Isaac is attempting to turn all of that around.

Even before he was born, God made it clear that Jacob would be the heir of the covenant promises made to Abraham but suddenly Isaac calls in his son Esau to try and give him the inheritance. But Isaac doesn't realize that his wife is going to step in and "help" God with his will so that Jacob will get what has been promised.

All four of the characters in this family drama are working outside of God's will, Isaac and Esau conspired together to go against God but Rebekah and Jacob were also outside of God's will even though they were trying to accomplish God's will.

The Deception

• Blessing the oldest son was usually done with the rest of the family present but Isaac and Esau didn't want anyone reminding them of what God told them. Isaac was more concerned about what his wife thought than he was about God.
• This is probably not the first time that Rebekah has been eavesdropping on the conversations between Isaac and Esau. That's why the props needed to make the deception work were so accessible.
• Jacob didn't refuse to go along with the deception for the right reasons, he was more concerned with getting caught than doing the right thing, he is a grown man that could have easily stood up to his mom. (40 years old)
• Isaac intended to give all of his blessings to Esau without anything being left to give to Isaac. That's why there wasn't anything left when Esau begged to have something after it was all given to Jacob.
• Jacob must have been anxious to get the blessing done before Esau returns. He had to keep telling more lies as he answered his father's questions. Jacob had the nerve to say that God helped him.

The consequences 

• Isaac set his heart on that which was contrary to the will of God, this is the same man that got on the altar when God told his dad to sacrifice him, he has gone from huge faith and obedience to one of the biggest examples of rebellion in the Bible.
• Esau wants to kill Jacob so that the blessings can then come back to him. But instead Esau would father the nation of Edom which would bring trouble to the descendants of Jacob.
• Jacob was forced to leave home and leave behind all of the inheritance that would someday be his. He had gained everything but he temporarily lost it all.
• Rebekah lost her awesome relationship with Jacob and her relationship with Esau become strained even more that before. Esau purposely annoyed her by marrying more of the local Canaanite women.
• Esau and Jacob will have a strained relationship, it will be 20 years later when the two meet and settle their differences.

Attempting to help God accomplish his will and purposes is a crazy idea, we can't even guarantee the outcomes of the events that happen in our lives, how can we believe that God needs our help.

God has always had a people, he chooses whoever he wants and makes his sovereign will come to pass, even the rule about the firstborn son doesn't matter to God. The first born doesn't always win:

• Abel over Cain
• Isaac over Ishmael
• Jacob over Esau
• Ephraim over Manasseh 
• Judah over Reuben

God didn't need Rebekah to deceive her husband to thwart his plan to rebel against God, even if Isaac's plan to pass the blessings on to Esau had been successful, God could have killed Esau and the rights as the oldest son would have gone to Jacob.

The most unnecessary job in the world is trying to help make God's will come to pass. Worse yet is lying and cheating to make his will come to pass. God has a long history of working out his will without my help.

Keep me in the center of your will Lord.