What a sad chapter...families are one of my passions and watching one self-destruct is heart-breaking. Whenever personal preferences take priority over God's purposes, chaos occurs. Isaac seems to have allowed his natural tastes to over-ride God's clearly spoken intention to work His purposes through Jacob's descendants. Food had been Esau's enticement to give up his birthright, and in this chapter 'food' is again involved. Our cravings must never dictate our choices.
Rebekah had heard directly from the Lord that Jacob would be served by Esau. Again, like the mother-in-law she never met, she stepped out to help God along in His purposes. She used the knowledge she had of her beloved husband to deceive him--perverting the blessings of intimately knowing another for manipulation. When we have been entrusted with deep knowledge of another, we must never use it for our own purposes. God did not need Rebekah's help, nor does He need ours. Rebekah, too, seems to have taken her eyes off God's power if not His purpose. Her actions would cost her dearly--she would spend the rest of her life not seeing her beloved son.
Jacob. God's ways are certainly not our own, and God sees what we do not. We see a man who is a deceiver and a trickster--a do-it-yourself sort of guy. God sees potential and prepares Jacob to become the man he is created to be. We have a God with the power and the love to do that--isn't that awesome! He took Jacob to the end of himself--to the point where all his abilities and conniving were impotent and then He revealed the power to be had by living under the authority of God. He works the same today; our circumstances are not by accident. Our sins, the sins of others, are not beyond the sight or purposes of God. He will bring us to victory if we will look to HIM!
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