"He was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.'”
-Genesis 28:17
This passage highlights a couple things that happen while Jacob and Esau grow older. Isaac is nearing his death, so he wants to bless his sons. More specifically, Isaac wants to give Esau a blessing as the firstborn in the family. As we learned previously, Isaac favors Esau more than Jacob, since Isaac liked to eat wild game. Isaac instructs Esau to find some wild game for Isaac to enjoy. Isaac then promised to bless Esau when he returned with the finished meal.
When Esau leaves, Rebekah tells Jacob of what Isaac has instructed Esau to do. Rebekah remembered the message that God gave to her about Jacob ruling over Esau, and she wanted to ensure that God's prophecy came true. Rebekah tells Jacob to pretend to be Esau, since it would be fairly easy to trick Isaac. Jacob agrees, and successful takes the blessing that was intended for Esau. When Esau returns and finds out that Jacob took the blessing, he is extremely angry and demands that Isaac bless him as well. Isaac says that he is unable to, since the blessing has already been given to Jacob.
Rebekah knows that Esau is now very angry at Jacob, so she wants to get Jacob to safety. She again tricks Isaac by telling him that Jacob must be sent away to find a wife in another land. Isaac agrees, so Jacob is sent away to find a wife. Esau learns of this, and he too finds a wife in another land. Esau now was desperately trying to please his parents, since it seemed that they clearly were favoring Jacob at this time. However, Esau marries someone from the line of Ishmael, who was not part of the covenant with Abraham.
What can we learn here? Clearly, God has chosen Jacob, and Jacob begins receiving much blessing. As we know, God told Rebekah that He has chosen Jacob to rule over Esau, even though Esau was the firstborn. What I find fascinating is that no human intervention can interrupt God's plan. In the passage, both Jacob and Esau try to win over Isaac for his blessing, but only Jacob succeeds. This is not a coincidence; God has orchestrated everything to happen as it did. Even though Esau tries to change God's plan, he is unsuccessful.
No matter how we try to force our own agenda, God's plan always prospers. If God has chosen to bless, He will bless. If He chooses to curse, He will curse. Nothing we can do can change what God has planned. He is completely sovereign over everything in our lives. The best thing that we can do is to find out what God's plan is and to work with Him, and not against Him. Rebekah knew God's promise, so she did what she thought would ensure its fulfillment. Even though her methods are questionable, she was trying to follow God's plan. Esau had no idea what God's plan was, and he spent a lot of time fighting against God, which of course was fruitless.
The passage is not over yet. While Jacob is journeying to find a wife, he stops to spend the night. He has a dream where God promises to bless him and his family. Jacob responds by building an altar to God. He then vows to make God his own God. In short, Jacob finally meets God at a personal level. Jacob has probably heard the promise that God gave to Rebekah, but he has never heard directly from God. When God speaks to Jacob in a dream, Jacob begins his personal relationship with God. He learns to fear God and revere Him.
We cannot rely on others to sustain our faith. God wants to us to have a relationship with Him, not someone or something else. We have to meet God personally and continually grow in Him. Jacob thought he knew God, but when God met him he realized how awesome God really was. Jacob now realized who it was that God was. I pray that we all find out who God really is and start a personal relationship with Him.
-Smart
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