Genesis 27

“Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau…’” Genesis 27:5-6a (HCSB)

Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, ‘Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin. Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself.’ His mother said to him, ‘Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.’” Genesis 27:11-13 (HCSB)

It is important to remember what God told Rebekah in Genesis 25:23. When she inquired about her unborn children, she was told, “Two nations are in your womb; two people will come from you and be separated. One people  will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”  Rebekah knew God’s message concerning her two sons, which most likely explains why she kept Jacob so close.

God’s prophecy appeared to be in jeopardy by Isaac’s plan to bless Esau. Knowing how attached Isaac was to Esau, Rebekah must have felt how useless it was to dissuade Isaac. In desperation, she decided to circumvent him. Notice the Bible does not condone or condemn her actions. It just reports the facts. We are left to develop opinions as to the morality of these events.

At least, let today’s passage act as a warning to us all: God does a fine job backing up His own promises. He definitely does not need for us to sin to make His Word come true. God could have easily spoken to Isaac as He spoke to Abraham, back when he would sacrifice Isaac. Who is to say God did not communicate the same prophecy to Isaac concerning his sons?   Either way, Isaac was too rebellious, irrational, or forgetful to heed God’s Word.

Of course, because of Rebekah’s impulsiveness, Isaac was robbed of God’s intervention, and Esau was robbed of his blessing. Because Jacob was a partner in the deceit, we will soon read of his misfortune with an uncle named “Laban.”

Finally, Rebekah robbed herself. She was correct to say, “Your curse be on me.”  Not only did she never see her beloved Jacob again, but she was left behind, serving the two men she had deceived.

We must resist the temptation to fulfill God’s promises by our own wit, strength, and timing. Wait on the Lord and let Him unfold His plan as promised.