Lesson 2

It wasn't long before Jacob lived up to his name! Before he was born he struggled with his twin brother in the womb of their mother. He came into the world with his hand grasping the heel of his brother, as though he were trying to trip Esau. He was named Jacob - "Cheater". Soon he was cheating. Genesis 27:35-36 "And he said, Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing. And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing." Cheater became a cheater!

First, he swindled his brother out of his birthright, 25:29-34. Later, he tricked his father into thinking he was Esau and was mistakenly given the blessing, 27:1-29.

Although twins, the two sons of Isaac and Rebekah were very different, Genesis 25:27-28. They looked different, Genesis 27:11. Esau lived up to his name. He was very burly, an outdoorsman, a "cunning hunter", "a man of the field." On the other hand, Jacob was a "plain" man. The Hebrew word means "gentle." He preferred to dwell in tents. The idea behind these Hebrew words was that he was very settled, a homebody. Esau liked to hunt. Jacob liked to cook. This is not a commentary on his masculinity. He was no less a man, just not as burly as his brother. Unfortunately, in this family, the parents showed favoritism. Isaac loved Esau because he knew how to bring home the venison. Rebekah loved Jacob because he stayed and helped her in tent keeping.

The Bible tells us about two occasions when Jacob schemed and cheated his brother. Jacob's early life is summarized in two days of cheating.

Esau came home from the field one day faint with hunger. Jacob was fixing a pot of chili (red pottage). Esau begged his twin brother for a bowl of chili. Jacob realized that he had Esau at a moment of weakness. He took advantage of his brother's vulnerability. Jacob offered Esau a deal. All the chili you can hold for your birthright. (Even among twins one is older than the other and, in this case, it was Esau). Family power was, in ancient days, weighted heavily toward the firstborn. The firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance, see Deuteronomy 21:15-17. Thus, if, for example, a man had three sons, his estate would be divided into four parts and the firstborn son would get two of the four parts while the other two boys would receive one part each. The firstborn was regarded as the head over the whole family after the father passed away and enjoyed an authority over his younger siblings similar to that possessed by a father.

It doesn't say much for Esau that he was willing to trade his birthright for a bowl of chili. He was, obviously, a fleshly man, that is, concerned mostly with satisfying the desires of his flesh. He valued the immediate over the important. He thought more of his stomach than he did of his family privilege. Indeed, his flesh was weak.

But this incident points out how selfish and scheming Jacob was as well. Who would sell a meal to his own brother? Who would take advantage of a starving man? What kind of person would use his brother's weakness to his own advantage? It was not a fair trade and Jacob knew it. His brother was not in a position to use good judgment and Jacob took advantage of it. This event shows how low Jacob was willing to stoop to get something that he wanted.

The second day that seems to summarize "Cheater's" early life is recorded in Genesis 27. We learn that Isaac is now old and nearly blind. He was forty when he got married (Genesis 25:20), sixty when his twin boys were born (Genesis 25:26) and so it is likely that he is in the vicinity of eighty when the incident is Genesis 27 takes place. Knowing that his days on this earth are numbered, Isaac asks Esau to use his skill at hunting to kill and prepare his favorite meal - venison. Isaac tells Esau that he will give him "the blessing" at this special meal.

The "blessing" refers to a "prophecy of prosperity" given by a father. Rebekah overheard what Isaac and Esau were planning. The parents' favoritism is evident in this chapter. Rebekah's preference of Jacob motivated her to conspire to deceive her husband so that Jacob, not Esau, would get the blessing. Together the mother and son made domesticated goat meat taste like wild venison. Together they made Jacob feel and smell like his brother. Jacob then proceeded to pretend to be Esau. He not only deceived, he actually lied to his father, Genesis 27:19. When Isaac was suspicious of the speed with which his request had been fulfilled, Jacob went so far as to say that God was in on this, v. 20. Though Jacob was not able to disguise his voice, he was successful in deceiving his father and receiving the blessing. When Isaac and Esau realized what had happened, they understood the "subtly" (v. 35) of Jacob who had stolen (taken away, v. 35-36) both the birthright and the blessing. Jacob was the right name!

There was a high cost to Jacob for having deceived his father and brother. Esau from that moment hated Jacob and promised to kill him after Isaac died, vs. 41-42. For fear of losing his life, Jacob had to flee from his own home (vs. 42-45). Esau was left a bitter man (28:6-9). Isaac did not see his father again until shortly before his death (Genesis 35:27-28). For many years, this family was ripped apart by this incident.

When Jacob left home, he headed for his Uncle Laban's. Along the way, we stopped to spend the night and had a most unusual dream (28:10-15). The dream made Jacob aware of the presence of God and scared him (vs. 16-17). The schemer and dreamer tried to make a bargain with God (see 28:20-22)! Do you suppose that a cheater is capable of making a deal with God?

The Bible warns against craftiness and dishonesty (see Proverbs 28:18-24; 29:19; 20:10-21; 10:4; 16:11; Jeremiah 17:11). Stay away from shady deals!

· Don't cheat in order to win a game. Cheaters never win and winners never cheat!

· Don't cheat on tests or other school assignments.

· Don't be dishonest and deceitful in order to get what you want.

· Don't take advantage of someone else's weakness and vulnerability for personal gain.

· Don't make deals with God.