Working with the Promise

Today's account demonstrates the challenge of human beings working with God's plan. Rebekah, when her babies were jostling around inside of her, inquired of the Lord and he said to her "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger" (Ge 25:23).

The older will serve the younger. It was through Jacob that the Messianic promise would continue. I'm assuming Rebekah shared that with Isaac, yet Isaac always favored Esau. Esau was to get the birthright and the blessing. I tend to feel for Isaac as he is deceived by his wife and Jacob. But what if they hadn't deceived him? His blessing of Esau would have been in opposition to God's will. This would be no small slip up as it would be standing in the way of God's plan to bring salvation to the world through the Jewish people that would come from Jacob. And while likely their intention was to carry out God's will, the way Rebekah and Jacob try to help God through their deception was wrong as well. This does show how God can work through all kinds of situations, even sin, to bring about his plans.

On a side note, yet a similar situation, Esau also shows his lack of understanding of God's plan when he sees his parents disappointed in his pick of Canaanite wives and takes a third wife, from Ishmael's family (if he really wanted to impress them, it was through Isaac's line that Abraham's offspring would be reckoned). The Daily Bible editor sees it as an act of rebellion--maybe, or maybe it's just ignorance once again of the details of God's promise.