Genesis 27:1–25

Despite Esau's wrong marriages, and despite God's word that Isaac's older son would serve the younger (Gen. 25:23), Isaac was ready to give his chief blessing to Esau. Verse 1 tells us that his eyes were dim. No doubt his spiritual eyes were dim also. The reason is clear: he allowed his natural appetite to take priority over the revealed will of God.

Here we find the aged Isaac standing, as it were, at the very door of eternity. Earth and nature are fast fading from his view. Yet he is taken up with "savoury meat," and about to act in direct opposition to God's counsel by blessing the elder instead of the younger. This was nature, and nature with its "eyes dim." If Esau had sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, Isaac was about to give away the blessing for a plate of venison. How very humiliating!

Here was ample room for the discernment and intelligence of faith. But it is the complete absence of both these qualities that marked Isaac at the beginning. The eye of faith was as blind as the eye of nature. Whatever Isaac's blindness on the one hand, or Jacob's deceit on the other, God's will is done. But this in no way lessened their responsibility and sin. Indeed the whole family were joined in sin at that moment, though on opposite sides — Isaac with Esau, and Rebekah with Jacob. … Esau, already called a godless man for selling his birthright, backs his blind father and agrees with him to frustrate, if possible, the counsel of God. No doubt Esau knew that God had said, "the older shall serve the younger," and he hoped to regain the blessing.

For the time being Isaac's heart was blinder than his eyes. His foolish favouritism led him to thwart the declared mind of God. Rebekah overheard this and tried to counter it with a woman's craft and quick invention. Had she looked to God instead of her weak husband and her favourite son, how different everything would have been! … But she did not ask Jehovah now, as she once had. She gave in to a low deceit. It was as sinful before God as it was dishonouring to her husband and to herself.

But God will subdue nature, unjudged nature, and in Isaac too! And not only this. God's ways are perfect and complete. He will use that very indulgence as the direct instrument to discipline him — the same indulgence that had twisted Isaac's mind and judgement. God allows him to be deceived. The "savoury meat" turned his mind away from sound judgement, and the same "savoury meat" now forces him, without knowing it, to act according to the will of God. He carries out the will of God almost against his own will, with no real communion with Him — the sad result of nature left unjudged.

God has completely washed away the blots, the failures and the errors of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… But their history remains on the page of inspiration. It displays God's grace and warns God's people in all ages. It also shows us that God has not been dealing with perfect men and women, but with people "of like passions as we are." He has walked with and borne with the same failures, the same weaknesses, the same errors that we mourn over every day.

He went blind many years earlier and expected to die soon (27:2). In fact he did not die until he had lived 180 years.

Isaac lives after this event 43 years longer, but with this he passes from the page of history. Of his death and burial by Esau and Jacob we hear later. Patient endurance and suffering marked his life. His faith consisted in quietness and waiting.

Verse 1 tells us that his eyes were dim. No doubt his spiritual eyes were dim also. Clearly this was because he allowed his natural appetite to come before the revealed will of God.

Here we find the aged Isaac standing, as it were, at the very door of eternity. The earth and nature were fast fading from his view. Yet he was taken up with tasty food, and about to act in direct opposition to God's counsel by blessing the elder instead of the younger. Truly this was nature — nature with its "eyes dim." Esau had sold his birthright for a bowl of stew; Isaac was about to give away the blessing for a plate of venison. How very humbling!

He was about to do the last religious act of a patriarchal priest. Yet he calls for his meal as if for wine and strong drink — the food of mere animal life — to lift him up and equip him for the service!

Esau had not only disposed of his birthright; by marrying a Canaanite woman he had also lost his social right to be heir. Isaac knew this, and it was a grief of mind to him. Yet even this did not remove Esau from the place in his father's affection that he had held for so many years… To the last, Isaac clings to the son he loved. In the strength of his natural affection he overlooked every divine hint and every act of Esau's that should have moved him to a different course. Here he comes before us in a truly humbling light, as the believer always does when uncontrolled nature rules the day.

But God will subdue nature, unjudged nature, and in Isaac too! And not only this — so perfect and complete are God's ways! He will use that very indulgence as the direct instrument to discipline him. It was the indulgence that had twisted Isaac's mind and judgment. He is allowed to be deceived. The tasty meal turned his mind away from sound judgment; and the same tasty meal forces him, without knowing it, to act according to the will of God.

The crisis of his ways came when his foot had nearly slipped in the matter of his two sons (Gen. 27). Grace overruled here; and he was saved, yet only as through fire. How striking that such a scene should be singled out to his praise in Hebrews 11:20! "By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau." Isaac lived many years after this. Scripture records only his death and burial.

Esau had not only disposed of his birthright, he had also socially disqualified himself from heirship by marrying a Canaanite. Isaac knew this, and it was, as we read, a "grief of mind" to him. Yet even this did not remove Esau from the place he had held in his father's affections for so many years… So, right to the end, Isaac clings to the son he loved. His natural affection was so strong that he overlooked every divine hint, and every act of Esau's that should have moved him to a different course. Here he comes before us in a truly humbling light, as a believer always does when nature runs unchecked.

Sadly, it was not something new that Isaac loved Esau. He loved him not simply as his son, because of his natural boldness, but because venison suited his taste. Rebekah, meanwhile, loved Jacob. His character had the same traits of the flesh as hers — Syrian craft and selfishness. But neither of them was lukewarm about the divine promise.

Isaac was a very wealthy man. He had never "endured hardness" as his father had done. He was what we call a "soft" man. He had slipped into the habit of luxury and self-indulgence. "Savoury meat, such as I love" are words completely unworthy of a saint of God. Like Noah, his son's fall was largely due to his own self-indulgence.

Despite Esau's wrong marriages, and despite God's word that Isaac's older son would serve the younger (Gen. 25:23), Isaac was ready to give his chief blessing to Esau. We are told in verse 1 that his eyes were dim. No doubt his spiritual eyes were dim too, because he let his natural appetite take precedence over the revealed will of God.

Here we find the aged patriarch Isaac standing, as it were, at the very door of eternity. The earth and nature are fast fading from his view. Yet he is taken up with "savoury meat," and about to act in direct opposition to the divine counsel by blessing the elder instead of the younger… If Esau had sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, Isaac was about to give away the blessing for a dish of venison. How very humbling!

He was about to perform the last religious act of a patriarchal priest. And he calls for wine and strong drink — the food of mere nature — to stir him up and fill him for the service of the temple! Terrible abomination!… We may all be aware how much of nature stains our holy things. We can mistake the excitement of the flesh for the easy, strong current of the Spirit. We may notice this in times of fellowship. But that should be our sorrow. We confess it as evil and weakness, and we watch against it.

But God will subdue nature, unjudged nature, and in Isaac too! And more than that. God's ways are so perfect and complete that He will use the very indulgence that had twisted Isaac's mind and judgement as the direct tool to discipline him. God lets him be deceived. The "savoury meat" turned his mind from sound judgement; and the same "savoury meat" makes him act, without knowing it, according to the will of God.

Let us delight in the wisdom of His ways. He overruled a partiality of the flesh that would have made His Word void, and He secured His purpose, however faulty the people were who remembered it. They turned to unworthy tricks to correct the wrong and secure His promise. So each of them came under His righteous chastening for their crooked scheming. God loves dearly, but He rebukes and chastises.

Here we find the aged Isaac standing, as it were, at the very door of eternity. The earth and nature were fast fading from his view. Yet he was taken up with "savoury meat," and about to act in direct opposition to God's counsel by blessing the elder instead of the younger. Truly this was nature, and nature with its "eyes dim." If Esau had sold his birthright for a bowl of stew, Isaac was about to give away the blessing for a plate of venison. How very humiliating!

In spite of Esau's wrong marriages, and in spite of God's word that Isaac's older son would serve the younger (Gen. 25:23), Isaac was ready to give his chief blessing to Esau. Verse 1 tells us his eyes were dim. No doubt his spiritual eyes were dim also. This was clearly because he let his natural appetite take priority over the revealed will of God (Gen. 25:28). But to bless Esau, he first wanted him to take his bow and quiver of arrows, hunt deer, and bring him cooked venison — "such as I love," he adds (v. 4).

He was about to do the last religious act of a father who served as priest for his family. And he calls for wine and strong drink — the food of mere nature — to stir him up and fill him for the service of the temple! … We may all be conscious how much of nature stains our holy things. We may see how much of the excitement of the flesh we may mistake for the easy, strong current of the Spirit. We may know this in the places of communion, but it is to be our sorrow; we confess it as evil and weakness, and we watch against it. But think of preparing for it. To mix the wine and the strong drink with such care, and to take a hearty drink in this deliberate way — surely this is a shameful thing.

How did Isaac fall for such a clumsy trick? He knew the voice. Were the neck and wrists covered with goatskin a surer test than the voice? No man of the world with common sense would have fallen for it. How did it happen? He was not in communion with God, and the crudest tricks can fool a believer who is out of communion. His thoughts were fleshly; his soul loved venison, and the savoury meat blinded his mind. "Bring me savoury meat, that my soul may bless you" — give you the blessing — "before I die."

But God will subdue nature, unjudged nature, and in Isaac too! And not only this — so perfect and complete are God's ways! That very indulgence had twisted Isaac's mind and judgment. Now God will use it as the direct instrument to discipline him. God lets him be deceived. The "savoury meat" turned his mind away from sound judgment. And by the "savoury meat" he is made, without knowing it, to act according to the will of God.

Here is the crisis of his ways, when his foot had nearly slipped in the matter of his two sons (Gen. 27). Grace overruled here; and he was saved, yet so as through fire. How striking that such a scene should be singled out to his praise in Hebrews 11:20! "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau even concerning things to come." Isaac lived many years after this; but Scripture records only his death and burial.

Despite Esau's wrong marriages, and despite God's word that Isaac's older son would serve the younger (Gen. 25:23), Isaac was ready to give his chief blessing to Esau. Verse 1 tells us that his eyes were dim, and no doubt his spiritual eyes were dim also. This was evidently because he let his natural appetite come before the revealed will of God (Gen. 25:28).

Then again, did not Esau, when he was old enough to know better, sell his birthright for one meal? And was this profane act not made worse by his indifference? The chosen family were bound to stay separate before Jehovah, among the doomed races who held the land. His Hittite wives were a bitterness of spirit to both parents: how sad that the father should now treat it so lightly!

But, if we look ahead, Isaac's words filled Rebekah with alarm. She no longer asked Jehovah, as she had in days when her faith was more alive. She listened instead to plan her own wretched deceit, and so defeat the wrong her husband had in mind.

Had she looked to God instead of to her feeble husband and her favourite son, how different everything would have been! Even Abraham listened to Sarah's voice when he was deeply moved about Ishmael. How much more should Rebekah have counted on an appeal to Isaac's conscience! God's own word, given before the twins were born, stood behind her: "the older shall serve the younger."

Jacob's history brings out two great points. On one side is God's purpose of grace. On the other is nature plotting and scheming to reach what that purpose would have brought about for certain, without any plot or scheme at all... God did not need the help of such things as Rebekah's cunning and Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "the older shall serve the younger." This was enough — enough for faith, but not enough for nature.

If they had acted in faith and depended on God, they might have seen a miraculous answer to the problem. Then they would have had reason for the deepest thanksgiving, instead of troubled consciences.

Anyone who looks at Jacob's life after he obtained his father's blessing by stealth will see that he enjoyed very little worldly happiness. His brother planned to murder him, so he had to flee from his father's house. His uncle Laban deceived him, as he had deceived his father, and treated him harshly... Next he had to grieve over the treachery and cruelty of Simeon and Levi towards the Shechemites. Then he lost his beloved wife. Then his own sons deceived him, and he had to mourn Joseph's supposed early death.

The Scriptures do not spare us the needed lesson of what man is, even elect man. It is painful reading, and meant to be, but full of profit. Many believers are slow to admit that flesh is no better in them than in the patriarchal family... But what a God we have to do with! His purpose of grace is unmoved — otherwise it could never stand. His righteousness never changes, and it chastened every one of them for good even now, yet with pain because of their sins, so that they might not be condemned with the world.

For the time, Isaac was blind in the eyes of his heart — worse than in his physical sight. His foolish favouritism went so far as to thwart the declared mind of God. And this Rebekah overheard and sought to counteract with a woman's craft and quick ability to find a way. Had she looked to God instead of her feeble husband and her fond son, how different everything would have been!

We may assume that Rebekah acted on impulse. She was working against her husband's forgetfulness of the Lord's word, and against Esau's profane and evil character. Who can suppose that she "went to enquire of Jehovah," as she did when the signs troubled her before the twins were born? … But even if her judgment was right, how sad that she spoiled it! She spoiled it by the means she used. She spoiled it also by drawing her beloved child, the object of divine promise, into conduct so unworthy of faith!

She of all people best knew Isaac's piety. And she surely remembered, more vividly than anyone, God's own sentence that the older should serve the younger. So her failure was the more serious. She would not be open with her husband in Jehovah's name — and He would have blessed everyone around, instead of having to chastise.

Rebekah was just as determined that Jacob should have the blessing. But her way of getting it was not of faith. Faith would have quietly trusted God. The One who had promised was faithful, and able to do it. Yet she favoured Jacob out of mere nature, just as Isaac favoured Esau.

God did not need help from things like Rebekah's cunning and Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "the elder shall serve the younger." That was enough — enough for faith. It was not enough for nature. Nature must always take its own way, and knows nothing of waiting on God.

Rebekah knew what God's purpose was. But she was anxious for her favourite son to have the blessing, so she took up a planned course of deceit to trick her blind husband. She instigated the deceit and Jacob practised it with success. Later events in Jacob's life show him to be a master of clever and even underhand schemes. It is a sobering thought that his earliest recorded lesson in it came from his mother.

She was the prime mover in taking a wrong way to gain a right end. So she had most to feel the chastening of God's unfailing moral government. Soon after what is recorded here, Jacob left for the land of the sons of the east, and his mother never saw her beloved child again. He too suffered for sorrowful years under the crafty cheating schemes of his mother's brother, his own father-in-law.

Blessing the children was an act done in the combined virtues of a prophet and a priest, and, as we see, the fathers of the families held both in their own persons. They received the mind of God, and then spoke it out as "oracles of God." And, being set apart as priestly representatives of God to their children, they pronounced His blessing, God's blessing, on them.

Granted that Moses uses the name Jehovah throughout the book of Genesis, are we to suppose that he put it into the mouth of Abram in Genesis 14:22, or his servant in 24:12, or Isaac in 27:7, or Jacob in 28:16? Above all, did Moses put it into the mouth of God Himself? Genesis 15:7. That is enough to correct the claim.

Here we find aged Isaac standing at the very door of eternity. The earth and nature are fast fading from his view. Yet he is taken up with "tasty food," and is about to act in direct opposition to God's counsel by blessing the elder instead of the younger. This was nature, and nature with its "eyes dim." Esau had sold his birthright for a bowl of stew; now Isaac was about to give away the blessing for a dish of game. How very humiliating!

For the time, Isaac was blind in the eyes of his heart, worse than in his physical sight. His foolish favouritism would thwart the declared mind of God. Rebekah overheard this and set out to block it with a woman's craft and quick invention. Had she looked to God instead of her feeble husband and the son she doted on, how different everything would have been! ... But this time she did not ask the LORD, as she had done before. She gave way to a low deceit. It was as sinful before God as it was dishonouring to her husband and to herself, and she took no thought of how it would corrupt the very heir of the promise.

God did not need help from things like Rebekah's cunning and Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "the older shall serve the younger." That was enough. It was enough for faith, but not enough for nature. Nature must always take its own way, and knows nothing of what it is to wait on God.

Isaac had no curse to call down on Rebekah. But she was the prime mover in the wrong way to gain a right end, so she had most to feel the discipline of God's unfailing moral government. Soon after what is recorded here, Jacob left for the land of the sons of the east, and his mother never saw her beloved child again. He too had years of sorrow, suffering under the cunning cheating schemes of his mother's brother, his own father-in-law. No human being shall or can boast. The only boast left is in the LORD. He never fails. When everyone else failed, as here, He alone carried out His purpose in mercy and wisdom.

We may assume that Rebekah acted on impulse in getting round her husband's forgetfulness of the Lord's word, and Esau's profane and evil character. Who can suppose that she "went to inquire of the LORD," as she did when troubled by appearances before the twins were born? The sly Syrian character of her family asserted itself, in the assurance that Isaac was altogether in the wrong. But if she was right in her judgment, how sad to spoil it! She spoiled it by her own way of carrying it out, and by drawing her beloved child, the child of God's promise, into conduct so unworthy of faith.

But God's purpose must stand, and He will do all His pleasure. Faith knows this; and, knowing it, can wait for God's time. Nature never can do this, but must set about gaining its own ends by its own inventions... God did not need the aid of such things as Rebekah's cunning and Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "the older shall serve the younger." This was enough — enough for faith, but not enough for nature.

Jacob's deceit is not what gets him the blessing. It gets him nothing but twenty years of toil and sorrow, banishment from his father's house, and life under the will of others. The blessing could not be Esau's. Were Isaac or Esau greater than God, that they could change His purpose? Or did He need Jacob's feeble hand to hold up His throne? Sadly, he is neither the first nor the last to act as if it were so. And this is what restlessness and impatience mean. Either there is some desire of the heart we must have whether He wills it or not, or there is some doubt whether God is truly God. It is rank unbelief or rank self-will, and these are close companions.

One writer defends Jacob in this whole matter, saying that Jacob was responsible to obey his mother, so no blame could attach to him! But Jacob was a grown man, not a little child. In fact, even a little child is wrong to tell a lie, whether his mother tells him to or not.

Even Jacob felt and voiced his misgivings. He feared that his mother's deceit, which he was about to carry out, would bring a curse from his father instead of a blessing. But Rebekah's will was set too firmly on her plan, and she showed real skill in guarding her son from the danger he expected. In neither of them do we find conscience at work.

Isaac certainly had no curse to call down on Rebekah. But as she was the prime mover in the wrong way to gain a right end, she had most to feel the chastening of God's unfailing moral government. For soon after the events recorded here, Jacob left for the land of the sons of the east; and the mother never saw her beloved child again. He too had to smart through sorrowful years under the crafty cheating schemes of his mother's brother, his own father-in-law. No one will boast; no one can... He never fails; and when everyone else failed, as here, He alone carries out His purpose in mercy and wisdom.

"The older shall serve the younger" was God's word in Jacob's favour, before the children were born. But Jacob did not wait in the patience of faith until the Lord made His promise good in His own time and way. So the promise gets loaded with reservations, difficulties and burdens. It will certainly be made good in the end; but because of this way of Jacob's, his unbelief and scheming, the older will give the younger much trouble.

Rebekah had Jacob kill two young goats. Their meat would be young and tender (v. 9), and she could prepare it so well that Isaac never suspected it was not venison. So much for our preconceived ideas of what we like the best!

A kid of the goats is constantly mentioned for the sin offering. Numbers 7:16-87, and so on. As food, the kid counts as a delicacy. Rebekah used kids to prepare the tasty dish that passed for venison, and with it Jacob deceived his father. Genesis 27:9.

Isaac knew the Word of God, "the older shall serve the younger," yet he wanted to bless Esau. This was failure on his side. Yet he blessed Jacob by faith (Hebrews 11:20). Rebekah wants to fall in line with what God had declared, but she uses sinful means. She tries to help God fulfil His Word by her own schemes. Jacob obeys his mother and makes use of the deception. Esau deceives too, for he claimed a blessing to which he had no right before God and man. This chapter shows the flesh and its sinful ways in full. Still, God carried out His will.

When Rebekah overheard these instructions, she saw an emergency coming. The Lord had told her that Jacob would have the chief place. But instead of going to Him in prayer, she took the only way she saw to change things. Her plan did work the way she wanted, and no doubt God was over this. But we still cannot defend her cunning scheme to deceive her husband. God could have worked the matter out another way, without drawing Rebekah and Jacob into deception. If they had acted in faith and depended on God, they might have seen a miraculous answer to the problem. Then they would have had reason for the deepest thanksgiving, instead of troubled consciences.

She of all people knew best how devoted to God Isaac was. She surely remembered God's own decree, that the older should serve the younger. That made it a graver failure in her not to be open with her husband in Jehovah's name. He would have blessed them all, instead of having to discipline them.

Rebekah, on the other hand, knew what God's purpose was, but in her anxiety for the blessing of her favourite she resorted to a calculated course of deceit in order to trick her blind husband. She instigated the deceit and Jacob practised it with success. Later episodes in Jacob's life reveal him to us as a man who was a master of artful and even underhand designs. It is a solemn thought that he got the earliest recorded lesson in this kind of thing from his mother.

Jacob deceives his father with the skins of goats, and in the years to come his own sons will deceive him with the blood of a goat. The sovereign grace by which we are blessed does not alter that memorable law: "Whatever one sows, that will he also reap" (Galatians 6:7).

As she was the prime mover in the wrong way to gain a right end, so she had most to feel the discipline of God's unfailing moral government. Soon after the events recorded here, Jacob left for the land of the sons of the east. His mother never saw her beloved child again.

We may assume that Rebekah acted on impulse. She was working around her husband's forgetfulness of the Lord's word, and around Esau's profane and evil character. Who can suppose that she "went to inquire of the LORD," as she did when she was troubled before the twins were born? Her family's crafty Syrian streak showed itself: she was sure Isaac was completely in the wrong. But even if her judgment was right, how sad to spoil it! She spoiled it by the means she used, and even more by drawing her beloved child, the child of God's promise, into conduct so unworthy of faith!

When Rebekah overheard these instructions, she saw an emergency coming. The Lord had told her that Jacob would have the chief place. But instead of going to Him in prayer, she took the only way she could see to change things. Her plan did work out as she wanted, and no doubt God was over this. Still, we cannot defend her cunning scheme to deceive her husband... If they had acted in faith and leaned on God, they might have seen a miraculous answer to the problem. Then they would have had reason for deepest thanksgiving, instead of troubled consciences.

God did not need help from Rebekah's cunning or Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "The older shall serve the younger." That was enough — enough for faith, but not enough for nature. Nature must always take its own way, and knows nothing of waiting on God.

Jacob behaved badly under his mother's crooked advice, doing evil so that good might come. Yet he truly valued what the Almighty had done and promised in words that could not lie. That made the sin all the greater. Son and mother alike distrusted Him, and they did so while Isaac was making his unworthy attempt to indulge his favourite against the Lord's purpose.

Rebekah was the prime mover in taking a wrong way to gain a right end, so she had most to feel the chastening of God's unfailing moral government. Soon after the events recorded here, Jacob left for the land of the sons of the east, and his mother never saw her beloved child again. Jacob too had to suffer through sorrowful years under the crafty cheating schemes of his mother's brother, who was his own father-in-law.

As a result of all this corruption and deceit, Isaac has to send Jacob away from home... Esau becomes a sorrow to his parents. And Jacob, for twenty years, becomes a wanderer in a strange land, shut out from his father's home and from the Land of Promise.

Genesis 27 shows us a deeply humbling picture of sensuality, deceit, and cunning... Yet how true and faithful is the Holy Spirit! He must tell the whole story. He cannot give us half a picture. If He gives us a history of man, He must describe man as he is, and not as he is not.

It is by grace Jacob comes in, because he had no title... Jacob did value the promise, though the means by which he got it were evil.

Even Jacob felt and voiced his doubts. He was afraid that the deceit of his mother, which he was about to carry out, would bring a curse from his father instead of a blessing. But Rebekah was too set on her scheme. She showed real skill in guarding her son from the danger he expected. In neither of them do we find conscience at work, still less any reckoning on God's gracious power...

But God's purpose must stand, and He will do all His pleasure. Faith knows this, and in the power of that knowledge can wait for God's time. Nature never can do this, but must set about gaining its own ends by its own inventions. Jacob's history brings out two great points. On one side is God's purpose of grace. On the other is nature plotting and scheming to reach what that purpose was certain to bring about without any plot or scheme at all... God did not need the help of Rebekah's cunning and Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose.

When Rebekah overheard these instructions, she saw an emergency coming. But she did not go in prayer to the Lord, who had told her that Jacob would have the chief place. Instead she took the only way she saw to change things... God could have worked the matter out another way, without drawing both Rebekah and Jacob into deception. If they had acted in faith and depended on God, they might have seen a miraculous answer to the problem. They would then have had reason for the deepest thanksgiving, instead of troubled consciences.

Jacob showed that he was not profane like Esau. He made much of the divine promise and blessing; but, not resting on God for its fulfilment, he used merely human means to deceive Isaac.

Isaac had no curse to call down on Rebekah. But she was the prime mover in gaining a right end by a wrong way, so she had most to feel the chastening of God's unfailing moral government. Soon after this event Jacob left for the land of the sons of the east, and the mother never saw her beloved child again. Jacob too suffered for years under the cunning cheating schemes of his mother's brother, who was also his father-in-law.

Is God going to be thwarted? Is He going to be hindered in His purposes? Never! Isaac himself gives the fullest blessing to Jacob. He did not realise it at the time, but he spoke with the full sense of authority — and all the while he thought it was Esau... It is a striking illustration of the power of divine purpose. Here is a man who, against his own intention, gives the blessing exactly where God would have it! I do not go into Jacob's scheming, or Rebekah's. He paid dearly for it all. God had no need of his deception.

Jacob feebly opposes his mother's urging, but not in the name of God or of truth. He dreads getting a curse instead of a blessing — "seeming a deceiver," rather than being one. He makes the whole question one of what works, not of what is right, and so has no power at all; or rather, he has already fallen.

Even Jacob felt his qualms and spoke them out. He feared that his mother's deceit, which he was about to carry out, would draw down a curse from his father instead of a blessing. But Rebekah's will was too committed to her scheme; and she showed no little skill in protecting her son from the danger he foresaw. In neither of them do we find conscience at work, still less any reckoning on God's gracious power to bring to nothing Isaac's merely natural plan to hand on the right to the Lord's blessing — the blessing Jacob truly valued, and Esau valued less than a single meal.

How little Jacob knew, at the start of his history, of this blessed mind! How little he was prepared to wait for God's time and God's way! He much preferred Jacob's time and Jacob's way. He thought it far better to reach the blessing and the inheritance by all kinds of cunning and deception than by simply depending on God and submitting to Him. It was God whose electing grace had promised it, and whose almighty power and wisdom would surely bring all of it about for him.

I do not admire the way Jacob got the birthright; still, he prized what Esau despised. God meant him to have it; but Jacob schemed and bargained for it in an unworthy and unbrotherly way... God had already purposed that the blessing should be his; but Jacob was not content to wait on God for it.

For conscience speaks to one's own soul, and it always points to God. His relationship to us is the closest and carries the most authority. A man must not contradict it or push it aside, even for the mother who bore him. Here Rebekah, a godly woman, was so eager for this cunning plan that she showed her own self-will. She boldly offered to take Jacob's curse on herself instead of a blessing, if his father should discover the fraud (vv. 12, 13). But her persistence overruled, or at least silenced, his fears.

He certainly got the blessing his father gave. As Hebrews 11:20 shows, there was an element of faith in it, and it was according to the purpose of God. Yet he did not get divine blessing by scheming of this shabby kind. What he got was an unpleasant chain of consequences that tangled him in lifelong difficulties. He came definitely under the discipline of God.

When Rebekah overheard these instructions, she saw an emergency coming. The Lord had told her that Jacob would have the chief place. Yet instead of going to Him in prayer, she took the only way she saw to change things. Her plan did work out the way she wanted, and no doubt God was over this. Still, we cannot defend her cunning scheme to deceive her husband. God could have worked things out another way, without drawing Rebekah and Jacob into deception.

Jacob was hesitant about the whole scheme. Rebekah urged him to obey her, and said she would bear the results if the plan went wrong. One writer defends Jacob in this whole matter. He says Jacob had a duty to obey his mother, so no blame could attach to him! But Jacob was a grown man, not a little child. In fact, even a little child is wrong to tell a lie, whether his mother tells him to or not.

There is a strange mixture of faith and unbelief in Rebekah and Jacob. Both had faith enough to value the blessing, but not enough to trust God for it. So they seek to secure it by deceit. So Jacob lives up to his name, "supplanter." He reaps a bitter harvest from all his sowing. He is himself deceived in much the same way, and over a favourite son, just as he had deceived his father Isaac.

"Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice," said Rebekah. Isaac had no curse to call down on Rebekah. But she led the way in using a wrong method to reach a right end, so she had the most to feel of the discipline of God's unfailing moral government. Soon after the events recorded here, Jacob left for the land of the sons of the east, and his mother never saw her beloved child again. Jacob suffered too. For sorrowful years his mother's brother, who was also his father-in-law, cheated him with crafty schemes.

Genesis 27 records the cunning way Jacob, urged on by his mother, deceived his blind father and took Esau's place in the blessing. He lied both in word and in action... As for Jacob, he did get the family blessing handed down from father to son. As Hebrews 11:20 shows, that blessing had an element of faith in it, and it matched the purpose of God. Yet scheming of this shabby kind did not win him God's blessing. What it won him was an unpleasant chain of consequences that tangled him in lifelong difficulties. He came under God's discipline.

Jacob got the blessing by deceiving his blind father, but he could not have secured it had it not been the will of God that it should be his. Had he known God better he would have left it all in His hands, and he would have saved himself many a sorrow of heart.

Jacob feebly opposes his mother's urging, but not in the name of God or of truth. He dreads getting a curse instead of a blessing — seeming a deceiver, rather than being one. He makes the whole question one of expediency, not of righteousness, so he has no power at all, or rather has already fallen. His mother boldly takes the responsibility, and he has nothing more to say against it.

One writer defends Jacob in this whole matter. He says Jacob was responsible to obey his mother, so no blame could attach to him! But Jacob was a grown man, not a little child. In fact, even a little child is wrong to tell a lie, whether his mother tells him to or not.

God did not need help like Rebekah's cunning and Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "the elder shall serve the younger." That was enough for faith. It was not enough for nature, which must always take its own ways, and knows nothing of what it is to wait on God.

We may assume that Rebekah acted on impulse. She was working around her husband's forgetfulness of the Lord's word, and around Esau's profane and evil character. Who can suppose that she "went to enquire of Jehovah," as she did when what she saw troubled her, before the twins were born? … But if she was right in her judgment, how sad to spoil it! She spoiled it by her own way of carrying it out, and by drawing her beloved child, the object of divine promise, into conduct so unworthy of faith.

Rebekah's clever cookery presented the flesh of the kids as though it were venison, and so deceived his taste. She produced Esau's garments and put them on Jacob, and that deceived his sense of smell. She covered Jacob's hands and neck with the hairy skin of the slain kids, and that deceived his sense of touch just as well. One sense remained, hearing, and Isaac recognised the voice as Jacob's. It was a case of three senses against one.

He was not in communion with God, and a saint who is not in communion is liable to be deceived by the crudest means. His thoughts were on the flesh. His soul loved venison, and the tasty dish blinded his mind.

Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the kids of the goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with "a kid of the goats." There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes.

She was the prime mover in a wrong way to gain a right end, so she felt most of the chastening of God's unfailing moral government. Soon after the events recorded here, Jacob left for the land of the sons of the east. The mother never saw her beloved child again.

In Genesis 27 we read how Jacob deceived his blind father, Isaac, by wearing Esau's garment. Esau's garment is called his best clothing, and since he was the elder it may have been much like Joseph's "coat of many colours." By fine clothing Jacob deceived his father; by fine clothing his sons deceived him. The measure he gave out came back to him. God's government of His people works with great precision.

When Rebekah overheard these instructions, she saw an emergency coming. The Lord had already told her that Jacob would have the chief place. Yet instead of going to Him in prayer, she took the only way she saw to change things. Her plan did work the way she wanted, and no doubt God was over this. Even so, we cannot defend her cunning scheme to deceive her husband. God could have worked the matter out another way, without drawing Rebekah and Jacob into deception.

There is a strange mixture of faith and unbelief in Rebekah and Jacob. Both had faith enough to value the blessing, but not enough to trust God for it. So they seek to secure it by deceit. In this way Jacob lives up to his name, "supplanter."

One writer defends Jacob in all this, saying that he had to obey his mother, so no blame could fall on him! But Jacob was a grown man, not a little child. In fact, even a little child is wrong to tell a lie, whether his mother tells him to or not. Rebekah gave Jacob Esau's clothes to wear, and goat skins for his hands and the smooth part of his neck. Jacob went ahead with the deception.

The sovereign grace of the Lord will not set aside the faithful government of the Lord. Jacob's circumstances do not change. He still has to go his lonely way as a wanderer. He still has to spend long years of hard labour and bondage in a stranger's house, all because of his sin against his father and brother. He has to reap what he has sown. Jacob deceives his father with the skins of goats, and in the years to come his own sons will deceive him with the blood of a goat.

Isaac had no curse to call down on Rebekah. But she was the one who set this in motion, a wrong way to gain a right end. So she had most to feel the chastening of God's unfailing moral government. Soon after the events recorded here, Jacob left for the land of the sons of the east, and his mother never saw her beloved child again.

Is God going to be thwarted? Is He going to be hindered in His purposes? Never! Isaac himself gives the fullest blessing to Jacob. He does not realise it at the time, and he thinks he is blessing Esau, yet he speaks with full authority… I will not go into the scheming of Jacob and Rebekah. He paid a heavy price for it all. God had no need of his deception. He will carry out His purposes despite nature on the one hand or the other.

Jacob got the blessing by deceiving his blind father. But he could never have got it unless God willed it to be his. If he had known God better, he would have left it all in His hands, and would have saved himself much sorrow of heart.

People have five senses, as we all know. Poor Isaac had lost one of them. His sight was gone, so he had only the other four left, and this striking story shows that all four came into play. Rebekah's clever cooking served the meat of the young goats as though it were wild game, and deceived his taste. She brought out Esau's clothes and put them on Jacob, and so deceived his sense of smell. Covering Jacob's hands and neck with the hairy skin of the killed goats deceived his sense of touch just as well. One sense was left, hearing, and Isaac recognized the voice as Jacob's. It was three senses against one: three said the son he could not see was Esau, and only one said it was Jacob. Isaac accepted the verdict of the majority and blessed the son he could not see.

God's purpose must stand, and He will do all His pleasure. Faith knows this, and in the power of that knowledge it can wait for God's time. Nature can never do this. It must set about gaining its own ends by its own inventions. These are the two great points brought out in Jacob's history. On the one hand there is God's purpose of grace. On the other there is nature, plotting and scheming to reach what that purpose would certainly have brought about without any plot or scheme at all... God did not need Rebekah's cunning and Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "the older shall serve the younger." That was enough — enough for faith, but not enough for nature, which must always take its own ways, and knows nothing of waiting on God.

When Rebekah overheard these instructions, she saw an emergency coming. Instead of going in prayer to the Lord, who had told her that Jacob would have the chief place, she took the only way she saw to change things. Her plan worked the way she wanted, and no doubt God was over this, but we still cannot defend her cunning scheme to deceive her husband. God could have worked it out another way, without drawing both Rebekah and Jacob into deception. If they had acted in faith and depended on God, they might have seen a miraculous answer, and had reason for deepest thanksgiving, instead of troubled consciences.

It is notorious that the commentators are here remarkably silent; or, if they speak, they bring in Jehovah Elohim clothing Adam and Eve with the coats of skins He made for them (Genesis 3:21). Some of them add Jacob personating Esau by the kid-skins Rebekah's craft put upon his hands and neck to deceive his dim-sighted father (Genesis 27). Such applications cannot stand.

These sons practiced a heartless piece of deceit on their father, which plunged the old man into the deepest sorrow, and then the hypocrites gathered round to comfort him. No one can excuse the wickedness of his sons, yet we cannot help seeing in this scene that Jacob is only reaping what he had already sown. Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats," and now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with a goat. There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes.

The Scriptures do not spare us the needed lesson of what man is, even God's chosen man. It is painful reading, and meant to be, but full of profit... Every one of them showed at this point the bad moral state of his own heart. Self-indulgence in his appetite so overcame the usually blameless Isaac that he lost sight of the Lord's will and choice of Jacob. Rebekah, however right about the end in view, had no scruples about the means. Jacob did feel conscience and fear about the deceit he was to practice on his blind father, yet he dreaded a curse instead of the blessing he valued. But what a God we have to do with! He is unmoved in His purpose of grace, and unchanging in His righteousness, which chastened every one of them for good even then, though with pain because of their sins.

We all know that people have five senses. Poor Isaac was missing one of them. His sight was gone, so he was left with the other four, and this striking story shows that all four came into play. Rebekah's clever cooking made the meat of the young goats taste like venison, so it fooled his taste. Putting Esau's clothes on Jacob fooled his sense of smell. Covering Jacob's hands and neck with the hairy skin of the killed goats fooled his sense of touch. One sense remained, that of hearing, and Isaac recognised the voice as Jacob's. Three senses said the son he could not see was Esau, and only one said it was Jacob. Isaac accepted the verdict of the majority and blessed the son he could not see.

Both showed favouritism, as verse 28 of the previous chapter said, and their own preferences ruled them. Because Isaac had lost his sight, he expected death many years before it came. He was eager to give the blessing to Esau, even though God had made known before the twins were born that Esau was to serve Jacob. So Isaac was trying to defeat the purpose of God, and the chapter reveals how his effort failed.

For the time, Isaac was blinded in the eyes of his heart even worse than in his physical sight. It showed in his foolish favouritism, which tried to block what God had plainly declared.

Jacob showed himself an expert, as if born to it. "I am Esau your firstborn," he replied to his hesitating father; "I have done as you told me." Bold lies were not enough for him. He went on to hypocritical lying, for no sin grows smaller or better the more it is used. He meets his father's surprise at how quickly the food came with his daring answer, "The LORD your God brought it to me."

There is a strange mixing of faith and unbelief in Rebekah and Jacob. Both had faith enough to value the blessing, but not enough to trust God for it. So they try to secure it by deceit. In this way Jacob lives up to his name, "supplanter." He reaps a bitter harvest from his sowing. He is deceived himself in much the same way, and over a favourite son, just as he had deceived his father Isaac.

He did get the patriarchal blessing. As Hebrews 11:20 shows, it had an element of faith in it, and it was according to the purpose of God. Yet he did not get divine blessing by scheming of this shameful kind. What he got was an unpleasant chain of consequences that tangled him in lifelong trouble. He came under the discipline of God.

The Scriptures do not spare us the needed lesson of what man is, even chosen man. It is painful reading, and meant to be, but full of profit... But what a God we have to deal with! His purpose of grace is unmoved — otherwise it could never stand. His righteousness never changes, and it chastened every one of them for their good even now, though with pain because of their sins, so that they might not be condemned with the world.

Jacob proved himself an expert, as though born to it. "I am Esau your firstborn," he answered his hesitating father. "I have done as you told me." Bold lies were not enough for him. He went on to hypocritical lying, for no sin grows smaller or better with use. He met his father's surprise at how quickly the food arrived with the daring reply, "Because the LORD your God granted me success." His voice raised a difficulty even for dull Isaac. But he felt the goat skins laid so cleverly over his neck and hands. He also smelled Esau's best clothes, especially after the tasty food and wine. That removed any further question from the aged father.

But God's purpose must stand, and He will do all His pleasure. Faith knows this, and in the power of that knowledge can wait for God's time. Nature never can. It must gain its own ends by its own inventions. Jacob's history brings out two great points. On one side is God's purpose of grace. On the other is nature plotting and scheming to reach what that purpose would have brought about for certain, without any plot or scheme at all. God did not need help from Rebekah's cunning or Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "the older shall serve the younger." That was enough — enough for faith, but not enough for nature.

Then we get Jacob. He is a poor sample in any case, but he values the promise, though it is for the earth. Esau does not, and forfeits his birthright. Jacob comes in by grace, because he had no title. Esau had title, but in the election of grace the older was to serve the younger. In fact it comes about through Esau's contempt for holy things, while Jacob does value the promise, though the means by which he got it were evil.

Scripture does not spare us the needed lesson of what man is, even elect man. It is painful reading, and meant to be. But it is full of profit. Many believers are slow to admit that the flesh is no better in them than in this family. Each of them showed the bad moral state they were in. Rebekah was right about the end in view, but she had no scruples at all about the means. Jacob had some conscience and fear about deceiving his blind father and pretending to be Esau. He dreaded a curse instead of the blessing he valued. But what a God we have to do with! His purpose of grace is unmoved. His righteousness is unchanging, and it chastened every one of them for good even then.

In Genesis 27 we read how Jacob deceived his blind father Isaac by wearing Esau's garment. Esau's garment is called one of his "best garments." Since he was the elder, it may have been very similar to Joseph's "robe of many colors." By fine clothing Jacob deceived his father. By fine clothing his sons deceived him. As he measured out, so it was measured back to him. God's government of His people works with great precision.

Here Jacob tells a direct lie for his own advantage. It is another despicable form of this many-headed sin. Note too that Jacob was a child of God. The result was that he suffered the consequences of his sin for the next thirty years of his life. He gained nothing by it, for God would have given him everything in due time. Have any of my readers fallen victim to this sin? If so, I am sure they have suffered since. There can be no real restoration until that lie is confessed, not only to God but to man.

He was not content with bold lies; he went on to hypocritical lying. No sin grows smaller or better with use. He meets his father's surprise at how quickly the food came with his daring answer: "The LORD your God granted me success."

He brought the meat to his father and told him that he was Esau. Isaac wondered that Esau had found game so quickly. But Jacob hypocritically brought God's name into his deception, to make Isaac more comfortable (v. 20).

This seems to have been Jacob's first personal dealing with the Lord, though he had spoken to his father Isaac, saying, "the LORD your God" (Gen. 27:20). Like many a young man, he knew the Name of the Lord. He had heard it from his parents, and he had used it himself. But he had no personal acquaintance with the Lord yet.

How little Jacob knew, at the start of his history, of this blessed mind! How little ready he was to wait for God's time and God's way! He much preferred Jacob's time and Jacob's way. He thought it much better to reach the blessing and the inheritance by all sorts of cunning and deception than by simple dependence on God and subjection to Him. Yet this was the God whose electing grace had promised, and whose almighty power and wisdom would certainly do everything for him.

There is a strange mixture of faith and unbelief in Rebekah and Jacob. Both had faith enough to value the blessing, but not enough to trust God for it. So they seek to secure it by deceit. So Jacob lives up to his name, "supplanter." He reaps a bitter harvest from all his sowing. He himself is later deceived in much the same way, and over a favourite son, just as he had deceived his father Isaac.

Note too: Jacob was a child of God. The result was that for the next thirty years he suffered from the consequences of his sin. He also gained nothing by it, for God would have given him everything in due time. Have any of my readers fallen into this sin? In a hurry to get rich, or to improve their position, or in some way to run ahead of God, have they ever told a lie from selfish motives? If so, I am sure they have suffered since. And there can be no real restoration until that lie is confessed, not only to God, but to man. Too often, sadly, one lie leads to another, as in Jacob's case.

But what a God we have to deal with! He is unmoved in His purpose of grace — otherwise it could never stand. He is unchanging in His righteousness. That righteousness chastened every one of them for good even now, though with pain because of their sins.

We all know that people have five senses. Poor Isaac had lost one of them. With his sight gone, he was left with the other four, and this striking story shows that all four were put to work. Rebekah's clever cooking served up the meat of the young goats as if it were wild game, and so fooled his taste. She brought out Esau's clothes and put them on Jacob, and that fooled his sense of smell. Her plan of covering Jacob's hands and neck with the hairy skin of the killed goats fooled his sense of touch just as well. One sense was left, hearing, and Isaac recognised the voice as Jacob's. It was three senses against one. Three senses said the son he could not see was Esau, and only one said it was Jacob. Isaac accepted the majority verdict and blessed the son he could not see.

How did such a clumsy trick fool Isaac? He knew the voice. Were the neck and wrists, covered with the skin of a young goat, a surer test than the voice? This trick would never have fooled a sensible man of the world. How did it happen? He was not in communion with God, and the crudest of tricks can fool a believer who is out of communion. His thoughts ran after what pleased his body. His soul loved wild game, and the tasty meal blinded his mind… What blocked his faith was the lowest of bodily appetites — a liking for tasty food. Yet the lowliest enemy, like the greatest, can be beaten only by the same power, and that power is always faith in God.

Yet the majority verdict was wrong, and only the evidence of his ear was right. In this we see a picture of a very important principle: God-given faith comes by hearing. Faith is not sight, as we know. But many people seem to think faith comes by feeling. You find this not only among those who want assurance of salvation, but also among those who are saved. They would rather go by feelings or other natural senses than by simple faith in the word of God. We live in an age in which God speaks to us, not through sight or feeling, but through the hearing of faith. We can safely trust His voice, even if all our natural senses say otherwise.

If I am in a dark cellar, I must feel my way. But if I have a light to go by, I do not have to trust my feelings. God's word is the lamp that gives us light and makes us sure. I dare not trust my feelings. Isaac trusted his feelings and was fooled… He made a disastrous mistake. He went by feelings instead of by the voice. Only the voice of God can give us certainty. And the Scriptures are the voice of God.

Rebekah, on the other hand, knew what God's purpose was, but in her anxiety for the blessing of her favourite she resorted to a calculated course of deceit in order to trick her blind husband. She instigated the deceit and Jacob practised it with success. Later episodes in Jacob's life reveal him to us as a man who was a master of artful and even underhand designs. It is a solemn thought that he got the earliest recorded lesson in this kind of thing from his mother.

Isaac, who was usually blameless, let his appetite get the better of him. He lost sight of how godless his elder son was, and of Jehovah's will and choice of Jacob. Rebekah was right about the goal, but she had no conscience at all about the means. Jacob did have some conscience and fear about the deceit he was about to work on his blind father… But what a God we have to deal with! He is unmoved in His purpose of grace… It may not be that He brings good out of evil, as people say. Rather, it is His own good, given to do us good, rising above every fault and dishonour.

Rebekah's clever cooking served up the meat of young goats as if it were venison, so his taste was deceived. Putting Esau's clothes on Jacob deceived his sense of smell. Her plan of covering Jacob's hands and neck with the hairy skin of the killed goats fooled his sense of touch just as well. One sense remained, that of hearing, and Isaac recognized the voice as that of Jacob. It was a case of three senses against one... Isaac accepted the verdict of the majority and blessed the son he could not see.

Yet the majority verdict was wrong, and only the testimony of his ear was right. We see in this an allegory, illustrating a very important principle, namely that God-given faith comes by hearing. Faith is not sight, as we know... We are living in a time when God is addressing Himself, not to sight or feeling, but to the hearing of faith. We may safely trust His voice, even if all our natural senses contradict.

If I am in a dark cellar, I must feel my way... But if I have a light to go by I do not have to trust to feelings. God's word is the lamp that gives us light and makes us certain. I dare not trust my feelings. Isaac trusted his feelings and was deceived... He made a disastrous mistake. He went by feelings, instead of being guided by the voice. The voice of God alone can give us certainty. And the Scriptures are the voice of God.

Isaac was deceived in a way in which no man of the world, with common sense, would have been. How did it happen? He was not in communion with God, and a believer out of communion can be deceived by the crudest means. His thoughts followed the flesh; his soul loved venison, and the tasty meat blinded his mind.

Not content with bold lies, he went on to hypocritical lying; for no sin grows smaller or better the more it is used.

At this point every one of them showed how bad his moral state was. Isaac, usually blameless, let his appetite get the better of him. He lost sight of two things: how little his elder son cared for holy things, and Jehovah's will and choice of Jacob. Rebekah may have been right about the goal, but she had no scruples at all about the means... But what a God we have to deal with, unmoved in His purpose of grace!

Then he realised what he had done — his attempt to set aside God's order and choice. He trembled greatly. Then faith awoke, and the scales fell from his eyes. God's will, that the younger should rule over the elder, came back to his memory. In spite of his earthly preferences he said, "Yes, and he shall be blessed." He sees how God kept him from giving the promise to the wrong man... This was his one great victory of faith.

In this matter the believer is often as puzzled about himself as blind Isaac was. Isaac felt the hairy hands of Esau but heard the voice of Jacob... The believer does not have to stay in the dark about why, when his voice says, "I go, sir," his feet stay where they are or go the other way.

Of the five senses we all have, one was missing in poor Isaac. His sight was gone, so he was left with the other four. This striking story shows that all four were used. Rebekah's clever cooking presented the flesh of the young goats as though it were venison, and it deceived his taste. She put Esau's clothes on Jacob, which deceived his sense of smell. Her plan of covering Jacob's hands and neck with the hairy skin of the killed goats deceived his sense of touch just as well. One sense remained, that of hearing, and Isaac recognised the voice as Jacob's. It was a case of three senses against one. Isaac accepted the verdict of the majority and blessed the son he could not see.

Yet the majority verdict was wrong, and only the testimony of his ear was right. This story pictures a very important principle: God-given faith comes by hearing. Faith is not sight, as we know. But many seem to think it comes by feeling. That is true of people wanting assurance of salvation, and of those already saved. Such people would rather be guided by their feelings or other natural senses than by simple faith in the word of God. We live in a time when God addresses Himself, not to sight or feeling, but to the hearing of faith. We may safely trust His voice, even if all our natural senses contradict it.

How did Isaac come to be deceived by such a clumsy trick? He knew the voice. Were the neck and wrists, covered with the skin of a young goat, a surer test than the voice? Isaac was deceived in a way that no man of the world with common sense would have been. How did it happen? He was not in communion with God, and a saint who is not in communion is liable to be deceived by the grossest means. His thoughts were fleshly; his soul loved venison, and the savoury meat blinded his mind... When he became aware of what he had done, he trembled greatly. Then faith woke up, and the scales fell from his eyes. God's will, that the younger should rule over the elder, came back to his memory, and he said that Jacob would have the blessing. He condemns his own part in it, and takes God's side.

Two great points come out in Jacob's history. One is God's purpose of grace. The other is nature plotting and scheming to reach what that purpose would certainly have brought about anyway, without any plot or scheme at all... God did not need the help of Rebekah's cunning and Jacob's blatant deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "the elder shall serve the younger." That was enough for faith. It was not enough for nature, which must always take its own way, and knows nothing of waiting on God.

Genesis 27 tells the story of Isaac blessing his sons. It is a sad chapter in which every member of the family breaks down, and we can find little evidence of any faith in it. There Isaac looks like a man ruled by his appetites, acting according to nature. Yet God, who sees behind all outward failure, lets us know it was by faith that Isaac blessed his sons concerning things to come.

No doubt he often had to suffer from Laban's deceit. But was there not a reminder here of the deceit he had practised himself? He is deceived about his wife, deceived about his wages, deceived about everything. Yet how had he dealt with his father, not to speak of his brother? Deceit must meet with deceit under the repaying hand of God.

Isaac was not too sure that it was Esau speaking to him, and as Jacob expected, he wanted to feel him to be certain. It is a lesson for us that we cannot always depend on our sight or on our feelings either. But Isaac allowed his feelings to persuade him, though his hearing told him it was Jacob's voice. Still, he pressed further in asking if Jacob was really his very son Esau, and Jacob flatly lied to him, saying, "I am."

Jacob showed himself an expert as if born to it. "I am Esau your firstborn," he replied to his hesitating father; "I have done as you told me." Not content with bold falsehoods, he went on to hypocritical lying. No sin grows smaller or better through use.

Jacob's history brings out two great points. On one side stands God's purpose of grace. On the other stands nature, plotting and scheming to reach what that purpose would certainly have brought about anyway, without any plot or scheme at all... God did not need help from things like Rebekah's cunning and Jacob's gross deceit to carry out His purpose. He had said, "the older shall serve the younger." That was enough for faith. It was not enough for nature. Nature must always take its own way, and knows nothing of waiting on God.

Neither Esau's "running" nor Isaac's "willing" could set aside God's purpose. As the apostle says in Romans 9:16, "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy." Without His mercy not one could inherit the blessing. But that does not stop His moral government in the meantime. It passes over no fault in His children, because He hates their wrongs and loves them. If they were not truly His sons, He would leave their sins to meet their just doom at the last day.

While no one can excuse the wickedness of his sons, we cannot help seeing in this scene that Jacob is only reaping what he had already sown. Thirty years before, Jacob had deceived his father with "the skins of the young goats." Now, after long years, his own sons deceive him with "a young goat." There may be long years between the sowing and the reaping, but at last the reaping time comes.

Note too that Jacob was a child of God. As a result, he suffered for the next thirty years from the consequences of his sin. He gained nothing by it, for God would have given him everything in due time... Have any of my readers fallen into this sin? Making haste to be rich, or to improve their position, or in some way running ahead of God, have they ever, from selfish motives, told a lie? If so, I am sure they have suffered since; and there can be no real restoration until that lie is confessed not only to God but to man.

The blots, the failures and the errors of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have been perfectly washed away... but their history remains on the page of inspiration, to display God's grace and to warn God's people in every age. And further, that we may clearly see that the blessed God has not been dealing with perfect men and women, but with people who have "a nature like ours."

Scripture never makes the spirit responsible for animal desires such as eating and drinking. Yet it says the soul loves eating and drinking, or hates certain foods. See for example Genesis 27:25; Numbers 21:5; Deuteronomy 12:20, 14:26; Job 33:20; Proverbs 13:25, and many other places.

The Scriptures do not spare us the lesson we need about what man is, even man whom God has chosen. It is painful reading, and meant to be, but full of profit. Many believers are slow to admit that the flesh in them is no better than the flesh in this family. Each of them showed here how bad his moral state was. Isaac, who was usually blameless, gave in to his appetite so far that he lost sight of two things: how godless his older son was, and how Jehovah had willed and chosen Jacob.

We may all be aware how much of our nature stains our holy things, and how much of the mere excitement of the flesh can be mistaken for the easy, strong current of the Spirit. We may notice it even in the place of communion with God. This should be our sorrow and our humbling. We are to confess it as evil, or at least as weakness, and to guard against it. But to get ready for it by mixing the wine and strong drink with care, and taking a deep drink — that goes further still in defilement.

Not content with audacious falsehoods, he went on to hypocritical lying; for no sin grows less or better in the use. His father wondered how the food came so quickly, and Jacob answered with daring: "Jehovah your God brought it to me." His voice did raise a doubt even in the dull Isaac. But the touch of the goat skins that covered his neck and hands so cleverly, and the smell of Esau's best clothes, above all after tasty food and wine, took away any further question from the old man.

One sense remained, that of hearing, and Isaac recognized the voice as that of Jacob. It was a case of three senses against one. Three senses declared that the son he could not see was Esau, and only one declared that it was Jacob. Isaac accepted the verdict of the majority and blessed the son he could not see.

We are living in an epoch in which God is addressing Himself, not to sight or feeling, but to the hearing of faith. We may safely trust His voice, even if all our natural senses contradict.

When he saw that God had overruled, he did not turn on his wife and his younger son. He bowed and judged himself, and he trembled with a very great trembling. In faith he sealed the words his lips had spoken without knowing, yet under God: "Yes, and he shall be blessed." He felt that, whoever else was to blame, the error was his own. God was only making sure now of what He had said before the sons were born.

Isaac is set aside, Rebekah never sees Jacob again, and the schemer who had pushed his brother out of place now finds himself in hard work, wrongs and hardships. He is pushed out and deceived himself again and again, and for twenty long years he is a stranger, far from his father's house.