Jacob and Esau

Question of the week:

I've run into people who have understood the gospel and what it means on an intellectual level. But one person in particular has said to me, "Yes, I understand that Jesus came to take away my sins, which I can't do myself, and to reconcile me with God. But I don't want to be in debt to anyone or owe anyone anything. I didn't ask to be obligated to His grace, and I'd rather deal with consequences on my own terms, even if that means going to hell." What do you say to that?

My first thought is, this person probably doesn't have the best understanding of how bad sin and death really are, but then again, sometimes I don't either. My second thought is that as Christians, we all have to really learn by experience or revelation what grace is and to accept it. It is a turning point in every Christian's faith when they realize, "Hey, grace isn't just like a reset button -- it is hard work and sacrificial love on God's part, something I deserve the opposite of, and it's what I'm called to base my life and my faith upon." So that thought that we don't want to be obligated to anyone and we want to make it on our own terms (or if we know we can't, at least go down trying) is a reflection of the non-Christian mindset.

From the moment we're born, we're indebted to the grace of others, either our family or "the kindness of strangers," but that's a little different. Accepting Christ is a decision, a willful acceptance of our indebtedness to Christ's work and our inability to stand on our own feet.

Still, in some ways, it feels like a valid question. Jesus did suffer and die for us, but we weren't there and we never asked Him to, so what obligates us to accept except a certain realism that we can't do it alone? I'd like to know what anyone would say to that statement, "I don't want to be indebted to anyone."

------------------------------

Genesis 27 is a chapter about people who mess things up, and a lot of my insight is based on this morning's sermon at Grace Bible Church.

In verses 1-4, Isaac blindly tells Esau to go hunt some meat and cook him a savory stew so that he can receive his father's blessing. In verses 5-29, Jacob and Rebekah come up with a conniving, deceitful scheme to pass Jacob off as Esau and steal the blessing of Isaac. The remainder of the chapter is Esau getting really pissed off, getting an ersatz blessing from Isaac, and then Jacob having to flee Isaac's household so Esau won't kill him.

How do we read this story? I've heard so many approaches and interpretations. Isaac was going to bless Esau, but as predicted by God in Genesis 25:23 when the twins were born, Jacob ends up on top, which we can take to mean that God has excellent foresight. Esau gave up the right to a birthright in Genesis 25 when he ate Jacob's stew, so what happened was really what Esau deserved. Sure, Jacob and Rebekah were deceitful and corrupt in the way they went about it, but they were passionate after God's blessing, so in the end, that was in accordance with God's will -- sort of the argument that the person who really wants the championship is the person who will use any means to get there. And nothing really happens to Jacob -- he gets the blessing, doesn't he -- so it must've been okay for him to do what he did.

Here are some important things I've realized about this story:

- By choosing Esau to bless, Isaac is trying to circumvent God's will. I'd always read God's words in Genesis 25:23 as prophecy, not a command, but God definitely told Rebekah (who almost certainly would've told Isaac) that the blessing was to go to Jacob. So it's not as if the blessing was ever up for grabs, and Jacob just came away with it in the end. Jacob was intended to have God's blessing from the beginning.

- Jacob was supposed to have the blessing because God wanted him to, and that's all we'll ever really know about it. Malachi 1:2-3 and all of that. It's a reality of how God works, and it's not a function of merit or deserving. Jacob was a conniving little snot, and Esau married a Hittite and gave his parents grief, so it's not like either were golden boys.

- It is absolutely ridiculous that Isaac tried to circumvent God's will and give the blessing to Esau over his affinity for Esau's venison stew, but we forgo God's plan for ridiculous things too. A Bible scholar named Alexander Whyte noted, "What envy was to Cain, and what wine was to Noah, and what lewdness was to Ham, and what wealth was to Lot, and what pride and impatience were to Sarah -- all that, venison and savoury meat were to Isaac." Great men of God sacrifice so much of their marital happiness and godly purity for the momentary pleasures of Internet pornography. It is important that I realize that I am not above any sin, ever.

- Are Jacob and Rebekah working to achieve the stated will of God? Yes. Are they sinning in the way they go about it? Absolutely they are. But they get the blessing -- does that mean it's okay? No way. It is one thing to work toward the stated will of God and another to do it by worldly means. First, it's clear that they're sinning. Jacob's chief concern is getting caught by Isaac, not doing wrong. And they're lying and deceiving and stealing. Second, if they do things wrong and don't reap the consequences they deserve -- well, that's the definition of mercy, right? Doesn't mean they weren't sinning. Third, Jacob and Rebekah do have to deal with pretty dire consequences that I hadn't thought about before today. Jacob has to leave his father's house for hard labor in Laban's fields. He never gets to see his mother again, and accordingly, Rebekah never sees her favorite son again. Jacob and Esau, two twin brothers, are also estranged in a hateful relationship for decades. And their descendents are continually at war, up until King Herod (an Edomite) encounters Jesus (an Israelite). So the fact that Jacob did end up with the blessing doesn't mean he got away with anything so much as it reflects how God is going to make His will come to pass.

I had a lot of misconceptions about Jacob and Esau, but I think today's sermon and reflection have helped a lot. These were men like us, they screwed up like us, and they are redeemed like us. And I've certainly exchanged God's blessing for things stupider than venison.