Genesis 27 – Problems and Possible Resolutions on Jacob Receiving the Blessing

Genesis 27. This is truly a problem passage for me. Jacob receives the blessing of Isaac through his and his mother’s deceit. At least twice in the narrative, he lies to his father; but the whole scene is one big lie. But that’s not what bothers me. Romans 9 says that Jacob was elect and Esau was not. Jacob came out second but ended up first. He got both the birthright and the blessing. I don't have much problem with the way he got the birthright. Although it was an unfair trade, both parties consented.* But this, this is difficult for me. Why would God bless Jacob over Esau in light of this?

The question comes down to this: does God's sovereign will ordain sin? This took place before Mosaic law, but in God's eyes, what Jacob sinned. And Esau was the victim here. If God is active in this narrative, then doesn't that make Him a contributor to sin in the story? And if He is passively letting His foreordained will be carried out, then does that not also make Him an accomplice by having the power and doing nothing?

† God, forgive me. I worship You and mean no disrespect to Your holy name, but this raises a huge question for me that I pray You would help me resolve. Why would You bless Jacob for doing this? †

Here's a question? Was Jacob's receipt of the Isaac’s blessing a prerequisite for God's blessing? In other words, if Jacob had not deceived his father, by the aid and encouragement of his mother, and had Esau received the physical blessing of Isaac, would Jacob still have been the one chosen by God? If the answer is no, then it seems to demonstrate that God used and ordained sinful means to carry out His foreordained will. (The Arminian has no choice to make this conclusion.) But if the physically blessing was not required, it would demonstrate that God’s foreordained will could and would still prevail, that God would still elevate His elect Jacob to the position of His choosing despite circumstances.

Again, Romans 9:11 says that God chose Jacob before he was born, before he had done anything good or bad. The Arminian would say that God’s foreordination merely means that God chose Jacob ahead of time based upon a decision he would make of his own volition. If that were true, then God would have chosen Jacob based upon sin – lying, deceitful, wicked victimization of his own brother. God would, in effect, be ordaining sinful behavior to accomplish His will.

However, if God choice of Jacob had absolutely nothing to do with Jacob, then His will must be sovereign over all things. Had Jacob and Rebekah acted with integrity, God's power would have been shown by raising Jacob to be the inheritor of the real spiritual blessing even though Esau received the physical blessing. Perhaps God would have spoken to Isaac at the last minute, as He did with Abraham when the knife was lifted, telling him to bless Jacob rather than Esau. We will never know since Jacob, in fact, didn't act in integrity. Oh what a remarkable story would have unfolded in Genesis if Jacob and Rebekah had remained upright and allowed God to elevate Jacob.

If we go back to Genesis 25:23, we can see that God revealed to Rebekah that Jacob would in fact be the inheritor of the blessing. Rebekah knew that Jacob had been chosen over his brother Esau before he was even born. Yet she chose, like Abraham when God made His covenant with him, to take matters into her own hands. It is not clear what she was thinking in that moment when she overheard Isaac tell Esau that he would bless him, but it seems she felt compelled to act rather than trust, and she brought Jacob along in this deception.

But God’s will and power still prevailed, and God still received the glory because He raised Jacob, His elect, up IN SPITE of his sinfulness. He, like His elect Abraham (taking matters into his own hands with Hagar and producing Ishmael), or the rejected King Saul (offering sacrifices rather than obeying), or countless others who did not trust God to come through but made their own way, God’s sovereignty still prevailed. In His elect, He showed Himself faithful in their faithlessness. The others he rejected. Each were responsible before God for their sins, but God chose to overlook those of His elect until Christ was put forth as their righteousness(Rom 3:25).

*It was underhanded, however, how Jacob took advantage of his brother’s weakness. That Esau despised his birthright, which entitled him to many things – the double portion of estate, care over the family, as well as a fellowship with God due to these privileges (see Keil and Delitzch Commentary) – trading it for his the gratification of his fleshly appetite. It demonstrates Esau’s reprobation, that God loosened His restraint upon Esau to the point where he would not hold on the that which is sacred. Hebrews 12:16 goes so far as to Esau was unholy for this.

Th, 2/15/07-M, 2/19/07