And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
Jacob came to his blind, aged father pretending to be the son his father expected in order to take by fraud the blessing and birthright belonging to Esau. His mother urged the fraud to bring about by human devising the promise that the elder would serve the younger, showing lack of faith in God's ability to fulfill His purpose in His own time and way. The sin cost him nobility and truth, brought lifelong remorse and loss of peace, stirred his brother's deadly anger and forced his flight, and gave Satan ground to accuse him and seek his destruction. When he repented the wrong was pardoned and remorse ended in sweet peace and reconciliation, and God heard his later cry for deliverance only because he had repented. Secret crooked dealing to gain advantage God will not tolerate, justify, or work with, and Jacob's anguished wrestling for deliverance from Esau represents God's people in the time of trouble, who can plead with confidence only when no concealed wrongs remain to destroy their trust.
Deceptive Approach to Isaac
The words begin Jacob's deceptive coming to his blind, aged father to obtain by fraud the blessing and birthright intended for Esau. He was not the son his father expected, yet he pressed forward to take what belonged to another. That obtaining of the blessing by fraud was a wrong requiring repentance.
The fraud was urged by his mother Rebekah as an attempt to bring about by human devising the promise that the elder would serve the younger. God did not prompt that devising, and He would have accomplished His promise in His own time and way. The spirit of rivalry behind it should never have appeared.
He did not intend at first to tell a direct lie, but continued once he believed he had gone too far to turn back. He acted as supplanter, working with partiality, hypocrisy, and deceptive reasoning to turn his father from his rights and grasp all he could. The name Jacob remained a reminder of that sin.
The act showed lack of faith in God's ability to fulfill His known promise and purpose, though God was fully able to provide after His own methods. A position tied to the firstborn did not guarantee prosperity, for God's blessing depended on course of action. Righteous conduct, love, and fear of God could have secured His blessing even without the privileges of the firstborn.
Consequences and Repentance
The coming to his blind, aged father to take by fraud the blessing intended for Esau was Jacob's own sin, and it cost him his nobility and truth. It left him burdened with self-reproach and lifelong remorse. When he fled from Esau he went remorseful and afraid, without the comfort of God's peace or confidence in divine protection. That crushing self-reproach still weighed on him when Esau later approached, leaving him alarmed at the thought of revenge.
The fraud drew his brother's anger and deadly threats and forced him to flee for his life to escape that anger. His lack of faith in God's ability to fulfill His purpose thus made him a fugitive, remorseful and afraid. He remained fearful of revenge when Esau later drew near.
That sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud gave Satan ground to accuse him before the angels of God and to claim the right to destroy him, and Satan moved Esau to march against him. During the night of wrestling Satan tried to force a sense of guilt upon him to discourage him and break his hold on God. His sin was clearly set before him and the Angel reminded him of it to try his faith. As he reviewed his life he was driven almost to despair, but he held fast with earnest, agonizing cries until he prevailed.
The wrong required repentance, and it was pardoned, ending doubt, perplexity, and remorse with the sweet peace of reconciliation with God. He had learned that God is merciful, and he cast himself on His mercy, pointing back to his repentance and pleading for deliverance. God heard his later prayer and mercifully saved and preserved his life only because he had previously repented of that fraud, and without that repentance God could not have heard his prayer.
Warning and Final Meaning
Jacob's coming to his blind father to grasp advantage for himself exposes all secret, crooked dealing to turn another from his rights and grasp all that can be gotten as an offense God will not tolerate, justify, or excuse, and with which He will not work. The spirit of rivalry behind that devising should never have seen the light of day. Such unholy work hurts and finally ruins every soul who engages in it, and all supposed gain not in strict conformity with God's holy law He will make as chaff which the wind drives away.
The same Jacob-like deception is practiced when men standing in high places of trust handle men as machinery, bind their freedom, and rule as lords over God's heritage. They corrupt others by deceptive reasoning, pervert right principles by selfishness and covetousness which is idolatry, and grasp all they possibly can irrespective of agreements or of the result upon those disappointed and wronged. They claim their councils stand as the voice of God while turning away from obeying God's Word, and angels of God veil their faces at it.
It warns God's commandment-keeping people never to depart into covetousness, selfishness and ambitious pride and never to let the dross of selfishness enter the soul. They are never to seek advantage over brethren in the faith in any business deal by unfair methods, conniving at evil, underhand dealing, pretense, fraud, dishonesty, intrigue or bribery.
His night of anguish wrestling in prayer for deliverance from Esau, when alarmed by his brother's deadly threats and crushed by self-reproach, represents the experience of God's people in the time of trouble whose only hope is in the mercy of God and whose only defense is prayer. In that final trouble unconfessed sins would bring despair and destroy confidence in pleading with God, while sins previously repented, confessed, forgiven and blotted out by the atoning blood of Christ cannot be brought back to mind. Only those with no concealed wrongs to reveal, who like Jacob have cast themselves on God's mercy, pointed back to repentance, and held fast with earnest agonizing cries until they prevail, can plead for deliverance with confidence.
Jacob came to his blind, aged father pretending to be the son his father expected in order to take by fraud the blessing and birthright belonging to Esau. His mother urged the fraud to bring about by human devising the promise that the elder would serve the younger, showing lack of faith in God's ability to fulfill His purpose in His own time and way. The sin cost him nobility and truth, brought lifelong remorse and loss of peace, stirred his brother's deadly anger and forced his flight, and gave Satan ground to accuse him and seek his destruction. When he repented the wrong was pardoned and remorse ended in sweet peace and reconciliation, and God heard his later cry for deliverance only because he had repented. Secret crooked dealing to gain advantage God will not tolerate, justify, or work with, and Jacob's anguished wrestling for deliverance from Esau represents God's people in the time of trouble, who can plead with confidence only when no concealed wrongs remain to destroy their trust.
Deceptive Approach to Isaac
The words begin Jacob's deceptive coming to his blind, aged father to obtain by fraud the blessing and birthright intended for Esau. He was not the son his father expected, yet he pressed forward to take what belonged to another. That obtaining of the blessing by fraud was a wrong requiring repentance.
The fraud was urged by his mother Rebekah as an attempt to bring about by human devising the promise that the elder would serve the younger. God did not prompt that devising, and He would have accomplished His promise in His own time and way. The spirit of rivalry behind it should never have appeared.
He did not intend at first to tell a direct lie, but continued once he believed he had gone too far to turn back. He acted as supplanter, working with partiality, hypocrisy, and deceptive reasoning to turn his father from his rights and grasp all he could. The name Jacob remained a reminder of that sin.
The act showed lack of faith in God's ability to fulfill His known promise and purpose, though God was fully able to provide after His own methods. A position tied to the firstborn did not guarantee prosperity, for God's blessing depended on course of action. Righteous conduct, love, and fear of God could have secured His blessing even without the privileges of the firstborn.
Consequences and Repentance
The coming to his blind, aged father to take by fraud the blessing intended for Esau was Jacob's own sin, and it cost him his nobility and truth. It left him burdened with self-reproach and lifelong remorse. When he fled from Esau he went remorseful and afraid, without the comfort of God's peace or confidence in divine protection. That crushing self-reproach still weighed on him when Esau later approached, leaving him alarmed at the thought of revenge.
The fraud drew his brother's anger and deadly threats and forced him to flee for his life to escape that anger. His lack of faith in God's ability to fulfill His purpose thus made him a fugitive, remorseful and afraid. He remained fearful of revenge when Esau later drew near.
That sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud gave Satan ground to accuse him before the angels of God and to claim the right to destroy him, and Satan moved Esau to march against him. During the night of wrestling Satan tried to force a sense of guilt upon him to discourage him and break his hold on God. His sin was clearly set before him and the Angel reminded him of it to try his faith. As he reviewed his life he was driven almost to despair, but he held fast with earnest, agonizing cries until he prevailed.
The wrong required repentance, and it was pardoned, ending doubt, perplexity, and remorse with the sweet peace of reconciliation with God. He had learned that God is merciful, and he cast himself on His mercy, pointing back to his repentance and pleading for deliverance. God heard his later prayer and mercifully saved and preserved his life only because he had previously repented of that fraud, and without that repentance God could not have heard his prayer.
Warning and Final Meaning
Jacob's coming to his blind father to grasp advantage for himself exposes all secret, crooked dealing to turn another from his rights and grasp all that can be gotten as an offense God will not tolerate, justify, or excuse, and with which He will not work. The spirit of rivalry behind that devising should never have seen the light of day. Such unholy work hurts and finally ruins every soul who engages in it, and all supposed gain not in strict conformity with God's holy law He will make as chaff which the wind drives away.
The same Jacob-like deception is practiced when men standing in high places of trust handle men as machinery, bind their freedom, and rule as lords over God's heritage. They corrupt others by deceptive reasoning, pervert right principles by selfishness and covetousness which is idolatry, and grasp all they possibly can irrespective of agreements or of the result upon those disappointed and wronged. They claim their councils stand as the voice of God while turning away from obeying God's Word, and angels of God veil their faces at it.
It warns God's commandment-keeping people never to depart into covetousness, selfishness and ambitious pride and never to let the dross of selfishness enter the soul. They are never to seek advantage over brethren in the faith in any business deal by unfair methods, conniving at evil, underhand dealing, pretense, fraud, dishonesty, intrigue or bribery.
His night of anguish wrestling in prayer for deliverance from Esau, when alarmed by his brother's deadly threats and crushed by self-reproach, represents the experience of God's people in the time of trouble whose only hope is in the mercy of God and whose only defense is prayer. In that final trouble unconfessed sins would bring despair and destroy confidence in pleading with God, while sins previously repented, confessed, forgiven and blotted out by the atoning blood of Christ cannot be brought back to mind. Only those with no concealed wrongs to reveal, who like Jacob have cast themselves on God's mercy, pointed back to repentance, and held fast with earnest agonizing cries until they prevail, can plead for deliverance with confidence.