Obstacles and Obedience
Faith, Deception, and the Fulfillment of God’s Will
Genesis 28:3 (KJV)
And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
I can think of at least three obstacles in the path of God’s will that Jacob, not Esau, should receive the birthright blessing.
Isaac’s Worldliness
In his old age, Isaac had grown to love the worldly manliness of Esau. His stature, his skill as a hunter, and his outdoor demeanor all appealed to Isaac. It’s not like any of those are necessarily wrong, but there was no question that Esau was not suited to carry on the will of God for the family. His carelessness in the incident with the pottage and his marriage to the daughters of the land testified to that. Isaac had lost sight of the long game in favor of the temporary pleasures Esau provided his flesh.
Rebekah’s Faithlessness
While she understood, perhaps, that Jacob was supposed to receive the birthright blessing, she did not trust God to direct circumstances in such a way that God’s will would be done. We are surrounded in our age with so-called Christians who are convinced God can’t and won’t work His will without us. Obedience to God is for our benefit, not the benefit of the will of God.
