Brother vs. Brother



Genesis 27:1-40

http://www.esvbible.org/Genesis+27%3A1-40/

We’ve all heard of (and probably experienced) sibling rivalry. Every family, no matter how much they look like the Cleavers or the Bradys, (for those of you old enough to remember Leave It to Beaver or The Brady Bunch – like me) has its squabbles between the children. And we can all probably relate stories within our own extended families of fights over money and inheritance. It can get very ugly, very quickly sometimes.

Our story for today contains just such a family struggle. A few days ago, we recognized that the Isaac/Rebekah family had some serious dysfunction going on as Isaac chose to favor Esau and Rebekah chose to favor Jacob. And of course, these twins were born fighting. That this story should come along is really no surprise to anyone. It’s time for dad’s vast wealth to be given to the next generation and the battle ensues. We’ve already seen Esau sell his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup. Perhaps not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But now Isaac is ready to pass on the family fortune; and what does he request? A tasty meal. Like father, like son? I have often wondered if Isaac knew about the “birthright for a bowl of soup” deal. The text doesn’t indicate whether he knew about that conversation or not. Esau certainly speaks of it when he declares Jacob to be a thief. And let’s not forget about Rebekah’s part in this drama. She’s the one with the idea to deceive Isaac in the first place. The text doesn’t indicate that Jacob ever ratted her out by telling Isaac or Esau it was all her idea. But she is a huge part of the deception. With all of that said here’s the truth. God’s plan, from the conception of these twins was that Jacob would be the leader. Jacob would be the line through which the Messiah would come. Even in the deceptions by the people of this story the will of God being played out. God certainly did not need this deceptive circumstance, but He did use the actions of this family to bring about His plan.

Our attempts to manipulate our circumstances do not change the will of God nor do they change His plan. To think that God would change His plans would be to say that they were not perfect in the first place and that is never true. God’s plans don’t need adjusting. They are perfect, holy, and have our benefit in mind at all times. The Disciples certainly didn’t care for God’s plan when they saw that their Messiah was going to be crucified. That seemed like utter madness to them. But that plan for our salvation was perfect and not to be thwarted by the machinations of mere man. Even though Rebekah had been told during pregnancy that the younger brother would lead the older brother, God did not need her help in making that happen. God never needs our help, just our obedience.

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