Feeling Alone? Trust Him.

by Autumn Dickson

The Old Testament is full of imperfect people. There is strife and difficulty. Families struggle together. We see people who are trying to follow God, sometimes in desperation, and they make mistakes along the way. We see a whole spectrum of human emotion. It makes me wonder how much we’re missing in the New Testament. We often tease about how the Old Testament and New Testament are so different, but are they truly? Or were they just written differently? Perhaps the curtain just gets peeled back a tad bit more with the Old Testament and we get to see the bad along with the good.

This week, we read about some of those imperfect people, and there is much to learn from them. We can learn from their mistakes in our own quest to follow after God. We can learn to watch our own predilections and flaws and hopefully avoid some of their same obstacles. I want to look at Jacob and Rebekah specifically.

It took a while for Rebekah to get pregnant, but when she did, she got pregnant with twins. They wrestled within her and caused her to ask the Lord what was going on. He spoke to Rebekah (likely through the Spirit) and told her that from the two brothers, two nations would be formed. It was also prophesied that the older would serve the younger.

Esau was born first and was Isaac’s favorite, and Jacob was born second and was Rebekah’s favorite. Rebekah had received a revelation that Esau would serve Jacob, but she took matters into her own hands. Isaac spoke to Esau and told him to prepare a dinner so that Esau could be blessed. Rebekah pushes and convinces Jacob to trick his father. This is what she tells Jacob.

Genesis 27:8-10

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

She convinces Jacob to pretend to be Esau. Isaac is blind, and so the idea is that Isaac will give Esau’s blessing to Jacob. She takes the ruse even further by placing the hairy skins upon Jacob to further trick Isaac into thinking that Jacob is Esau (since Esau is hairy and Jacob isn’t).

Her ruse works. Isaac is tricked and gives the birthright blessing to Jacob rather than Esau. Esau comes home and is bitter and upset about what happened. He mourns his father but promises to kill Jacob when the mourning is over. Rebekah sends Jacob far away to her brother, Laban.

Jacob’s life isn’t made easier after this. He has been separated from his family. He starts working for his uncle and is tricked more than once. His uncle likewise changes his wages unjustly multiple times. The Lord calls upon Jacob to take his large family back home to where Esau is and Jacob fears his uncle and cousins enough that he tries to do it secretly.

It’s a long story, but I told the whole thing because the context is key in order to understand the principle I want to teach. I’ll shorten it to these four details. God whispers to Rebekah. Rebekah takes matters into her own hands, an