Genesis 27: 5 – 7.
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make [a]savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’
Rebekah and her husband, Isaac, had favourites when it came to their twin sons. Esau, the elder, was Isaac’s favourite, and Jacob, the younger, was Rebekah’s favourite (this was the number one family error).
Rebekah, a human just like us, her husband is on his death bed and she overhears him telling their oldest son to go out hunting, prepare a feast out of his killings, and bring it to him so that he can give him his blessing or birthright. When she hears this going on from the other room, she remembered that God had previously promised that the younger son would rule over the older son. She gets anxious because in the natural it looks like God is running out of time. So, she grabs Jacob and basically gives him a new inheritance. She passes down her ability to deceive. Without using words, she teaches him how to not trust God, but how to work the system. She goes into detail about how to make his arms feel hairy like his brother’s, how to trick his big brother into surrendering his birthright.
Rebekah made the huge error of carrying out God’s plans without the blessing and grace of God over it. When we carry out God’s plan for us or for others, without letting Him do it, these are the things that happen:
- We ruin it – What was meant for greatness was ruined and Rebekah’s son, Jacob had to lie with great setbacks because of his mother’s inability to just trust God’s perfect plan. Unfortunately, she paid dearly for it…. She never saw him again, she never lived to enjoy the son.
- We miss the miracles – God always carries out His word and the best part of our walk with Him is living out the moments where He proves His faithfulness and makes a way where we just could not even see a way.
- We affect other people’s faith – We need to let the people we love go on their own faith journey and trust that God loves them more than we do. He will be faithful. He will take care of them. He will take care of us.
Do you know that Jacob did not enjoy most of his years, which was reflected in his testimony before Pharaoh in Egypt. For example, he served his uncle 14 years for his two daughters, and 6 years for the cattle.