In our scripture readings for Isaac and Jacob Sunday, God's chosen agent Jacob pulls a fast one on his father Isaac, with the help of his mother Rebekah. He takes advantage of Isaac's blindness to quote “steal” the paternal blessing from his brother Esau. Unfortunately, this deception did a lot of damage, and was not necessary, reminding us that deception and God's will do not go together.....
Back in high school, I had two assets that seemed very valuable to my friend Glenn – I was pretty good at chemistry, and I had freakishly long legs. When I sat behind Glenn for the big chem test – which was multiple choice - it was natural that my long legs would be under his seat, and his legs were short enough that he would frequently fold them up under his seat as well. So it was natural that our legs would touch. That meant the near-silent transmission of information could take place. First, Glenn would stress his left leg the number of times for the first digit in the question number, then he would stress his right leg the number of times for the last digit in the question number, then I would stress my left leg 1-5 times according to an answer of A through E. Worked great! Plus, as Glenn told me later, there were a couple of questions where he didn't like my answer and went with his own, so our answers did not turn out identical. A great deception, or so we thought! But high school teachers are NEVER as clueless as high school students think they are. For the next test, Mr. Wozniak assigned the seating, and Glenn was put on the other side of the room. We HAD been suspected, although maybe there was insufficient proof to be charged. And the results of that second test? Glenn was better at chemistry than he thought – he actually beat me by 1 percent. The deception was unnecessary, and all it accomplished was to raise suspicion in Mr. Wozniak....
It was clear from the beginning that Jacob was the one of Rebekah's twins chosen by God to carry the blessing originally given to Abraham. In the womb, God revealed to Rebekah that the older twin Esau would serve the younger twin Jacob. As a young man, Esau knew enough about his destiny that he sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. As an older man, Esau married a pair of Hittite women, much to Isaac and Rebekah's consternation. Only Isaac's love for spicy venison, and the custom of favouring the eldest son, worked in Esau's favour.
And instead of confronting this directly with Isaac, or waiting for a different solution from God, Rebekah hatched a deception. She would dress Jacob in Esau's clothes, and put hairy skins on his arms and neck, and cook goat meat with just the right spices, so that Jacob could pass as Esau to his blind father Isaac. And just like father Abraham made a mess trying to rush a blessing, by having a son Ishmael with the slave woman Hagar, Rebekah made a mess of this. As a result of her and Jacob's deception, Jacob had to flee to Haran to escape Esau's wrath, and he never saw his mother again. And Esau would become the father of the Edomites, a nation that was a thorn in the side of Israel for generations.
What was it that made this deception SEEM necessary? Isaac valuing his spicy venison above God's will. No wonder he trembled violently when he realized how close he came to blessing the wrong son in defiance of prophecy. Notice how vehemently he did NOT reverse the blessing back to Esau. Now, if only Isaac had been more attentive to God's will in the first place, he could have blessed Jacob WITHOUT deception....
How often are WE tempted to rush a blessing with deception? And what damage do we cause in the process? What is the end result when alleged miracles of healing are fake and staged, in the hopes of gathering followers? What is the end result when alleged prophecies of incoming massive wealth are fake and staged, in the hopes of gathering followers? What is the end result when the bible is re-interpreted to match the cultural norms, in the hopes of gathering followers? What is the end result when testimonials are exaggerated for dramatic effect, in the hopes of gathering followers? Does it bring people to Jesus, or does it destroy credibility, incite resentment, and cause feelings of betrayal?
Deception for the sake of God's will is a contradiction in terms, because God's clear will is outlined in commandment number 8 – you shall not bear false witness. While Allah may permit taqiyya, lying to the infidels, the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob requires honesty. God will bring people into his fold through the honest and sincere love we show to others in his name, and through the honest and sincere proclamation of his Word.
And it is God who is doing the heavy lifting of changing people's hearts, not us! As the beautiful picture of Jacob's ladder in our fourth reading shows us, God is constantly active in the spiritual realm, retrieving and sending angels to deliver messages, exert influence, protect from evil, and deluge with comfort and peace. And now, with the gift given to us by the risen Christ – the Advocate, the Holy Spirit – God is WITH us constantly, keeping us wherever we go, securing us in our faith and enabling our honest witness.
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keep us from deception and keep us attuned to your will. Give us patience as we wait for your blessings, in Jesus name, amen.