The Book of Genesis
Day 250
Ge 27:6 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 savory food for me, that I may
eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.' 8 "Now
therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 "Go
now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I
will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10
"Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he
may bless you before his death." 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother,
"Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12
"Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him;
and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing." 13 But his mother
said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go,
get them for me." 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his
mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then
Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in
the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of
the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then
she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand
of her son Jacob.
I don’t know about
you, but I’m having trouble feeling the love in this family. It’s seems that
mom and dad have allowed their affections for their children to sabotage the
rest of the relationships in this family. Look where this favoritism has led! A wife deliberately plotting to take
advantage of her husband’s frail health in order to get the blessing for HER
favorite child. And Isaac bent on blessing his favorite hunting partner, in
spite of what God had said at the birth of these twins!
It’s sad to see
that communication between husband and wife has deteriorated to the point of
eavesdropping! Let’s face it, this home life situation for these four has
gotten way out of balance. This is a dysfunctional family that has reached a
point where the son (Jacob) doesn’t object to the trickery that his mother has
advised; his only concern is that he might get caught.
And look at mom!
She says, “don’t worry if we get caught I’ll take the blame!” Where have I
heard that line of thinking before? I’m ashamed to admit it, but many of my
teenage misadventures were often underwritten by my peers with that same
guarantee. (Funny, when we would get caught that blame more often than not
ended up landing on me anyway!)
This whole sad
episode, and many other episodes of dysfunctional families often stem from a
blurring of roles in the family. We would all do well to seek to live in
accordance with the model given to us in Eph 5 and 6:
“Wives submit to your
husbands as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the
church and gave Himself for it. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for
this is right, and fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring
them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
Do these things
and begin the process of turning dysfunctional into functional. It’s the way
God designed our families to operate.
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