Jacob’s Trickery
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Series Overview
3-Question Bible Study
Good morning Chapel family. I want to say a big Thank You to our more than 100 Chapel Kids Camp volunteers who sacrificed their time to serve last week. Can we say Thanks to them? What an awesome week—to see 350 kids from all over this region come together and grow in their faith. So please continue praying that the gospel seeds that were planted last week will take root in the lives of these kids, and bear fruit in their future in beautiful ways, amen?
So…I am really looking forward to the series we’re beginning today. For the month of August our sermons will be based on the life of Jacob. What comes to mind when you think of Jacob? A lot of people view him as a giant of the faith. Maybe you think of Jacob’s ladder—the famous dream he had of a ladder reaching up to heaven. Or maybe you know that God gave him the nickname “Israel”—which is kind of an honor. Or that he was actually the father of the twelve tribes of Israel—Judah and Levi and Benjamin, etc.—he was their dad! Very often in the Bible, God is referred to as “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” If there were a Mount Rushmore of Bible heroes, Jacob’s face would definitely be carved into it.
But can I tell you something really encouraging? For a lot of Jacob’s life, he was a mess. If you feel like your life is a mess right now, or if you love someone whose life is a mess, I think you’re really going to appreciate this series. Jacob’s life was a disaster. Some of that, he brought on himself. Some of it was the really questionable parenting of his mom and dad, Rebekah and Isaac (and by the way, if you look at Isaac and Rebekah as perfect heroes of the faith, you better read their story more carefully too). So there were all kinds of reasons for Jacob’s dysfunction, but there’s no denying he was a mess. And there’s no denying that God used him and blessed him anyway. I find that incredibly hopeful.
Over the next four weeks we’re going to look at a big chunk of the book of Genesis—from chapter 25 all the way through chapter 33. We’re going to trace Jacob’s life from birth until he’s an old man. And here’s the best thing: the Jacob we’re going to see at the end is a very different man than the Jacob we see at the beginning. I already told you young Jacob was a mess; old Jacob is not perfect, but he’s a man of character and maturity and godliness and honor. He’s the kind of person I hope I’m becoming.
So how did that happen? How did he go from disaster to maturity? In fact, how does anyone change from who we are now into the people we were meant to be? And the answer is: God molds us. Just like a potter takes a lump of clay, and puts it on the wheel, and spins it, and shapes it, God molds us. And if we’re willing to stay on the wheel, and if we we’re willing to submit ourselves the Potter’s hands, and still trust that he’s good despite the pain, we will find ourselves changing in amazing ways.
I am really thankful to have our own potter, Liz Lubansky, participate in this sermon series. Liz is a member of the Chapel, and she owns and runs a pottery studio called “We are Clay Studios.” So she’ll be out in the lobby today and on the last Sunday of the month, spinning clay. She’s also providing the original pottery you’ll see here on the stage every week. As you can see, today’s pottery is almost completely unformed. It’s a mess—just like Jacob was; just like all of us are in different ways. As the weeks progress, we’ll get to see the results of the potter’s hands on this clay. So I hope you’ll appreciate seeing the art take shape. But much more, I hope you’ll recognize yourself in this clay. If you’ve lost hope that God can make something beautiful of your mess, or the mess of someone you love, I’m praying that God will use this series to help you believe again.
So let’s start at the beginning. The first time we meet Jacob, he’s still in the womb of his mother, Rebekah. Look with me at Genesis chapter 25, beginning in verse 21. Let’s hear the Word of God…
21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.
23 The LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. This is the Word of the Lord.
So Rebekah finally gets pregnant, and after a few months, she doesn’t just feel kicking in her womb; the Hebrew literally says “they smashed themselves inside her.” It was like a cage fight inside her womb. So she prays: “Lord, what’s happening?” And God says, “Those two babies in you are going to be two nations. They’ll be separated, and contrary to cultural norms, the older will wind up serving the younger.”
And then came the delivery. The firstborn came out reddish and hairy; they named him Esau, which probably means “hairy.” Here’s the strange part—the other one came out right after him, holding onto his brother’s heel! So they named him “Jacob,” which meant “he grasps the heal,” which was a Hebrew idiom for “he deceives.” They had no idea how prophetic that was.
I’ve been saying that Jacob was a mess, but I haven’t said why. In a word, the reason was deception. Jacob grew up to be a man of deception. He was sneaky, and clever, and scheming, and tricky, and conniving, and manipulative. Just when you thought you could trust him, he would grab your heel and trip you up. For Jacob, telling the truth was much less important than winning. And sometimes we’re more like him than we want to admit.
So for the rest of this message, we’re going to see three things about a life of deception—here they are: The Habit of Deception, The Results of Deception, and Overcoming Deception. The habit of deception, the results, and overcoming it.
So, first: The Habit of Deception. How do you get into the habit of living a dishonest life? Well, for Jacob, I would put the reasons in three categories.
First, Bad Parenting. Pick up the story in Genesis 25:27…27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Stop right there. Why is this bad parenting? Everybody—one word: Favoritism. These two boys are wired so differently. Esau is into hunting and fishing; he drives a Ford F-150 truck. Jacob is into reading and conversation; he drives a Prius. Esau watches pro wrestling; Jacob watches tennis. Totally different personalities—neither one is right or wrong—they’re just different. And when that happens, it’s so easy for parents to pick favorites. Isaac gravitates toward his manly son, Esau. He especially loves when Esau kills a deer and makes that special venison stew. Rebekah gravitates toward Jacob—he’s more quiet and
thoughtful—and she just relates to him better. This is so easy for parents to fall into, and unfortunately, these particular parents seem to be really blatant in their favoritism. (This is not the point of this sermon, but parents—please be intentional about loving all your kids the same. Especially the ones that you don’t relate to as naturally—it’s worth the effort).
So part of Jacob’s dysfunctional personality came from having a father who clearly loved his big brother more than he loved him.
But it wasn’t just bad parenting. Jacob also made Bad Decisions. Keep reading in verse 29: 29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom—the word “Edom” means “red”.)
31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” (Since Esau was the firstborn, he had the birthright—which meant he had certain privileges in representing the family, and he would get a larger inheritance when the father died).
32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.
Now: that event does not reflect well on Esau, either. It says “Esau despised his birthright.” He should have valued the honor of being the firstborn, but he was willing to throw it away for a bowl of stew. So Esau had his own issues. But Jacob is just so calculating, isn’t he? He knows very well that his brother is driven by his appetites, and he realizes this is an opportunity to take advantage of his brother’s weakness to get something he wants. He makes Esau swear an oath, which in that culture was a binding thing. And the birthright is his.
So instead of treating his brother with love, he’s coldly calculating for his own advantage. So Jacob makes bad decisions. And that’s on him. He’s an adult, and he’s responsible for his decisions.
And then third, Jacob became the person he was because of Bad Advice. We are about to read about an event from Jacob’s life that was so deceptive and so wrong, and it was heavily influenced by bad advice. This is a long chapter, but it’s worth reading. This is one of the classic moments in biblical history. Genesis 27, starting in verse 1…
27:1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do
what I tell you: 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”
11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”
13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me.”
14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father.”
“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The LORD your God gave me success,” he replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“I am,” he replied.
25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”
Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”
27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,
“Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. 28 May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
30 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
In that culture, the giving of a father’s blessing was like a sacred last will and testament. It was official and irrevocable. And they had the strong belief that God would honor the words of that blessing—he would bring it to pass. So the father’s blessing was a big deal…and Jacob had successfully cheated his brother out of that blessing.
But he wasn’t acting alone, was he? Who was behind the scenes, pulling the strings? His mom! Rebekah is just horrible here. She puts heavy pressure on her son to carry out this scheme. She gives terrible advice. It’s possible that you have developed a Jacob-like personality partially because of bad advice. You had a dad who was always dishonest and scheming, and he told you that’s the only way to get ahead in life. Or you had a mom who was always manipulating people and stabbing people in the back, and she taught you that’s the only way to protect yourself and succeed. So you took their advice, but you’re not sure you like the person you’ve become.
Psychologists have discovered something really interesting about lying: the more you do it, the easier it gets. A few years ago there was a study done at University College in London. They put people in a room with a jar of pennies, and they were asked to lie to someone in another room about how many pennies were in the jar. As they did that, the researchers measured the response in their amygdala, part of the brain. So at first, when they lied, the amygdala lit up—kind of like a dashboard warning from their conscience. But the more they lied, the less it lit up. They were becoming desensitized to lying. And as they became desensitized, they were willing to tell bigger and bigger lies. The researchers said this could explain what happens so often when a corrupt politician or a cheating spouse gets caught. And they say, “I started with just little lies, and when I got away with it the lies starting getting bigger and bigger, until I found myself doing this unthinkable thing.”
Maybe it was that way with Jacob. Maybe when he told his first lie he felt terrible about it. But over time he got desensitized, and pretty soon he was blatantly lying to his dying father. Maybe it’s that way with you. You started small, but it’s grown bigger. And you don’t like the person you’ve become.
So what happens now? Point number two: The Results of Deception. It is so ironic. Because God has already said he’s going to bless Jacob. Remember what God told Rebekah, when the babies were doing the mosh pit in her stomach? He said, “This child is going to become a strong nation.” So they had God’s Word of assurance that God would do great things with this child! I’m almost certain that Rebekah shared that knowledge with her son Jacob. So Jacob knew he’d been chosen for great things! But instead of walking in integrity and allowing God to bring his blessing in his time, Jacob takes matters into his own hands.
And here’s the ironic part: instead of helping things along, things get worse for everyone. Watch how everything unravels, starting in verse 41: 41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. 43 Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. 44 Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. 45 When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
So, because of Jacob’s deception, everyone loses. Think about it:
Isaac loses, because he’s been tricked by his son—how humiliating—and his other son is furious with him. Parents, how do you feel when your kids are fighting with each other? It’s an awful feeling—and Isaac would now live with that heartache. And of course he loses Jacob because Jacob flees for his life.
Rebekah loses too—she loses Jacob. She tells him to run off to his uncle Laban. She literally tells him to stay there for a few days, but we’re going to find out that he winds up staying with him for twenty years, and Rebekah never sees her son again.
Esau loses because he’s out one birthright and one blessing; he’s disappointed with his father, he probably suspects his mother was involved, and he wants to kill his brother.
And Jacob himself loses because he has to fear for his life, and he’s forced to leave his family and live with a weird uncle who treats him really bad—you’ll see.
Other than that, everything is great in this family!
When we develop the habit of deception, the effects are devastating. It erodes trust; it pushes people apart; it raises everyone’s stress level. The Bible talks a lot about this thing called shalom. It means “peace,” but it’s so much more than just lack of fighting. “Shalom” is when a community of people, or a family (picture this in your family)—it’s when a family lives with love and trust and mutual respect and interdependence on one another. They offer to help each other. They empty the dishwasher even when it’s not their turn. They pick each other up at the airport, even when it’s JFK. They put down their phones and listen to each other. The celebrate each other’s successes, and weep with each other’s pain. Shalom brings well-being and flourishing and joy to those who live within it. It’s the way families were meant to be. And here’s the point: Jacob’s family was the opposite. Because of all the deception, this family was blowing up. That’s what deception does. The next time you’re about to lie, stop and tell yourself, “I’m about to destroy the shalom.”
So how do you avoid this—or how do you reverse it if you’re already in it? Last point: Overcoming Deception. At this point in the story, there’s not much redeeming stuff. Yet. The only redeeming thing is knowing that God’s choice to bless Jacob and use Jacob in his plan is not going to be stopped by
Jacob’s stupidity. So Jacob’s descendants will become a great nation, and Jacob’s descendants ultimately will lead to the Messiah…all because of God’s grace. So it’s nice to know that God’s plans can’t be stopped by our bad choices. He truly is sovereign, and we praise him for that.
But here’s the thing: Jacob is about to experience years of misery because of his poor character. And he could have avoided that if he had walked in integrity. So how do we overcome the misery of being deceptive people? How do we allow God to shape us and mold us into people of honesty and integrity? Let me give you three practical things.
First: Look at Jesus. See, all of the so-called heroes of the Bible will let you down, except one. That’s why Hebrews 12 says to fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Don’t fix your eyes on Jacob or Abraham; definitely don’t fix your eyes on Pastor Dave; fix your eyes on Jesus. Because here’s what you’ll see—here’s how Jesus is described in 1 Peter 2:22…He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. No deceit! That’s like the opposite of Jacob, right? Jacob had constant deceit; Jesus had none. When you think about Jesus’ life in the Gospels, he was never trying trick anyone, deceive anyone, hide anything. Think about that: Jesus was never worried that some secret about him would be found out…because he didn’t have any secrets. He didn’t exaggerate the truth to make himself look better; he didn’t hold back the truth to avoid hard conversations. He walked in complete honesty and integrity. What a freeing way to live. Look at Jesus.
Secondly, if necessary, Come Clean. If you’re living in some kind of major deception—like an addiction that you’re hiding from everyone, or an affair, or some kind of dishonest business situation—come clean. Not to everyone, but come clean to the people you’re affecting. Don’t wait to get caught; don’t wait to face God one day with this thing unresolved. Come clean; apologize; ask for help if you need it. It will be such a weight off your shoulders. In Psalm 32, David talks about what it felt like when he was covering up his sins of adultery and murder. He says, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away…my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer…Then I acknowledge my sin, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” He came clean, and his whole world opened up.
And then finally, Commit to Honesty. Look at what Paul says about how he approached his ministry. This is 2 Corinthians 4:2…we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. I love that. That’s a great philosophy of life. No deception; no half-truths; we just speak plainly.
So let me make this really practical: when you walk out of church today, decide that for the rest of this day, you will only speak truth. Now, that doesn’t mean you say unnecessarily mean and hurtful things. “Did you like my lasagna?” “No—it was horrible.” I’m not saying you become a jerk. You just speak the truth. Even if it doesn’t make you look good; even if it’s something that might be hard for someone to hear; you choose honesty. For this whole day! And then wake up tomorrow and decide to speak only the truth. It might be a little hard to get used to, but God will give you the grace to do it. And just like you can get used to lying, you’ll get used to telling the truth. And good things will start to happen.
It will bring shalom to your relationships.
It will bring freedom to your heart.
And through all of that, God will be molding you into a much better version of yourself.