Genesis 27:42-28:9
“So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, ‘You must not marry any of these Canaanite women.’” (Genesis 28:1, NLT)
In the case of Jacob pretending to be Esau to get his father’s blessing, everyone pursued their own interests, but no one was happy. Rebekah had succeeded in her scheme to deceive Isaac, but now she was sending Jacob away. Isaac thought he was giving the blessing of the firstborn to Esau only to find that he had blessed Jacob instead. Esau thought he was getting the blessing only to find that Jacob had stolen it from him. Jacob thought he received the blessing only to discover that Esau was plotting to kill him. O, what tangled webs we weave!
But something had to be done to save Jacob’s life, so Rebekah formed another plan. Jacob would go to her brother Laban’s house until Esau’s anger had passed. She persuaded Isaac to send Jacob back to her family to get a wife, because her life would be miserable if Jacob married a Canaanite wife as Esau had done.
Whatever feelings of betrayal or anger Isaac may have felt against Jacob for deceiving him, he put these aside. Perhaps he now realized that he had been in the wrong. While both boys were still in Rebekah’s womb, God had said that the older would serve the younger. Yet Isaac had sought to reverse the order and make Jacob serve Esau. Isaac was humbled beneath the sovereign hand of God. Therefore, he blessed and released Jacob. He imparted the blessing of Abraham upon his youngest son that he would be fruitful, become many peoples, and inherit the land of Canaan.
Our plans do not always work out as we imagine. Sometimes we think we’ve gotten what we want only to suffer “buyer’s remorse”. Our own choices have left us hurting and separated. It could be that God Himself has humbled us beneath His sovereign hand. At such times it is essential that we humble ourselves and confess our sins. God is merciful and gracious. He pities us as a father pities his children. He can restore the relationships that sin has destroyed. But are we willing to pay the price?