Jesus Is Borg The Truth Shall Set You Free.

Abraham's son, Isaac had two sons of his own. They were twins named Esau (who came out first) and Jacob. According to the Hebrew law, the firstborn son was to receive the best part of the father's inheritance. Esau was a cunning hunter and Jacob was a simple tent dweller. Isaac loved his firstborn son and enjoyed the food that he was able to capture but Isaac's wife loved the secondborn son, Jacob most of all.

Once, Esau went on a hunting trip and was unable to obtain food. By the time he had reached his homeland, he was nearly starved to death. His brother Jacob was cooking soup in the field when Esau stumbled upon him. Seeing the food, he begged his brother to allow him to eat or else he would die from starvation. His brother sees, not a chance to help his older brother, but an opportunity to take advantage of his misfortune. Jacob says, "I'll sell you some of this soup for your portion of our father's inheritance." Esau responds, "Hey, I'm about to die. If I die what good will my inheritance be to me?" (Genesis 25:32) So in this manner, Jacob showed his brotherly love by robbing a dying brother of his birthright for a bowl of soup. Christians are taught that Esau was the one who did something wrong by not truly appreciating his birthright, ignoring the fact that it was Jacob who took advantage of his brother when he was in dire need.

When Isaac had grown old and felt like he was approaching his deathbed, he decided to give his father's blessing to his oldest son, Esau. Isaac had lost his vision at that point of his life and he wanted Esau to bring him some venison so Esau went out to the field to hunt for his father. While Esau was in the field, Isaac's wife heard what was going on and came up with a plan to deceive her husband and make him give the father's blessing to Jacob instead. So she told her plan to Jacob, and this is how the story went:

Rebekah: I heard your father ask your brother to bring him some venison so he could give him the firstborn's blessing. I want you to bring me a couple of goats from the herd and I will prepare them so that your father will think they are venison and then you can pretend like you are Esau and he will give the blessing to you.

Jacob: But, my brother Esau is hairy. What happens if my father touches me and finds out that I'm not Esau? Then he'll think I'm trying to deceive him (DUH! Why do you think he would think that???) and he will give me a curse instead of a blessing.

Rebekah: Don't worry about any curse, you just do what I say. (Genesis 27:6-13)

So Rebekah takes the goats and prepares them the way Isaac likes and puts the goat skins on Jacob's hands and neck. Jacob takes the meat to his father and the conversation goes like this:

Jacob: Dad?

Isaac: I'm right here. Who is there?

Jacob: It's me, your firstborn son, Esau. I brought the meat you asked for. Come eat it and give me your blessing.

Isaac: Wait a minute. How were you able to find a deer so quickly?

Jacob: God brought a deer to me.

Isaac: Hmmm...come over here so I can feel you and make sure you are my son Esau and not some deceptive imposter.

Jacob has not only lied to his father to steal his brother's property but he has brought GOD into his lie. God should have struck him dead, but for some unknown reason, God didn't. Jacob approached his father and his father felt the goat fur on his hands and neck. Isaac says "You have the voice of Jacob but the hands of Esau." To make sure he wasn't being deceived, Isaac asked Jacob one more time, "Are you really my son Esau?" Jacob stuck to his lie, telling his father that he was indeed his brother. So Isaac blessed Jacob with the blessing that was meant for Esau. Right after Jacob left his father's tent, the real Esau showed up with his meat. Now the truth becomes clear to Isaac; his son has deceived him, but for some strange reason, the blessing must stand as it was given. Isaac was only able to give Esau a lesser blessing now. This reveals an interesting aspect of the Hebrews' understanding of "blessings," and that is that once given, they cannot be rescinded. You would think that once Isaac realized he had been deceived that he would have been able to take back the blessing which Jacob had gained by deception, but that isn't what happened.

Isaac blessed Jacob with the following:

Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:" - Genesis 27:28

Since God is the one who fulfills the blessing, this story suggests that God can be cheated and he can't do what is just and right by giving the blessing to the one who was supposed to get it (Esau). How very limited is the God of the Bible!

When Esau learns that his brother has once again cheated him out of what should belong to him, he vows to have justice. Rebekah sends Jacob away to live with relatives for over 14 years to keep him safe from his brother's justifiable wrath. But Esay stays with his father and cares for him in his old age rather than pursue his deceptive brother and get his revenge.

Jacob eventually returns to the land of his father but he realizes that his brother has vowed to kill him for all the injustices he has made his brother so he decides to send messengers out to meet his brother's men. The messengers are told to tell Esau that his brother Jacob is coming home with lots of animals and servants but the messengers come back to Jacob telling him that Esau is already coming to meet them and that he has 400 men with him. Jacob realizes that he is in dire straights and that justice is about to meet him head on so he divides his group into two groups so that if Esau and his men attack the first group, the second group will have a chance to escape. Then Jacob prepares a bribe of goats, sheep, camels, cattle and sends them out to meet Esau in the hopes of gaining his mercy. That night a man wrestled with Jacob and when Jacob defeated the "man" we discover that it was not a man but God himself which Jacob had been wrestling. After this wrestling match, Jacob's name is changed to "Israel" because he was able to wrestle with God and prevail. Jacob confirms that it is God that he wrestled with when he says, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Genesis 32:30)

Finally Esau's men approach Jacob and we get to see Jacob's bravery at its best. He puts his wives and children in front of himself, placing the wife he hated (Leah) and her children and handmaids in front of the wife he loved (Rachel) and leaving himself cowering behind them all. (Genesis 33:1-2)

What happens next is one of the most touching scenes of human brotherly love and kindness exhibited in the Bible. Esau, the brother who has been abused and mistreated by his own twin all of his life, doesn't strike out at his brother, but he bows down before each of the wives he passes and runs to his brother, Jacob, taking him in his arms and crying on his neck. When he learns that the flocks he passed were a gift, he refuses to accept them saying that he has more than enough already. His love for his brother has driven the need for vengence out of his heart and he welcomes Jacob back home with all the love a brother can muster (Genesis 33:3-9).

How does God respond to this act of love and mercy? The Bible tells us that God hated Esau (Romans 9:13) but loved Jacob. Why is this? The Bible tells us that it is not our place to ask why or to judge God's decisions. It goes on to say that the clay has no right to ask the potter "why did you make me like this?" (Romans 9:20-23) Yet, it is the clay that will burn in the fires of hell for all eternity because it was made too weak to stand the test of fire of the kiln of life? The Bible has the gall to say that if God unjustly condemns a man to hell just to make himself more glorious then that is God's right to do so. We will not stand for such blatant injustice! If God cannot stand up to the judgment of reason and justice then he should be cast off his throne. If you haven't done so already, toss this evil tyrant off the throne of your heart today!