Genesis 28:1-9 – The negative effect of playing favourite

Rebekah’s idea was to send Jacob away for a while. Her primary reason was for Jacob to avoid the murderous intent of Esau, his brother. Sending Jacob to her relatives to find a godly wife was an excuse. But she managed to convince Isaac with her excuse. So he summoned Jacob and counselled him. He forbade him from marrying any Canaanite women. He specifically instructed him to go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel his mother’s father; and from there take for himself a wife from the daughters of Laban his mother’s brother. By this time Isaac probably knew he couldn’t fight the plan of God. So he blessed Jacob, praying that God Almighty would bless Jacob and make him fruitful and multiply him; that he might become a great company of peoples. Isaac had finally saw light and was reconciled to God’s original plan for Jacob, not only to have the birth-right of the first born but also its blessings.  

So Jacob set out on the journey alone. Being alone is sometimes the best way for God to personally deal with someone. So it was the case for Jacob. God wanted him to come to grip with himself and the plan He had for him. So with the scheming mother’s influence set aside, Jacob was poised to rely entirely on God. Rebekah’s idea was to send Jacob away for a while. Her intention was to bring him back at the right time when Esau’s hatred and anger had abated. But her plan failed. As Jacob departed that day, he did not know that it would be the last time that he would see his mother alive. Neither did the mother know that was her last appointment with Jacob. For she died while he was away. However, Isaac survived to see him return home and then lived on for several more years.

Apparently, Esau did not know the real reason Jacob was sent away. He thought that his brother was sent to his mother’s relatives to get a wife. He reckoned that getting a wife from outside the family line would upset his father. He was truly unhappy with his father for giving away the blessing that he felt was rightfully his. So he deliberately set out to displease the father and to inflict sorrow upon him. He knew that taking a wife from the daughters of Ishmael would bring heartache to his father. So in rebelliousness he did it deliberately to hurt the father. It’s a case of cutting one’s nose to spike one’s face.

Whose fault was it for what became of Esau? His rebelliousness was in part due to poor parenting skills of Isaac and Rebekah. They had shown favouritism and thus set up their two sons, one against the other. Just imagine if they had loved both equally and treated each without preferring one over the other. The result would certainly be very different. We need to be alert to blind-spots in our life especially in child-rearing. Let us learn from this episode and not be up-ended by such blind-spots in life.