I think that one of most sad stories in the Bible is the story of Jacob and
Esau. When God told Rebekah that she was
pregnant with twins, He said that the older would serve the younger. Esau was the older twin and years later when
Rebekah saw that her husband Isaac was going to give him his blessing (which
was rightly his) she panicked and remembered what God had said. Instead of waiting on the Lord though she
took matters into her own hands. She
manipulated and lied and got what she wanted.
Jacob received the blessing, but at such a high cost. In Esau's anger he threatened to kill
Jacob. Jacob fled for his life and
Rebekah never saw him again.
That alone is enough to make my mama heart ache. Jacob was her favorite. He was her precious son. She knew that God had something big planned
for him (He had told her so!) but she didn't wait on the Lord. She didn't pray about it or talk to her
husband and because of her sin she never saw him again. I have a son who is precious to me. I can't imagine never seeing him again and
even worse, it being my own fault.
To me, the second very sad thing about this story is that she destroyed the
relationship between her two sons. She
played favorites and that's not ok. It
is completely normal to have more in common with one child over the other. It's not ok though, to give to one at the
expense of the other. Every child
deserves to have a mom that they can trust with their whole heart. Can your child trust that you love them
unconditionally and only have their best interests in mind? It seems so basic but I know a lot of people
who do not have that kind of mother.
Part of my job as a mom is to see that my kids are friends and that can't
happen if I'm playing favorites. The
health of my family tree depends on my children being close. Generations of people will be affected by my kids’
relationships with each other. Do you
ever think of your job as a mom affecting that many people? Because it does. Rebekah wronged her son Esau. She drove a wedge between her sons and
because of it their decedents became bitter enemies. The thought that my children might not be
close, let alone be enemies, is another thing that makes my mama heart
ache. Oh how I want my kids to be
close. I want my grandkids to have
cousins they are friends with. I want
the network of aunts, uncles, and extended family that each of my kids creates
to be a blessing and source of security to one another. I can't imagine how awful it would be if my
sin caused a split in the family tree.
Another sad thing about this story is that Rebekah and Isaac's relationship
must have been affected. The Bible story
doesn't talk about this aspect of things but can you imagine how Isaac must
have felt to have his wife manipulate like this? That alone would hurt but to have the
manipulation end so badly only made it worse.
There are always consequences to sin and the people closest to us get to
pay the price along with us. If you're
married that means your spouse. Isaac
was tricked and missed out on years and years of Jacob's life, all because of
his wife's sin.
This whole story just makes my heart ache.
Maybe because I can so easily see myself doing something like this. I'm a doer.
It is so easy to think you know God's plans and then jump ahead before
waiting on Him for direction. We know
that God is God but how often do we try and help Him out? It's a good thing to remember that He doesn't
need us in order to accomplish His will. He doesn't need our money or our gifts and abilities in order to work out His
plans. He doesn't need us. He wants us though. He wants obedient followers. People who will wait on Him for direction and see His will. We were created for His glory. We were not created because He needed our
help. God had a plan for Jacob's life
and he didn't need Rebekah to work out that plan. God is good though. Jacob and Esau were reconciled. Genesis 33:4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and
embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.
Do you have something that you are trying to "help" God
with? Stop before you cause more harm
than good. Seek God's plan and wait on
His timing.
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