Passage Read: Genesis 25-28
Meditation Verses: 28:3-4
Thought
When Rebecca was first pregnant with the twins, God told her His plan to have the older serve the younger. It seems Jacob thought of buying Esau's birthright on his own, and was perhaps shocked at his success. When mother and father heard of that, were they both reminded of God's prophecy? Was that in Rebecca's mind when she disguised Jacob and sent him in to steal Esau's blessing? Is that where her confidence came to let whatever curse came fall on her? Did she believe she was helping fulfill the Lord's promise about Jacob? What is most interesting is how quickly Isaac seems to accept that Jacob is the blessed one, as seen here in blessing him before sending him to Laban. He loved Esau's game and knew he was the firstborn, so he couldn't just turn all the rights of the firstborn to Jacob and perhaps didn't want to. But when Esau sold Jacob his birthright, the writing was on the wall. He was furious when Jacob deceived him and took Esau's blessing, but it seems he made peace with the results pretty quickly. God's promise prevailed, and His will was clear. Everything was now in place and nothing could be undone.
Application
There is no point in fighting against what God has made plain, whether through prophecies or through faithful application of biblical principles. I may have my favorites, but if someone other than my preference is better qualified or clearly chosen by God, I should submit to God's choice. I'll have to accept it anyway, when my choice gets dethroned by God's orchestrated circumstances. This doesn't just go for people, but for anything: It's an illustration of not trusting in my own wisdom and what is normal by human standards, not doing what I think is good or right in any circumstances, but looking to God's wisdom and making choices and decision based on what He says is good and right.