Jacob, the Supplanter

Genesis 27 describes the account of Isaac desiring to bless his eldest son Esau. Rebekah hears about it, and tells her son Jacob to run out and hunt for game. She tells him to act like he is Esau, so he can get the blessing. By deceiving Isaac, Jacob can get the blessings that belong to his brother. Rebekah planned the deception and Jacob went along with it by following his mother’s instructions and deceiving his father.

And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” Genesis 27:36

The word supplanter from Strong’s dictionary means: to be behind, to come from behind, to circumvent, to hold back, and to defraud. 

Defraud (according to Webster’s dictionary): to deprive of something by deception or fraud.

Jacob deceived Isaac and defrauded Esau to receive his father’s blessings.

A deceiver is one who acts like a different person in order to get close to someone or reach his/her goals. Lies, Manipulation, & deceit are seeds that produce the fruit of distrust, & division. Their effects may not be visible right away, and it even may look like the deceiver has gotten away with it. However, deceit eventually leads to broken relationships.

God’s promises cannot be the impetus for striving or manipulation. God has a process that at times may seem unfair, uncertain, or unending, but it has a good purpose if we respond to it in a Godly way. Jacob didn’t need to Supplant Esau if he trusted God and allowed him to fulfill His promise in His way and in His time. This could have also saved him years of running away from his brother.

Everything in our circumstances gives us the opportunity to get to know who God is and what he means to us. It is really never about the destination but it is about us trusting God and allowing Him to shape us in time of discouragement and uncertainty.

We all desire to get to know God better, but most of us don’t like to go through undesirable circumstances. God uses the tough times to show us something about himself that we didn’t know or hadn’t experienced before.

What situations in your life make you feel restless and driven? Do you feel forgotten? Have you tried to make things happen? Is there deceit in any area of your life? Have your relationships been affected because of your striving and being competitive?

Reaffirm your trust in the Lord. His arms are wide open to hold you and help you  settle down and find rest. This could be very difficult, but you may have to surrender your competitiveness in order to allow God to have His way in your life and in your relationships!

For comments, please email me at karlinefischer@yahoo.com.