Cheating
Genesis 27
My Thoughts
You know that cheaters never prosper, don't you? I hope so... So don't cheat! It's bad! Usually... The way I look at it, there are 3 different kinds of cheating, and one of them is not necessarily a bad thing. I am going to explain what each is, then move on to discussing what happens in Genesis 27.
Cheating #1 - Having an affair; going against someone or something else for a variety of possible reasons. ex. 1) Going out with someone else besides your current partner/spouse/lover/etc. ex 2) Not adhering to a diet or set of "rules."
Cheating #2 - Gaining an unfair advantage. ex 1) Copying someone else's work to pass off as your own and receive their success. ex 2) Lying to gain fame/money/power/etc.
Cheating #3 - Doing something in a different way than normal, that ends up being more efficient in some way, to achieve the same goal. ex 1) Taking a shortcut (obviously a "safe" one and not how usually ends in movies. Especially horror movies...) ex 2) Using less strength and more momentum for physical movements like maybe for dancing/parkour/athletics/exercises/etc.
Okay, now that we have those points covered, we can talk about what Jacob does in Genesis 27. We know from last week and the last couple chapters that Jacob deceived his brother Esau into selling his birthright. Well, the birthright is more than just some word for entitlement or something. It was the right to the largest portion of the parents' will and I believe also for the Father's blessing.
So Jacob already had Esau sell his birthright to him, now he goes and tricks his own father, going behind his brother's back, into giving him the blessing. Now, people today may argue that the blessing is just words, doesn't mean it's it's true. But... especially at this time, it was more than just words. It was a prophecy and a prayer. It was a way of saying, "This is what I want for and wish or you and encourage for you." Besides, even if you think it's just words and not necessarily truth, wouldn't you rather your father tell you good things and wish good things for you and be hopeful of good things for you?
Because of Jacob's actions, and he had help from his own mother no less, it caused a large amount of drama and stress and bad feelings and overall, problems. Rachel helped her son Jacob trick Isaac, her husband. Not good things. That put husband and wife against each other, brother against brother, father against son and mother against son. Horrible family relationships, wouldn't you say? It didn't help that Isaac favored Esau from the beginning and Rachel favored Jacob.
Isaac trembled violently, Esau planned to kill Jacob and was even upset with his father that he didn't have a blessing also for him, and probably hated his mother for helping Jacob. Who knows about Rachel, really, she was probably happy, but worried for Jacob and Jacob feared for his life. Yes, it's true that when Jacob meets Esau later on, Esau had forgiven him and all was good. That was also many many years later.
Cheating #1 and #2 almost always have serious consequences, even if you're not caught. The guilt that you feel for one. It's very destructive, like lying is. Cheating #3 has potential for serious consequences, though I won't get into all that right now. Jacob should have trusted God and so should have Rachel. God had already told Rachel and Isaac that the older would serve the younger. Yeah, it worked out that way, but not without problems.
Moral of the story, don't cheat your way through life. And by that, I mean: don't lie and deceive others to get ahead.
Cheating #1 - Having an affair; going against someone or something else for a variety of possible reasons. ex. 1) Going out with someone else besides your current partner/spouse/lover/etc. ex 2) Not adhering to a diet or set of "rules."
Cheating #2 - Gaining an unfair advantage. ex 1) Copying someone else's work to pass off as your own and receive their success. ex 2) Lying to gain fame/money/power/etc.
Cheating #3 - Doing something in a different way than normal, that ends up being more efficient in some way, to achieve the same goal. ex 1) Taking a shortcut (obviously a "safe" one and not how usually ends in movies. Especially horror movies...) ex 2) Using less strength and more momentum for physical movements like maybe for dancing/parkour/athletics/exercises/etc.
Okay, now that we have those points covered, we can talk about what Jacob does in Genesis 27. We know from last week and the last couple chapters that Jacob deceived his brother Esau into selling his birthright. Well, the birthright is more than just some word for entitlement or something. It was the right to the largest portion of the parents' will and I believe also for the Father's blessing.
So Jacob already had Esau sell his birthright to him, now he goes and tricks his own father, going behind his brother's back, into giving him the blessing. Now, people today may argue that the blessing is just words, doesn't mean it's it's true. But... especially at this time, it was more than just words. It was a prophecy and a prayer. It was a way of saying, "This is what I want for and wish or you and encourage for you." Besides, even if you think it's just words and not necessarily truth, wouldn't you rather your father tell you good things and wish good things for you and be hopeful of good things for you?
Because of Jacob's actions, and he had help from his own mother no less, it caused a large amount of drama and stress and bad feelings and overall, problems. Rachel helped her son Jacob trick Isaac, her husband. Not good things. That put husband and wife against each other, brother against brother, father against son and mother against son. Horrible family relationships, wouldn't you say? It didn't help that Isaac favored Esau from the beginning and Rachel favored Jacob.
Isaac trembled violently, Esau planned to kill Jacob and was even upset with his father that he didn't have a blessing also for him, and probably hated his mother for helping Jacob. Who knows about Rachel, really, she was probably happy, but worried for Jacob and Jacob feared for his life. Yes, it's true that when Jacob meets Esau later on, Esau had forgiven him and all was good. That was also many many years later.
Cheating #1 and #2 almost always have serious consequences, even if you're not caught. The guilt that you feel for one. It's very destructive, like lying is. Cheating #3 has potential for serious consequences, though I won't get into all that right now. Jacob should have trusted God and so should have Rachel. God had already told Rachel and Isaac that the older would serve the younger. Yeah, it worked out that way, but not without problems.
Moral of the story, don't cheat your way through life. And by that, I mean: don't lie and deceive others to get ahead.
Prayer Time
Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.
Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!
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