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Rebekah's punishment

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by tinytim, Oct 30, 2007.

  1. tinytim

    tinytim <img src =/tim2.jpg>

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    What if any was Rebekah's punishment for coming up with the plan for Jacob to lie to Isaac... Tricking Isaac to give him Esau's blessing?

    Wasn't this the ultimate "Trick or Treat?

    It appears God rewarded Jacob and Rebekah for lying....
    But there has to be more, so what were their punishment for taking matters into their own hands?

    And what would have happened if Isaac would have blessed Esau instead?
    Genesis 27:5-13
    (5)
    And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt [for] venison, [and] to bring [it].
    (6) And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
    (7) Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.
    (8) Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
    (9) Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
    (10) And thou shalt bring [it] to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
    (11) And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother [is] a hairy man, and I [am] a smooth man:
    (12) My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
    (13) And his mother said unto him, Upon me [be] thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me [them].
     
  2. npetreley

    npetreley New Member

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    I don't have an answer for your OP, but I have to say Esau must have been an ape if his father could be fooled by a goatskin. Maybe the Yeti is Esau's descendent.
     
  3. tinytim

    tinytim <img src =/tim2.jpg>

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    I guess I have always been somewhat puzzled, how God can reward the obvious sins in Jacob's life.

    His starving brother comes to him, and he swindles him out of his birthright...

    Here he lies and says he is Esau...

    Rebekah shows favoritism....

    Where is the punishment for Sin? Instead, God blesses him, and makes a mighty nation...

    What lesson am I overlooking?
     
  4. npetreley

    npetreley New Member

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    Wow, I've struggled with that and more, too. Jacob was such a devious con-man, wasn't he? The only lesson I can get from it is God's sovereignty. He picked Jacob for His own reasons, and it doesn't matter what we think. Maybe that's not the lesson we're supposed to get, but it's the only way I can explain it.

    I've also struggled with Jacob wrestling for a blessing. That just seems so weird, and I feel like I should learn something important from it, but I'm not sure what.
     
  5. Tom Butler

    Tom Butler New Member

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    One of Rebekah's punishments was, that after she sent Jacob to Uncle Laban's to escape Esau's death threat, she never saw him again.

    Conversely, Jacob never saw his mother again. And he repeated Isaac and Rebekah's mistake by showing favoritism to Joseph, causing all sorts of family discord.

    Seems as if both Isaac's family and Jacob's family were basically dysfunctional. Yet, God used flawed human beings to accomplish his plan.
     
  6. Palatka51

    Palatka51 New Member

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    Does any not remember what God told Rebekah before Jacob and Esau were born?
    Rebekah and Jacob were not outside of Gods plan, Isaac and Esau were.
    Rebekah and Jacob desired the blessing and would do what was necessary to secure it.
    Isaac ignored God's plan and was going to bless the one he wanted to bless.
    Esau couldn't care less as long as his immediate needs were met now.
    Besides did not Jacob have to leave with just the clothes on his back?
    Did he not have to work hard for his wives?
    Did he not have to earn his living while dwelling with Laban? When he returned did he find Esau a pauper?
    Did not Esau get all of Isaac's material goods?
    Did he not stay his wrath when he found out that Jacob came back a rich man?
    He did not attack Jacob when he was satisfied that Jacob did not come back to still his riches.

    When will y'all get it straight that the blessing never was material but significant to the Messiah's lineage?:tonofbricks:
     
  7. tinytim

    tinytim <img src =/tim2.jpg>

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    Thank you Tom. That's some of what I was looking for.
    Palatki... I know it was a spiritual blessing...

    But Jacob was a con-man... surely you are not saying that it was OK for Jacob to lie as long as the end worked out.

    I was just thinking what must have went through Jacob's mind when Joseph's brothers tricked him with the animal's blood and said it was Jacob's favorite son... Joseph.

    One trick led to another... Just thinking...
    And yes, God works through us inspite of ourselves...
     
  8. Aaron

    Aaron Member
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    You're right, tiny, God did not deal with Jacob as his sins deserved. Aren't you glad He's that way with you too?

    He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Ps 103:10
     
  9. tinytim

    tinytim <img src =/tim2.jpg>

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    Exactly!!! Thanks Aaron.

    Jacob's sins were dealt with... On Calvary!!!

    Duh!!.. Now why couldn't I see that?

    Thanks everyone.
     
  10. Scarlett O.

    Scarlett O. Moderator
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    Here's my two cents.

    You've got to go all the way back to Abraham and Sarah. God promised them a son. Then God waited......

    ......a long time.

    So Abraham and Sarah decided to "help" God out. You see where that landed them.

    Abraham favored Isaac because he was the son of the promise and because Sarah asked him to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael. So Isaac grew up with an understanding that the "son of the promise" is the only son that counts.

    When Isaac marries Rebekah and they are expecting twins, the twins wrestle inside of her and she seeks God on this matter. Wise move on her part. God tells her that the twins will be two entirely separate nations and that the older will serve the younger. God reveals their destiny to her.

    So....as she sees her husband showing favortism to the son of the promise, the oldest, she, as a mother cannot help but favor the younger. And as she sees Esau approaching the day of being blessed by his father, she, just like Abraham and Sarah, tries to help God out with His plans.

    And you see where that got her. Separated from her son forever.

    And Jacob, the opportunist....the "grabber", follows in the footsteps of his grandfather and father. Only he does more damage than they. In his mind, Rachel should have been his first wife, his only wife.....therefore her firstborn son, Joseph, should have been his firstborn son. And he treats him accordingly. It matters not that his other children hurt over this nor scorn their brother for it. It matters not that his daughter is raped. It only matters that his favored son wears a coat of many colors to show his authority over his brothers and Jacob's attitude of favoring Rachel over Leah and Rachel's children over all of his other children.

    I think that Rachel was punished in never seeing her son again. I think that Jacob was punished by having his beloved son taken away from him.

    From Abraham down through Benjamin, whose tribe in later years is citing in the bible for practicing homosexuality, these stories would have an "R" rating if ever made in to a movie and would make modern day reality television look like Sesame Street.
     
  11. npetreley

    npetreley New Member

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    I didn't see it either. Very good!
     
  12. Alcott

    Alcott Well-Known Member
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    Well, somebody had to be the ancestor of the Jewish people.
     
  13. Aaron

    Aaron Member
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    Glad I could help. If the Lord dealt with me according to my sins, how could I stand?
     
  14. Palatka51

    Palatka51 New Member

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    Romans 9:10-14
    10And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
    11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
    12It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
    13As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
    14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
    I don't get it. How is it that we are so quick to look for fault in the one who looked for God's blessing and neglect the fact that Esau would be the one that God said that He, by all rights, hated? Could it be that we are jealous of the one that got all of God's compassion and sympathetic to the one that would garner God's hatred?
    I personally feel a deep kinship with Jacob. Looking back at my life I feel like that I too would have done all that I could to get God's blessings.
     
    #14 Palatka51, Oct 31, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 31, 2007
  15. Palatka51

    Palatka51 New Member

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    I've no doubt in my mind that there are many people in our world today that are having to lie and connive their way out to a house church just to get a chance to hear God's Word being read. By all means it is ok to seek God's blessings.
     
  16. drfuss

    drfuss New Member

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    drfuss: God uses imperfect people.

    Perhaps Jacob and Rebecca thought it was okay to use deception based on the examples of both Abraham and Issac. Remember both Abraham and Issac lied about their wives being their sister. Abraham did it twice, yet God used the events to increase their wealth, not to punish them..
     
    #16 drfuss, Oct 31, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 31, 2007
  17. Palatka51

    Palatka51 New Member

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    Maybe the point is to look beyond their humanity knowing that it is not what they have done but what God worked out in their lives.
    Romans 9:11
    11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
     
    #17 Palatka51, Oct 31, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 31, 2007
  18. Sopranette

    Sopranette New Member

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    :eek: no, you didn't...

    Sopranette
     
  19. tinytim

    tinytim <img src =/tim2.jpg>

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    Are you saying it is OK to sin, as long as the ends justify the means?
     
  20. Scarlett O.

    Scarlett O. Moderator
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    I believe that is exactly what the poster is saying and that is an unbiblical concept.
     
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