Jacob: Our Patriarch of Truth预览

Truth in Obedience

Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. — GENESIS 25:23

As we have already seen, Jewish tradition unequivocally associates Jacob with the attribute of truth. Just as Abraham is connected with kindness, and Isaac the paradigm of strength, Jacob’s defining characteristic is truth. As we read in Micah 7:20 (NKJV) “You will give truth to Jacob and mercy [loving-kindness] to Abraham.”

The glaring problem with this characterization is that Jacob comes across as a deceiver in the Bible when he tricks his father Isaac into giving him Esau’s blessing. Could there be any act more deceptive than that?

Over the centuries much has been written by Jewish commentators explaining this incident. To reference them all would take an entire book.

One idea is widely accepted in the Jewish community: Rebekah and Jacob were faithful to the “real” truth—the truth that Jacob was the son God had chosen to carry on the covenant: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23).

Truth is not as black and white as we might think. It is dangerous to think that we can justify all kinds of lies, but sometimes, albeit rarely, not telling the truth is the right thing to do. We see this with the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who lied to Pharaoh about why the Hebrew women continued to give birth to baby boys because they “feared God” (Exodus 1:15-19). In Joshua 2, Rahab lied to the king of Jericho about the whereabouts of the Israelite spies because she knew that God had given the Israelites the land (Joshua 2:1-11). This is the lens through which many hold the behavior of Rebekah and Jacob.

Consider that Rebekah, not Isaac, received the prophecy regarding her twins—that the older one would serve the younger (Genesis 35:23). Jewish tradition teaches that Esau was an immoral and unethical person, a fact that only Rebekah recognized. Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew, and Scripture tells us that, “Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:34). The deception suggested by Rebekah went against Jacob’s grain. As a man of truth, this was the last thing he wanted to do. Only once his mother promised to take responsibility for the repercussions did Jacob heed the voice of his mother (Genesis 27:12-13).

Judaism teaches that the three patriarchs were tested in the areas where they were strongest. Abraham, whose trait was kindness, was tested with offering his only son as a sacrifice to God (Genesis 22:2). Isaac, who had immense strength, was tested in being compliant while he could have fought back as he was offered as a sacrifice (Genesis 22:6-8).

In both instances, the patriarchs were tested to see if they could repress their natures and beliefs in order to fulfill the will of God. Similarly, Jacob whose natural tendency was to be truthful, was tested with truth. Could Jacob follow what he knew to be God’s will even if it meant contradicting his natural inclination by deceiving his father?

With the help of his mother Rebekah, Jacob was able to do what felt unnatural for the sake of God’s will. Jacob understood that the only truth in the world is God’s truth—not what we see, not what we think, but what we know with absolute certainty to be the will of God.

As Jesus taught in the Christian Bible, “Blessed… are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28).