As Rebekah rested by the door of her tent she thought of the difference between her twin sons. Esau was so like his father, for Isaac and always out hunting. Jacob was like her; gentle-mannered and affectionate, interested in others. Her plan, she felt, was right, and she would proceed with it tomorrow. Jacob, though the younger twin, would make a much better leader of the tribe than Esau. After all, hadn't Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup? That showed how little Esau thought of the honor!

Next day Rebekah called Jacob and told him of her plan. Isaac she said, had sent Esau to hunt deer, and would appoint him his successor when he returned with the meat. So Rebekah dressed Jacob in Esau's clothes, and placed goatskins on his hands and neck to make his smooth skin seem hairy like Esau's. For Isaac was old and his eyesight was failing. Then she cooked a meal and bade Jacob take it to his father. At first Isaac was suspicious - the voice was not like Esau's. But when he touched Jacob's hands his doubts disappeared; they were hairy. So Isaac blessed Jacob and appointed him his successor.

When Esau discovered what had happened he threatened to kill his twin brother. Rebekah, therefore, sent Jacob off to his uncle, Laban, in Haran. One night, during his journey to Haran, Jacob had a vision as he slept. He dreamed of a great ladder reaching up to the heavens with angels ascending and descending on it. And God appeared to him in his dream promising that he and his descendants would possess the land on which he lay. Next morning, to commemorate his dream, Jacob built there a memorial pillar.

In Haran Jacob went to work for Laban, whose daughter, Rachel, he married. He grew prosperous and fathered twelve sons. Eventually he would return home to Canaan and succeed Isaac as head of the tribe. That he was truly a worthy successor is attested by the subsequent history of Israel. Eleven of the twelve tribes of Israel traced their ancestry to and named themselves for eleven of Jacob's twelve sons. The Twelth tribe of Israel traced its ancestry to Ephraim and Manasseh, sons of Joseph, grandsons of Jacob.

Jacob's cooperation with Rebekah in the deception of his father was wrong. No parent should require or persuade a child to sin. If a parent does so, the child should refuse to obey. Jacob's life story, however, shows us how God can, in His providence, draw much good out of evil. Jacob turned out to be a most worthy successor of Isaac. Young people can learn from this that sin, if repented, does not rob them of future greatness. Like Jacob, they can rise above their sin and win God's favor in their more mature years.

Midi ~ And It Can Be