Day Thirteen: Liars, Thieves and Prostitutes (Oh my!) (Genesis 27)

"So Jacob took the food to his father. 

'My father?' he said.

'Yes, my son,' Isaac answered. 'Who are you-- Esau or Jacob?'

Jacob replied, 'It's Esau, your firstborn son...'"

Genesis 27:18-19

"I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." (Matthew 22:32)

Has it ever struck you how that description of God should have read?

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Esau.

According to traditional Jewish birthright, as firstborn, Esau was entitled to the blessing of His father which, in this case, was quite the inheritance since God had promised him and his descendants an unprecedented blessing.

This story in Genesis 27 tells us how Jacob, the second-born, came to earn those first-born rights. Spoiler alert: He did. Not. Earn. It.

That would make sense, right? If Esau was a lazy bum (he wasn't) and didn't care for his Father or his inheritance (he did). Then Jacob comes along and works his way to the top.... typical happily-ever-after, good-guy-wins story, right?

But the simple and dumfounding fact of the matter is that Jacob a.) tricked Esau into selling him his first-born rights IN EXCHANGE FOR A BOWL OF STEW. Ahem. then
b.) tricked his Father into blessing him instead of Esau BY DRESSING UP AS ESAU. Gah!

Let's sum this up: Jacob was a manipulative liar and a thief.
His birth "right" and blessing were both totally unmerited. Totally.

But doesn't this story sound eerily familiar...?

I'm a liar.
I'm a thief.
I'm imperfect in so very many ways. 
If someone were to broadcast my life and my thoughts on a billboard I'd have to move to the middle of Timbuktu.

I don't deserve anything.
Nada. No rights. No blessings. Nothing.

And yet...
God. 

He is so loving.
So merciful.
And so good beyond compare.

He didn't have to be tricked. He purposely purchased salvation on my behalf. He loves me. He calls me His daughter. He gives me blessing upon blessing, and grace upon grace.

John 1:12 says, "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." (NLT emphasis, mine)

I get all of the rights of a daughter of the King. And "every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3)! Incredible, isn't it?

What's more is He uses me. He uses us. 
He used a liar and a thief like Jacob, a prostitute like Rahab, an adulterer like David, and a tax-collector like Matthew for His purposes here on earth. 

Completely unqualified. Completely unmerited. All grace.

I now understand what David meant when he penned, "Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all of the days of my life." (Psalm 23:6)

Isn't He amazing?

Oh- and before I forget. In all this dwelling one thing that I'm beginning to recognize is that the Old Testament is such a foretelling picture of what Christ would come to earth to accomplish hundreds of years later. I love how, with every passing story, God is showing me His wisdom, mercy and compassion on a whole new level!
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Dwelling in Him,