Deception is never the best place to start, when you want something good to happen.

She wanted something good so badly that she would do whatever it took. The prospect of a huge family rift was not enough to stop her. (Maybe she wanted it so much that she didn’t even think of that.)

Rebekah knew that her son Jacob was second. He wouldn’t get the inheritance his older brother was due, unless she fooled her husband. So she convinced Jacob to let her cook a delicious feast, after which her old nearly-blind and probably hard-of-hearing husband would bless her son – a blessing meant for his older brother Esau. (You can read the story in Genesis 27.)

Esau was a hunter and knew how to cook an incredibly tasty dish. Jacob had other talents, not of the outdoor variety.

Think about the conversations that may have resulted between husband and wife, father and son, and the twins. “Tension” is a mild description of what happened in each tent and around the campfires. The rift from that meal fed anticipation for someone to bring peace.

God blessed Jacob anyway. He built a nation in spite of that deception. I am not saying that deception is good, but rather that God can do great things in spite of how we don’t do everything perfectly. The weight of striving for perfection can be heavy. But understanding that God can do amazing things out of the ashes of our mistakes can take away a lot of worry. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28).

So let’s love God and live in His freedom.

(Paul Merrill writes here every First Friday.)