This week's Torah portion is Genesis 25:19-28:9. It's all about Jacob and Esau.
I've got a pondering question. In 25:23 Rabekah is told that her older son will serve the younger, but then in chapter 27 she feels the need to make this prophecy come true, so she plots the famous deception with the goat hair on Jacob's arms and everything. Isaac, in 27:29, blesses Jacob that Esau (the older) would serve Jacob (the younger). Now, what if Rabekah had not orchestrated the plan that got Jacob blessed? What if Esau had come in and brought the soup to Isaac? Would Esau have gotten the blessing that Isaac gave Jacob? Was all of this trickery already taken into acount when the prophecy was made in chapter 25? Could the chapter 25 prophecy have still been fulfilled if all of this deception had not taken place?
1 comment:
I think that God knew Rebecca. He knew her character. He knew Jacob and Esau. I think that a God who created math knows the probability of things happening. Plus, God never told Rebecca how the older would serve the younger. You can't assume that she was trying to fulfill God's prophecy on her own. Maybe she thought Esau was an idiot and didn't deserve the birthright, while Jacob was shrewd. Perhaps, the "serving" didn't actually happen until Esau decided to forgive Jacob, which Rebecca had nothing to do with.
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