Do Ends Justify Means? - Jacob

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. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.”

Genesis 27:18-19

If you’re a football fan, you know that deception is one of the most important weapons in the game. Teams line up in special formations, send men into motion, run fake handoffs and passes, and use other forms of trickery in an attempt to fool the opposing defenses.

Though deception is an accepted part of competitive sports, it is never an acceptable part of a godly man’s life.

The book of Genesis tells the story of a man who engaged in deceit even as he tried to accomplish something that God had already said was his will.

Jacob and his mother, Rebekah, had a noble goal in mind—Jacob should receive the birthright from his father. Where they went terribly wrong was in scheming, conniving, and lying to make that goal a reality.

The plan of deception was simple: While Jacob’s brother Esau was out hunting wild game for Isaac’s supper, Jacob would disguise himself as Esau and take his father his favorite stew for dinner.

The plan worked perfectly. Jacob received his father’s blessing but only after lying to him at least four times. He told Isaac that he was Esau, said that he had done as he had been told, assured his father that what he was about to eat was wild game (it was a family goat), and that God had provided some wild game for his father’s dinner.

Working together, Jacob and Rebekah deceived his father, thus accomplishing through sinful means what God had wanted to do through righteous means.

Jacob received the blessing all right, but he would also face many consequences for his sin, most notably Laban’s deception before giving him Laban’s daughter Rachel as Jacob’s wife (see Genesis 29:16-30).

Though deception can be tempting, God blesses you far more richly when you make it your life’s goal to speak and act honestly every day.