Isaac and Jacob

"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was
dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff" (Heb.
11:20,21).

We shall discuss Isaac and Jacob together because their actions of faith described in Hebrews 11
have some things in common. They also have in common the fact that much more space is given
in the scriptures to describing their "unfaith" than their faith.

Isaac developed a favoritism toward his son Esau over Jacob because of the venison Esau provided
him (Gen. 25:27,28). When he and his family lived among the Philistines in Gerar, Isaac lied and
told the people his wife Rebekah was his sister (Gen. 26:7). And when it came time to give
blessings to his sons, Isaac acted upon his feelings of favoritism along with adherence to cultural
tradition rather than seeking guidance from the LORD (Gen. 27:1-4).

Jacob’s life likewise followed a pattern of doing things his own way rather than God’s way. When
his twin brother Esau was faint with hunger, Jacob charged him a high price for some bread and
soup (Gen. 25:29-34). Jacob and his mother Rebekah conspired to deceive his father Isaac into
giving him the blessing of the firstborn (Gen. 27:5-29). And just as Isaac had a favorite son, Jacob
favored Rachel over his three other wives and Rachel’s two sons over his other ten sons (Gen.
29:30; 37:3; 42:4).

"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau." When Jacob and Esau were still in their mother’s womb,
the LORD revealed to Rebekah that "the elder shall serve the younger" (Gen. 25:23). Despite this,
or perhaps in forgetfulness of this, Isaac set out to give the older twin, Esau, the blessing of the
firstborn without seeking guidance from the LORD.

Now where do we find faith in this? When Esau bitterly informed his father that Jacob had tricked
him into giving him the blessing of the firstborn, Isaac did not carelessly cancel the blessing to
Jacob but "stuck to his guns." It would appear that Isaac finally remembered the prophecy given
to Rebekah about the older serving the younger. He realized that even though he had been
deceived, He had unwittingly done what God had wanted him to do all along. In faith and trust
in the LORD, Isaac let his less favored son Jacob keep the better blessing.

Jacob, like his father Isaac, also manifested faith at the very end of his life. Unlike his father,
Jacob was not deceived when it came to blessing the two sons of Joseph. In fact, for all of Joseph’s
trust and dependence upon the LORD throughout his life, and all of Jacob’s willfulness throughout
his life, in this instance Jacob’s faith outshone that of his son Joseph.

Joseph brought his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to his father Jacob to be blessed (Genesis 48).
Joseph placed firstborn Manasseh toward Jacob’s right hand and younger Ephraim toward his left
hand. However, Jacob crossed his hands and gave Ephraim the right hand of blessing (the better

blessing). Joseph was displeased with this action, saying, "Not so, my father, for [Manasseh] is
the firstborn." Jacob responded, "I know it, my son." Jacob had it right, even though it was
contrary to Joseph’s desires and contrary to the cultural tradition of giving the best blessing to the
firstborn son. Jacob finally, at the end of his life, was communing with the LORD and finding out
what the LORD wanted him to do. "By faith Jacob … blessed both the sons of Joseph … leaning
upon the top of his staff."

From these experiences of Isaac and Jacob we draw the following lesson of faith: Faith is noted
and honored by God even when it comes at the very end of a life that is characterized by the
lack of faith.

The account of Jacob in the waning years of his life gives us an additional lesson of faith: Faith
is not in bondage to, but rises above, the cultural traditions of the day.

Are you_am I_in bondage to cultural tradition, societal or peer pressures, clothing or hair
fashions? May the Lord help each of us to discern ways in which we may be in bondage to the
"tradition of men" (Mark 7:8; Col. 2:8).

What about our assemblies? are we bound to certain traditions in the ways we meet, pray, or
worship? What about the way the table with the bread and wine is set in our local assembly? In
my travels I find that almost every assembly does it a little bit differently. But do not many of us
think that our way of doing it is the right way, because that is the way we have always done it?

Many years ago I was told of an assembly in which the remembrance meeting could not begin until
a certain brother "opened it" by praying or giving out a hymn. I am almost certain that brother had
not decreed such a thing; maybe he was not even aware of it. What may have started with a
repeated practice over four or five meetings developed into a fixed tradition.

Even more years ago I was in a small assembly with only one other brother. I began noticing at
the remembrance meetings that if I gave thanks for the bread and cup one week, the other brother
would do it the following week. If he had done it the previous week, it seemed that nothing could
move him to do it again this week.

Then there is the common tradition of opening every meeting_whether remembrance meeting,
prayer meeting, ministry meeting, Bible study, or gospel meeting_with a hymn or two.
And I wonder if any of our readers have ever experienced a remembrance meeting opening with
a brother giving thanks for the bread and cup. Do we allow the Holy Spirit liberty to lead us
contrary to the traditions we have fallen into?

A sister once told me, "I think it is nice when the remembrance meeting closes with a prayer." But
is it not even "nicer" when not only the closing but all parts of the remembrance meeting are
conducted according to the leading of the Holy Spirit rather than tradition?

To a certain extent we need traditions simply to give a certain stability and order and predictability
to our lives. But let us be careful not to fall into bondage to these traditions. Let us remember the

story of old Jacob "leaning upon the top of his staff." May we be careful never to allow our
traditions to come in conflict with the Word of God or with the leading of the Holy Spirit.