ANSWER: It was the will of God, as He promised in Genesis 25:23, that the older of the twins would serve the younger. God kept that promise which had its root’s in the promise made to Abraham that through his seed all nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:2-3). Neither the deceitful act of Rebekah and Jacob toward Isaac; nor Isaac’s attempt to give the blessing to Esau rather than Jacob, while knowing the will of God; nor the profane Esau’s (Hebrews 12:16-17) request for the blessing that he had sold to another could deter the providence of God in this matter!

If God worked His providence only through those who do no wrong, certainly His providential will would be totally thwarted, since all of us do err. This does not mean, however, that in the receipt of His blessings, we do not suffer the consequences of sin, nor that we are free, as God’s children from His chastening (Hebrews 12:5-11). Concerning Jacob’s deceitfulness, it might be well to ponder the fact that just as he deceived his father, even so was he deceived many years later by his own children (Genesis 37:29-36)!