…VOICE OF JACOB, HAND OF ESAU
“And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, ‘the voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau’. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am” (Gen 27:22-24 KJV)
The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau… This is a statement of double identities.
Isaac, the father of both Esau and Jacob had grown old and about to die. Isaac therefore, thought it wise to set his house in order by declaring Esau his heir. In a bid to achieve this, Isaac had called Esau his first son “And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die”.
When Rebekah, the mother of both Esau and Jacob learned that Isaac was preparing to bless Esau, she quickly devised a plan to trick into blessing Jacob instead. Although God had already told her that Jacob would become the family leader (Gen. 25:23), Rebekah took matter into her own hands. She resorted to bring about what God had already said would happen. For Rebekah, the end justifies the means.
Note: No matter how good we think our goals are, we should not attempt to achieve them unjustly. Would God approve of the methods you are using to accomplish your goals?
Rebekah’s method was to make Jacob pretend as Esau so that Jacob might receive the blessing which Isaac their father had desired to bestow upon Esau as his first born son. Meanwhile, Jacob and Esau were two individuals who differed from each other with striking, unmistakable differences. Esau was a hairy man while Jacob was smooth skinned. In addition, the two boys were also different in their speaking accent. For Rebekah, as expected, overcoming these apparent, unmistakable, striking differences to make Jacob look like Esau would be a herculean task. But she was determined to accomplish her aim no matter the obstacles on her way.
And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. Gen 27:6-17 KJV
Jacob hesitated when he heard Rebekah’s deceitful plan. Although he questioned it for the wrong reason (fear of getting caught), he protested and thus gave her one last chance to reconsider. But Rebekah had become so wrapped up in her plan that she no longer saw clearly what she was doing. Sin had trapped her and was degrading her character.
Note: Correcting yourself in the middle of doing wrong can bring hurt and disappointment, but it also brings freedom from sin’s control.
Jacob eventually appeared before his father and disguised as Esau.
“And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am” (Gen 27:18-24 KJV)
VOICE OF JACOB, HAND OF ESAU: THE DEFINITION
Prior to the birth of both Esau and Jacob, a clear definition had already been placed on their lives. God already defined these two different personalities to Rebekah, their mother. And a further search into the Scripture gives us a vivid definition of what Esau and Jacob stand for:
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated (Rom 9:11-13 KJV)
Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.“ (Rom 9:11-13 ESV).
Jacob, therefore, is a symbol of what God loves while Esau represents what God hates.
Voice Of Jacob: What God Loves
What does God love?
God Loves Righteousness.
“For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright” (Ps 11:7 KJV).
“He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Ps 33:5 KJV
Righteousness is the quality of being morally right or justifiable. The associates of Righteousness includes goodness, virtue, virtuousness, uprightness, decency, integrity, worthiness, rectitude, probity, morality, ethicalness, high-mindedness, justice, honesty, honour, honourableness, innocence, blamelessness, guiltlessness, irreproachability, sinlessness, saintliness, purity, nobility, noble-mindedness, piety, piousness. GOD LOVES RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Hand Of Esau: What God Hates
God hates evil
“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” (Prov. 6:16-19 KJV). GOD HATES EVIL!
So then, to have the voice of Jacob and the hands of Esau present in a single individual simply connotes deception and Hypocrisy, which according to WordWeb Dictionary is defined as an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction or insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have. This, in short, is the summary of what Jacob represents as he appeared before his father to defraud Esau of his blessings. His was a life filled with insincerity, pretense and falsehood. A hypocrite live a double-standard lifestyle: an outward expression that contradicts or negates an inward conviction. The hypocrite combines dual nature at the same time; he appears to be real at one side while he is fake at the other side. Just like a coin with two faces, the hypocrite has two faces of True and False at the same time. And this is a life of contradiction and confusion because such a life is just difficult to classify. It’s either you are True or False; you cannot be True and False at the same time. That is an impossibility. Therefore, the hypocrite lives and impossible life. In matters of religion, hypocrisy is counterfeit piety. In civil conversation, hypocrisy is counterfeit friendship, which is much practised by those who give high compliments, which they do not believe, make promises which they never intend to perform, or pretend friendship when mischief lies in their hearts. Hypocrites are dangerous people!
Deception or hypocrisy is one of the sins that is practiced often but rarely tolerated; the lowest of the low, in society, are liars and thieves. Deception is just another form of lying, but with a stronger degree of wrong because the deceiver purposefully misleads others into believing that a lie is really what is true. In many cases deception is dangerous and has been the cause of death for many who have been the unknowing victims of deception.
VOICE OF JACOB, HAND OF ESAU: THE APPLICATION
When you have the appearance of holiness in one place and reigning sin in another.
When you get the good job but through a bad or wrong method.
When you travel out for greener pasture but through a process of lies and fraud.
When you come out with a first class degree but via cheating and bribery.
When you have a big church but the foundation is faulty.
When you have bitter hatred within but without is a cheerful smile of approval.
When you preach one thing and practise another thing.
When you are a saint in the public but a sinner in the private.
When the end is “good” but the means is bad.
VOICE OF JACOB, HAND OF ESAU: THE IMPLICATION (CONSEQUENCE)
“For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?” Job 27:8 KJV
Behind every act of hypocrisy is a hope of gain. The hypocrite wants as much gain as possible; and it’s why he engages in the act of hypocrisy to achieve that. The hypocrites doesn’t want to lose anything. And as a matter of fact, there is a gain achievable via the contradictory life of hypocrisy. A hypocrite can succeed in gaining the praise and applause of men and the wealth of this world. Jehu, one of the kings in Israel gained a kingdom by his hypocrisy and the Pharisees also gained entrance into many widow’s houses via their deceptive acts of hypocrisy. Upon these gains the hypocrites builds his hopes.
Although Jacob got the blessing he wanted, deceiving his father cost him dearly. These are some of the consequences of that deceit: One, he never saw his mother again. Two, his brother wanted to kill him. Three, he was deceived by his uncle, Laban. Four, his family became torn by strife. Five, Esau became the founder of an enemy nation. Six, he was exiled from his family for years. Ironically, Jacob would have received the birthright and blessing anyway. (Genesis 25:23).
“The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment.”(Job 20: 5)
The lip of truth shall be established forever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Prov. 12:19 KJV
Job asserts, one, the misery, not only of those who are openly wicked and profane, but of hypocrites, who secretly practice wickedness under a show and profession of religion. Dissembled piety is double iniquity, and the ruin that attends it will be accordingly. The hottest place in hell will be the portion of hypocrites, as our Saviour intimates, Matt 24:51. Two, he submits that wicked men may for a time prosper, may be secure and easy, and very merry. You may see them in triumph and joy, triumphing and rejoicing in their wealth and power, their grandeur and success, triumphing and rejoicing over their poor honest neighbours whom they vex and oppress: they feel no evil, they fear none. Job’s friends found it difficult to believe, at first, that wicked people might prosper at all (Job 4:9), until Job proved it plainly (Job. 9:24; 12:6). Three, he lays it down for a certain truth that they will not prosper long. Their joy is but for a moment, and will quickly end in endless sorrow. Though he be ever so great, and rich, and jovial, the hypocrite will be humbled, and mortified, and made miserable.
Woe Unto The Hypocrites!
Jesus pronounced woes unto the hypocrites. And a woe from Christ is a woe indeed and a woe without remedy! The hypocrites are not a lucky folk.
Hypocrites are NOT to be envied!