Jacob got the blessing his father, Isaac, had intended for Esau. He got it by trickery. You might remember that “trickery” might even be the word that defines his name. Jacob means deceiver or trickster.
There seems to be an interesting progression of Jacob’s deception. It begins by listening to his mother. He then impersonates his brother. Then he lies to his father. He then goes to the awful length of bringing the name of the Lord God into the deception. When Isaac questions the quickness of his returning with the food, Jacob says “because the Lord your God granted me success.” I don’t expect God smiled down on that.
There’s always a progression. It begins with listening. Genesis 3, the first sin, began the same way. They listened to the serpent. The Psalmist, in the first Psalm of the bible, begins with the phrase, “blessed is the one who walks not in the counsel of the wicked.” The second phrase in the Psalm indicates the result. If you don’t listen to the counsel of the wicked, you won’t “stand in the way of sinners.”
We all hear the voice of daily temptations. The best response is what the advertisement says, “just say no.”