catapult magazine

Read this issue’s Bible study verses: ../issues/backIssue.cfm?issueid=3#study

Those who support eliminating displays of sin from art often forget that the Bible itself contains many displays of sinful behavior. What can we learn from imperfect people in the Bible?

I just wanted to add the story of Jacob and Esau to this list. I had been struggling with this story of Jacob the Deceiver stealing the blessing from his older brother. First of all, reading it from a moralistic perspective, why does Jacob get rewarded for stealing?! Putting this perspective aside, I tried to see this event as foreshadowing Christ’s parables about the oldest son, the Jews, not getting God’s blessing while the second son, the Gentiles, accepted it as prodigals. But this just doesn’t work. Esau really didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t reject his blessing, as did the Jews. He wasn’t lazy. He didn’t stay out in the fields too long daydreaming or eating grapes (my moralistic perspective again). Jacob just flat-out deceived decrepit old Isaac and stole the blessing intended for Esau. But then, I get mad at Isaac for being such a stickler for details. What’s the big deal? It’s just a blessing, a pat of the hand on the forehead, a ceremonial drinking out of the same cup. Just give the poor oldest son the blessing and cancel the one on Jacob! But nooo. Esau gets the shaft and Jacob is rewarded for his thievery! But just last week, in our biblestudy on Romans, Paul turns this whole story around for me. Sure enough, the Jacob and Esau story in and of itself is not the whole story. We are not meant to find a happy ending in Genesis 27. Rather, the happy ending doesn’t come until Christ. Now that Christ has come, Paul says, we have become co-heirs in God’s Kingdom (Romans 8:16-17). Christ is our oldest brother (Romans 10:29) and has received eternal life from the Father, but, amazingly enough, God is not stingy like old Isaac. God will give the same blessing to Christ’s brothers (and sisters) as well! God is quite the patient storyteller, waiting to conclude the story of Jacob and Esau a mere FEW THOUSAND YEARS later.