The story of Jacob was one of many stories that posed moral problems in biblical times. It is in Genesis 27 1-29, the story of how Jacob deceived his aging father Isaac is told. God blessed Isaac, the son of Abraham, after he married Rebekah. He prayed to the Lord to make his wife fertile for she was unable to bear children. The Lord granted his prayer and his wife Rebekah gave birth to twins, Esau and Jacob (Collins 38). Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob. When Isaac grew old and blind, he called to his eldest son Esau to go and hunt game in order for him to prepare his favorite foods. Esau was to prepare the food and thereafter, Isaac was to bless him. However, Rebekah overheard her husband telling Esau to prepare the feast and despising sent the younger son Jacob to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing. When Esau returned and he found out that his younger brother had deceived him and his father, he grew very angry with him and planned to kill him after his fathers" death. .
When first reading this Scripture without any knowledge of Jacob's motives, one might suspect the following conclusion: Isaac wanted Esau to have the blessing because he was not only the firstborn, but also his favorite. In order for Jacob to be obedient to his mother, and win the blessing of his father, he tricked him into believing that he was Esau. He wanted to receive the blessing so that he could prove that he was capable of completing all of his brother's tasks. However, this is not what is going on at all in this passage. Even when the twins were in the womb of their mother Rebekah, they clashed (Genesis 25 23-24). When Rebekah asked the Lord why, he replied, "Two nations are in your womb, and two people of you shall be divided; one shall be stronger than the other, and the elder shall serve the younger" (Collins 38). This suggests that the future of Esau and Jacob was foretold before they were even born.
