(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“He came to his father, and said, “My father?” He said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done what you asked me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me.” Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He said, “Because Yahweh your God gave me success.””
(Genesis 27:18-20)
Jacob obeyed his mother and went into his father to deceive him and get blessed in Esau’s place. He did not have to. No matter who was to blame up to this point, Jacob fully participated in this deception. He had more than one chance within the conversation to tell the truth. Yes, there would have been consequences, but he would have been doing the right thing. Instead, every time there was a chance to tell the truth Jacob doubled-down and leaned into the deceit.
Twins are very much alike. They can look alike. They can sound alike. They can be almost mirror images. But there are always differences. There are always small details that give it away. Isaac knew his children, especially Esau, and he would have doubts. The first thing he did was inquire who exactly it was standing there. He was unsure. The second red flag he got wasn’t about their similarities. It was about time. It takes time to hunt and bring back game. There had been time to select a goat, prepare the food, and dress Jacob up; but there hadn’t been enough time to hunt. Isaac was surprised. He didn’t understand. And he questioned. He knew in his heart there was something off, but his greed for food overrode his judgment. He chose to let his sense of touch and smell seal the deal.
As bad as lying is, it is infinitely worse when you bring God into it on your side. Jacob could have made up many excuses and told many stories as to why this fictitious hunt had gone well. Instead, even though there was no evidence that Esau was a religious person (quite the contrary), Jacob brought God into it because Isaac was a godly man. Notice Jacob didn’t worship God in his heart. He said it was Isaac’s God who did the thing, not God period. Not his.
This was NOT God’s will. God hadn’t led Rebekah to think this up. God hadn’t told Jacob to lie. God had not arranged this so that His blessing could pass to Jacob. God is a God of TRUTH. Not of lies. Not of deceit. God’s promise of the younger child getting the greater blessing would come to pass because HE said it. They did NOT need to ‘make’ it happen.
The sage Radak writes: ‘ויבא אל אביו, into the room where he was lying down. He called to him: אבי, seeing he (Yitzchok) could not see him. ?מי אתה, seeing that he had addressed him simply with the word אבי, he had doubts about whose voice he had heard he had to ask: “who are you?” קום נא שבה, he told his father to get up and sit up as he had found him lying down. ויאמר יצחק, because of the sound of Yaakov’s voice his mind had been alerted so that he began to examine the person standing before him more closely. The fact that so little time had elapsed since he instructed Esau to go hunting made him suspicious that it might not be Esau standing there. כי הקרה ה’ אלוקיך, “your merit has assisted me to accomplish my mission so quickly, seeing that what I did was for your sake.”’
The sage Malbim writes: ‘How is it that you found it so quickly. Yitzchok had intentionally given Eisov an arduous assignment to increase his merit. Hashem … brought it about for me. I myself did not expect to find the prey so close by. Your God. This was a sign the animal was sent for this purpose in your merit.’
The sage Da’at Zekenim writes: ‘כי הקרה ה’ אלוקיך לפני, “because the Lord your G–d has so arranged it for my benefit on this day.” Esau used the same phraseology that Eliezer had used when on his way to find a wife for Yitzchok (Genesis 24,12) The ram which was entangled by its horns in Genesis 22,3 was also something that G–d had made happen just for that occasion, so that Avraham would not feel that he had come all the way without G–d accepting an offering from him. The root קרה occurs only in connection with things which occurred without visible preparation for use at a certain moment. (B’reshit Rabbah, 65,19) According to the Midrash there, the moment the person before him used the tetragram when referring to G–d, Yitzchok knew that that person could not be Esau.’
The Torah: A Women’s Commentary writes: ‘JACOB STEALS ESAU’S BLESSING (27:18–29) The climax of this episode occurs when Jacob goes to Isaac posing as Esau and receives the blessing intended for his brother. In a dramatic scene between father and son, Isaac asks several times for reassurance that this is indeed Esau before him. Isaac, who cannot see well, uses all his other senses in trying to make sure this is the right son: he touches Jacob (vv. 22, 26), he listens to his voice (v. 22), he tastes his food (v. 25), and he smells him (v. 27). “which son of mine are you?” Isaac asks the critical question. Rebekah has worked hard to cover up Jacob’s identity, dressing him in Esau’s clothes and putting in his hands the food made under her supervision (vv. 15–17).’
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