May the mumbling commence!
When anger boils over, sometimes distance and time is
the best healer. That is what Rebekah
knew. And sometimes it takes more than
one set of eyes to see who the Lord God is blessing (and who God is not
blessing). Read from Peterson’s The Message:
When these
words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah,
she called to her
younger son Jacob and said, “Your brother Esau is plotting vengeance against you. He’s going to kill you. Son, listen to me. Get out
of here. Run for your life to Haran, to my brother Laban. Live with him for a while until your brother cools down, until his anger subsides and he forgets what you did to him. I’ll send for
you and bring you back. Why should I lose
both of you the same day?”
Rebekah
spoke to Isaac, “I’m sick to death of these Hittite women.
If Jacob also marries a native Hittite,
why live?”
So,
Isaac called in Jacob and blessed him.
Then he ordered him, “Don’t take a Canaanite wife. Leave at
once. Go to Paddan Aram to the family of your mother’s
father, Bethuel. Get a wife for yourself
from the daughters of your uncle Laban.
And may
The Strong God bless
you and give you many, many children, a
congregation of peoples; and pass on the
blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants
so that you will get
this land in which you live, this land God gave to Abraham.”
So Isaac sent
Jacob off. He went to Paddan
Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah who was the mother
of Jacob and Esau. (Genesis 27:42-28:5)
Now read the same passage from the NIV translation:
When Rebekah was told what her older
son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother
Esau is consoling himself with the thought of
killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee
at once to my brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him for a while
until your brother's fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you
and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why
should I lose both of you in one day?"
Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of
these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from
among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not
be worth living."
So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do
not marry a
Canaanite woman.
Go at
once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's
father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there,
from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you and
make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you
become a community of peoples. May he give you
and your descendants the blessing given
to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land
where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham." Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to
Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who
was the mother of Jacob and Esau. (Genesis 27:42-28:5)
Most of the differences between the NIV and Peterson’s
work show the same Spirit and heart of the Scripture passage. But there are two places I take issue with Peterson’s
work.
First, Peterson seems to muddy the thought of the
continuing blessing of Abraham to his descendants. To “pass on” has too many different
meanings. Why not simply say that the
blessing will be Jacob’s and his children… and his descendants from here on
in? That’s much clearer.
And Peterson seems to completely miss the theme of
living in the land as an alien. The
promise was slow in coming. It had
already been a couple of generations, and there was still no sign of the
fruition of the promise. Perhaps that’s
why Esau eschewed the promise. Maybe I
would have too – in his sandals.
It took both Isaac and Rebekah to realize that God was
deeding the blessing of Abraham to Jacob.
They could see that blessing in his life. They also could see the trouble brewing in
Esau’s life.
That’s why Isaac finally
blessed Jacob knowingly. That’s why
Rebekah and Isaac sent Jacob back to his homeland to get a wife. Jacob’s faith in God’s promise was strong, so
he would return. He needed a wife that
would support him… unlike what he would get from any of the local women.
Let’s have faith. Let’s believe as Jacob did.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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