The Heart is Deceitful

Gen 25-27 Reading this is like seeing dominos lined up, just waiting for the first one to fall. When it falls, the rest fall behind it, and that is what happened in these people’s lives and happens to us if we are not discerning because the heart is deceitful, and only God knows it. [Jer 17:9]

The first domino of deceit to fall was the one Jacob set up for Esau from the cooking pot when he exacted the birthright from him for a pot of stew. Esau said: “What use is the birthright to me?” The second domino of deceit was when Isaac, who had a taste for fresh game, chose to bless Esau over Jacob and inserted his desires over God’s. The third domino to fall was when Jacob knew that deception was wrong but chose to ignore his heart and yielded to Rebekah because, in his heart, he wanted that blessing from Jacob. 

We should glean two principles: “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” [James 4:17] All three characters knew deceit was wrong but yielded. The second comes from Joseph: “how can I do such a great evil and sin against God.” [Gen 39:9]

Deceit is like this proverb: “What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.”