JACOB SAID UNTO HIS FATHER – Genesis 27:19
Genesis 27:19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
Jacob entered the tent of his father in order to steal the blessing of his brother Esau. This was not his idea, Jacob was simply following the direction of his mother. Jacob tried to argue his way out of why he should not try to deceive his father, but the persistence of Rebekah eventually encouraged him to do as his mother requested.
There are plenty of verses that one is to honor their parents, but that does not mean that one must obey their parents when the parents are directing them to do something that is contrary to the will of God. While Jacob may have tried to blame his mother for his actions, he was old enough that God would hold Jacob accountable for his sins.
When the nation of Israel sinned by believing the ten spies rather than Joshua and Caleb, God held everyone accountable for the rebellion of the people except for Joshua, Caleb, and those who were under 20 years of age. Evidently, those who were under twenty where spared the consequences of unbelief of their parents.
Jesus told us that unless we have the faith of a little child, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. I wonder how many children had seen the parting of the Red Sea and simply believed that they should follow Joshua and Caleb rather than the ten spies. They had seen God bring water from a Rock, had seen the face of Moses after he had spoken with God, and had seen the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud guide them in the wilderness and they had the faith necessary but because they have a duty to obey their parents, they had to suffer and wonder in the wilderness. While they suffered with their parents, they did receive the blessing of entering the promise land that their parents never saw.
Jacob had a choice to make, he could follow the direction of his mother or he could do that which is right in the eyes of God. Jacob chose to follow his mother and he entered the tent of Isaac and lied to him. The second Jacob entered the tent, he was out of the presence of his mother and he could have told his father the truth. However, Jacob desired to please man over his responsibility to fear God and please HIM.
The second Jacob entered that tent and lied to his father, he committed a sin and he was going to suffer as a result of that sin. Jacob was instantly hated by his brother for stealing not only his blessing but also his birthright. Jacob had to flee for his life. Throughout the life of Jacob, we see other people doing things to deceive Jacob. Jacob sowed seeds of deceit and he reaped a harvest of the same.
Because Jacob was more concerned about a blessing that he could steal from his brother than he was about his relationship with God, Jacob sinned and fell short of the glory of God. Jacob was driven by worldly things and thus the decisions he made reflected that. Jacob needed to add temperance to his life so that he made decisions that glorified God rather than enriched himself.
Jacob lives for many more years and towards the end of his life, he reports to Pharaoh that his days were full of trouble. Jacob for many years sowed his wild oats and then had to face the consequences of his actions. If Jacob would have learned to put God first in his youth, he would have saved himself many heartaches that he never had to experience.