Stepping into Your Prophetic Destiny, Pt. 6: Pitfalls of the Promise

Jacob, as the supplanter, has at this point defrauded Esau of both his birthright and blessing. The first Esau hastily sold to Jacob for the price of soup; the second was taken from him by the cunning of a mother who loved Jacob more (Gen. 25:33, 27:14). There were so many presumptuous actions on the part of everyone in this family. One wonders how they could have been related to Abraham at all. Esau despised, Rebekah deceived, Isaac second-guessed, and Jacob supplanted. All of these can prevent us from stepping into what God has for us.

Esau knew what he was entitled to as the firstborn. However, for him, that amounted to nothing when it came to his own fleshly passions. He was unable to bring discipline to his body but let go of it all to taste the temporal. The enemy knows your weaknesses. He's been watching, and the undisciplined life will never step into the fullness of God because it caves when temptation presents itself. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:2, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth." If we cannot control our appetites in the natural, we will not excel in the supernatural.

Rebekah was a mother who set her affections on one child over the other. It says that Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home (Gen. 25:28). Isaac loved Esau because he could capture the wild game he loved at the dinner table. Neither are the best reasons to favor a child. The problem was that Rebekah had earlier received the Word of the Lord that the older would serve the younger (Gen. 25:23). Perhaps this factored into her love for Jacob, always watching and waiting for God's promise to be made manifest. However, after decades of waiting, Rebekah didn't see anything happening, and when Isaac decides to give the patriarchal blessing, she decides that the fulfillment of God's word depends on her. If it's going to happen, she must force the issue. Sometimes when it seems God is doing nothing, we (and, yes, others as well) seek to twist the arm of God, never realizing that we are setting things back further by not waiting on His timing. David provides advice worthy of our attention in Psalms 37:34, "Wait on the LORD, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land." Nothing good ever comes of circumventing the timing of God in your life.

Isaac decides he wants to bless his eldest son in the presence of the Lord (Gen. 27:7). However, when Jacob draws near with his deceptive hairy arms, Isaac states, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau" (Gen. 27:22). When Isaac questions, Jacob affirms the lie rather than coming clean, and Isaac gives him the blessing he meant for Esau. This is one reason why having a discerning ear is so critical. You must be able to judge based on the voice you hear. Are you hearing God, the enemy, the flesh? If you move rashly, you risk blessing what shouldn't be blessed or acting on what isn't initiated by God. The Apostle John admonishes us, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God" (I Jn. 4:1). Test everything. It may require more patience, but it is in your best interests.

Jacob, he did it. He could have provided stew for free. He could have refused his mother. He could have confessed to his father. But he didn't. He went along with it all. Jewish tradition says that Jacob studied at the feet of Shem. Perhaps he had grown up feeling entitled because of the word the Lord had spoken to his mother. Maybe he was weak or didn't want to disappoint his mother. In any case, Jacob did it. There is always a choice. In choosing to go along with his mother, he solidified his identity in his brother's eyes. From this point on, the leadership and wealth, the blessing that the Lord would grant him, would be seen in Esau's eyes as stolen. God is not willing that we walk into His plans and purposes at the expense of others. When we don't see the way, we must ask until He provides the way, knowing He doesn't want anything to delegitimize our destiny.

God had already chosen Jacob before he took his first breath. At first glance, all we can see is a messed-up family. But God. God has a perfect plan, and frankly, sometimes people get in the way. Sometimes you and I get in the way of His plans. Maybe we're overzealous to get to the completed work, never realizing the journey is just as important. Perhaps we try to see the promise fulfilled on our terms. Abraham did, Jacob did, and we certainly do. However, that's the beautiful thing about God. He makes even our screw-ups work toward our good when we love Him (Rom. 8:28).

Ephesians 1:3-8 states, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the richness of His grace which He made abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence."

You are chosen; make no mistake. However, you are chosen first and foremost to be "holy and without blame before Him." That means integrity is vital. There are no shortcuts in the call of God. Every step of the way, there are lessons to be learned, obstacles to overcome, people to forgive, character to be formed, spiritual senses developed, and God's way to be followed. You are already chosen, beloved, adopted, granted forgiveness. You must only prove a willing participant in God's purposes for your life, surrendered wholly to Him, a person of integrity who will take the long and hard road to reap the benefits of God's blueprint uniquely designed for your destiny and choose to avoid the pitfalls to the promise.

Let's Pray:

Father, thank You that You choose me. I am Your child because of the blood Jesus spilled on the cross. More than anything, I don't want to jeopardize all that You have purposed for me. I know You have waited for centuries so that I would be present at such a time as this. I am only now learning to wait upon Your guidance. Lord, I am EXCITED about what You have for me, but I don't want my excitement to interfere with Your plans. Holy Spirit, help me to wait. Do whatever it takes to develop in me Your fruit. Please make me a person of integrity. Make me a person of excellence, always desirous to do things Your way. Lord, help me always do the right thing – Your thing, regardless of what other well-intentioned people are telling me. You are Lord over all of my life, and more than the promise, I want the Promise-Giver to reign supreme. In Jesus' Name. Amen.