Why Jacob wasn’t punished by God after he had stolen Esau’s blessing?

Question:

Why did not God punish Jacob for stealing Esau’s blessing?

The methods by which Jacob sought to have God’s blessing can not be justified, but still, God says that He loved Jacob and hated Esau. Here’s how the book of the prophet Malachi starts:

The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. ”I have loved you,” says the LORD But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” (Malachi 1:1-3)(NASB)

Why has God hated Esau?

Because he was the first born, and despised God’s blessing …

 

When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:29-34)(NASB)

Why has God loved Jacob?

Precisely because all his life, from birth, he has struggled to have God’s blessing and he never gave up.He resorted to human methods and he has been helped and encouraged by others, as his mother, but his priority was always to have God’s blessing.

About God’s punishment

The fact that he wanted to speed things deceiving his father to bless him instead of Esau brought suffering in Jacob’s life.He had to be a fugitive for years, then he was deceived by Laban, who gave him as wife Leah instead of Rachel.Then he had to work for Laban for 14 years and returned home with fear in his country.Towards the end of life, when he came to Egypt and met with the Pharaoh…

So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” (Genesis 47:9)(NASB)

The methods which Jacob used into achieving his goals have affected the quality of his life. Yet James was loved by God because he wanted so badly to have God’s blessing.Is this the priority of your life?

Translated by Felicia Rotaru