ou know, Gabe," God said, "it's interesting how a whisper here and a nudge there can direct the course of human affairs." He was looking rather pleased with hisself.
Oh, really?" I said.
"That's all it takes, plus timing and a little finesse. It's all in the wrist, so to speak. Take Isaac for example. He never did understand that sacrifice business and not only held it against Abraham, he held it against me."
To tell you the truth, I didn't understand it all that well, either.
"So I didn't deal with him directly," he went on. "Well, a couple of times I did. Once to keep him from going to Egypt because I wasn't ready to make a second rescue just yet. And then again after I had herded him back to Beer-sheba by stirring up the locals against him whenever he tried to settle down. I thought it might be a good idea to remind him that he was the bearer of the Promise, but I caught him in a bad mood. I got out just in time to avoid getting a good cussing, and I couldn't let that happen."
He paused, remembering, and chuckled.
"See, what I wanted was for the Promise to pass to Jacob, rather than Esau, where it would normally go, him being the firstborn. Now Esau is a good man, and I don't mean to discredit him, but he's just not the type to lead my people. I knew if I put the proposition directly to Isaac, he would reject it out of hand and fight me all the way down the line on it. A knee jerk reaction. So I went through Rebekah. Jacob was her favorite. He could do no wrong in her eyes. I encouraged her to brag on him. Even when he took unfair advantage of poor old Esau about the birthright, I put it in her mind to excuse it."
"That would set Isaac against her and Jacob, all right, and strengthen the bond between him and Esau. But I don't see how it would persuade him to pass on the Blessing and the Promise to Jacob."
"Isaac knew Esau would never be happy in the role the Blessing and Promise would require of him. He hisself had always despised playing the patriarch. He had been happiest when he could roam the fields free of responsibility as he had when Sarah was alive. All it took was Rebekah going around telling everybody Jacob ought to be top dog to put the idea in his head."
"To trick them into tricking him to do what he wanted to do all along."
"It would not only be the best thing for Esau, who he loved, it would also put the guilt for the thing on Rebekah and Jacob, and finally, it would spite me.'
"But it's what you was shooting for to begin with."
"Right. We all wanted the same thing. But to bring it about, I had to trick him into tricking them into tricking him to do it."
"Seems like an awful roundabout way of doing things."
"But, Gabe, you miss the point. Think of the fun we had!"
"Well, now you've got Jacob fleeing for his life, headed for Haran, because he thinks Esau is going to kill him as soon as his Daddy dies and that his Daddy is breathing his last. I'll bet he don't think it's fun."
"Not much, I expect. He's always taken the easy way, hung around the tents close to the comforts in life, comforts provided by somebody else, and looked down on Esau, and suddenly here he is on his own in the wilds, with not much idea how to take care of hisself. He's probably shaking in his shoes, wishing now he had old Esau around to show him a thing or two."
"Oughten we send a Watcher in to look after him?
"Oh, he's in no real danger. Do him good to use his wits for something besides deception for a change. The boy ain't stupid. He'll learn to cope right quick, I'll bet. We'll visit him just before he leaves Canaan ,and I'll confirm the Promise and reassure him. I just might use a ziggurat."
"A what!"
"Ever since we checked out Nimrod, I've been thinking about that ziggurat. I might try one out when we visit Jacob. Give him a show to remember while he's up there in Haran in the clutches of old Laban, who might be just about as slick as he is."
