阅读经文 

雅各用欺骗的手段得到了父亲的祝福，但这却破坏了他和周围人的关系。今天的经文让我们看到雅各欺骗带来的悲剧。他的哥哥以扫正计划着在父亲死后杀死他。

利百加又一次来劝儿子：“快逃跑”，她说，她实际上是说：“快逃到我远方的哥哥那里去生活。”她甚至还给以撒提出一个理由：“这里没有合适的结婚对象”。（参创 26:34-35）这是为了让人觉得她很看重家庭信仰的传承，但利百加是把它当成一个借口，来避免儿子间致命的关系破裂。

当然，建立在共同爱神基础上的婚姻很重要。我们不知道如果雅各留下来，以扫会有怎样的暴力行为。但即使是合理的担忧也不应该成为我们逃避犯罪后果的借口。我们都有一种设计“封面故事”来维持外表的倾向，让自己看起来比实际上更好。

感恩的是，哪怕我们试图逃离，神的灵仍会在我们里面工作。神对雅各穷追不舍。祂也会对我们穷追不舍，直到祂救赎的工作在我们里面成就。感谢神！

Jacob's deception got him his father's blessing. But it also damaged the relationships he had with the people around him. Today's reading drives home the tragedy of Jacob's deception. Jacob's brother, Esau, now plans to kill him after their father has died.

Again Rebekah steps in to advise her younger son. "Run!" she says, in effect; "go to live with my brother's family far away." She even offers a rationale to Isaac: there are no potential marriage partners here (see also Genesis 26:34-35). This is an attempt to make it sound like she is concerned about maintaining the family's faith in God, but Rebekah is using this as an excuse to avoid dealing with the deadly breakdown in her sons' relationship.

It is important, of course, to have a marriage founded on a shared love for God. And we don't know what violence Esau might have done if Jacob had stayed. But even legitimate concerns should not become an excuse to run from the effects of our own sins. We all have a tendency to devise "cover stories" to keep up appearances and make ourselves look better than we are.

Thankfully, God's Spirit can work in us even when we try to run away. God pursued Jacob, and he will pursue us until his redeeming work in us is complete. Thanks be to God!