The Bible—especially the Old Testament—is full of stories that are full of moral ambiguity.  If you want nice little moralistic tales, don’t go to the Old Testament.  Read Aesop’s Fables, or something of that nature.  The Bible tells stories of another sort.

The words of Gordon J. Wenham about the deception of Isaac by Jacob are worth a lengthy quote.

“26:34-28:9 Jacob cheats Esau of his blessing

This is one of the most gripping stories in Genesis. Will Jacob’s disguise deceive his father? Will he receive the blessing before Esau returns? But it also poses moral and theological problems. Does God approve of Jacob’s cheating? Will he endorse a blessing gained under false pretences?

            On first reading we tend to see Rebekah and Jacob just as rogues who exploited the blindness of Isaac to do down Esau. In fact the situation is not so black and white. Esau had married two wives, which was a bad step in itself (cf. Lamech, 4:19-24). Moreover, they were Hittites, i.e. Canaanites (see 23:3). Abraham had been most concerned that Isaac should not marry a Canaanite girl (24:3); why had not Isaac insisted on, or even arranged, a suitable match for Esau? Worse still, Isaac on his deathbed flouted convention and showed total bias towards Esau. When patriarchs knew their death was near, they were expected to summon all their sons and give them each a blessing (cf. chs. 48-50). Now, lamely pretending he does not know the day of his death (2), Isaac summoned only his favourite, Esau. No wonder Rebekah, who had long preferred Jacob (25:28), was incensed.

            It is not clear how far Jacob approved of Rebekah’s scheme to outwit Isaac and obtain the blessing. His reluctance to cooperate may have been prompted as much by fear of being caught out as by moral scruple (11-12). Nor is the narrator’s evaluation immediately obvious. Isaac was clear that his blessing was irrevocable: that since it was pronounced over Jacob it belonged to him (37).

            Yet in the longer term it is apparent that Jacob’s deceit caught up with him and Rebekah. Esau’s anger at Jacob’s deed forced the latter to leave home, so that despite Rebekah’s hope that he would only be away a few days (a while, v 44) she never saw him again. Jacob, who cheated his father, would soon be cheated by his father–in–law Laban, who would force him to marry Leah as well as Rachel. This would be a cause of perpetual distress to Jacob for the rest of his days. In their turn, Leah’s sons would deceive Jacob with a kid about Joseph’s fate, just as Jacob deceived his father with a kid (37:31-35; 27:9, 16). Later too, Jacob acknowledged his fault. When he returned to Canaan, he gave flocks and herds to Esau and invited him to accept them with the words ‘Please accept my blessing [the NIV’s ‘the present’ is inexact] that was brought to you’ (33:11). With this gesture he was trying to give back the blessing he had cheated Esau out of.

            Nevertheless, despite the underhand way in which Jacob obtained the blessing, it was still valid. Isaac’s last words predicted the future relationship between Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom). The nation of Israel would usually dominate Edom. Israel would enjoy a settled agricultural existence, whereas Edom would be more of a nomadic people in the dry wilderness areas (28-29,39-40). Furthermore, the promises made first to Abraham and repeated to Isaac, would now be fulfilled through Jacob (28:3-4).

            Here, as often in Genesis, this new step forward in the history of salvation is set against the backdrop of unscrupulous behaviour by the patriarchs involved. Once again, it is God’s mercy, not human merit, that is the ultimate hope of redemption (cf. Rom. 9:10-18).”^[1]

My own thoughts on the story of Jacob are pretty much in line with those of Wenham.  God uses even morally ambiguous people to accomplish God’s purposes.  What other kind of people are there, really?

And yet, no one gets a free pass.  We cannot play the “moral ambiguity card” as a get-out-of-jail-free card.  No!  There are consequences to our choices, and we can’t pick and choose them.  Once we’ve made our choice, the consequences are inevitable.

And, of course, a lot of “moral ambiguity” isn’t all that ambiguous, is it?  I know this only too well.  I imagine we all do, in our heart of hearts.

^[1]G.J. Wenham, Genesis, New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition; ed. D. A Carson et al.; Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 78-79.