Page:PracticalCommentaryOnHolyScripture.djvu/119

 and lie  by  your  actions,  you  sin  against  the  eighth  Commandment  quite as much  as  if  you  told  a lie  in  so  many  words.

Sharing the  guilt  of  another's  sin. The  fact  that  his  mother  induced him to  deceive  his  father,  was  a partial  excuse  for  Jacob. Jacob, indeed, carried  out  the  deception,  but  Rebecca  instigated  him,  so  that she shared  in  his  sin. But Jacob  was  not  compelled  to  obey  his mother when  she  told  him  to  act  thus  deceitfully.

The end  does  not  justify  the  means. Rebecca  and  Jacob’s  intention in deceiving  Isaac  was  good. They knew  that  Almighty  God  had chosen Jacob  to  be  the  heir  of  the  promises,  and  they  feared  that His will  would  not  be  accomplished  if  Esau  succeeded  in  obtaining  the blessing of  the  first-born. True; but  ought  they  to  have  committed  a sin  to  attain  this  end? No! sin  remains  sin  even  if  you  have  the  best of intentions  in  committing  it,  and  the  noblest  of  ends  to  attain. Rebecca and Jacob  ought,  like  Abraham,  to  have  had  confidence  in  God,  and said: “The Almighty  and  All-wise  God  will  carry  out  His  own  will  even if we  cannot  see  how.”  Instead  of  this,  they  took  divine  providence into their  own  hands  and  committed  a sin. Thus, want  of  faith  and confidence in  God  was  the  real  cause  of  their  sin.

Temporal punishment. Esau’s  indifference  was  punished  by  the loss of  the  rights  of  the  first-born,  not  only  to  himself,  but  to  all  his descendants, the  Edomites. Rebecca and  Jacob  were  also  punished in this  world. Jacob confessed  and  repented  of  his  sin,  therefore God forgave  him,  but  he  did  penance  for  it  during  many  a long  year. As you  will  read  in  the  following  chapters,  he  had  to  flee  from  his brother, and  serve  for  twenty  years  in  a strange  land. Later in  his life he  was  caused  much  grief  by  his  own  sons,  who  deceived  him  even more cruelly  than  he  deceived  Isaac,  making  out  that  a wild  beast  had devoured his  dear  son  Joseph. Thus severely  had  he  to  expiate  his one sin! Rebecca, who  had  sinned  through  love  of  Jacob,  was  punished by having  to  part  with  him,  and  she  never  saw  him  again  in  this  life. In all  this  the  divine  justice  is  most  clearly  seen.

The Wisdom  of  God, which  makes  good  come  out  of  evil,  can be learnt  from  this  story. Almighty God  had  from  the  beginning,  or rather  from  all  eternity,  chosen  Jacob  to  be  the  heir  of  His  promises. The faults  of  men  (such  as  Isaac's preference  for  Esau,  Jacob’s  deceit, and  Esau’s  hatred)  could  not  alter  what  He  had  ordained;  on  the contrary, they  served,  under  the  divine  guidance,  for  the  accomplishment