This story illustrates the tendency for God to operate outside of human wisdom and formula. In this story, instead of honouring the human tradition of blessing the first-born, Jacob is blessed even though he uses deception to receive it… God often chooses to operate outside of the confines of human wisdom to show that He is not like us. He does this so that we don’t treat Him as a formula, but rather as a living being… Is. 55:8-9, “Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds,” says the Lord, “for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.” Repeatedly, God chooses and blesses the second born. The first born is a symbol of our flesh and everything that is accomplished through it, while the second born is a symbol of the Spirit and God’s work in and through us because of Jesus…

In Genesis, we see a God who blesses, provides for and protects humans – and He reveals to them what He is like so that they can bear His priorities into the world on His behalf. God blesses humans so that humans will bring His blessing and bear His character into the world. In this story – God wants to remove from Abraham any preconceived ideas of how a god is supposed to operate. He reveals a new part of His character to Abraham so that Abraham knows how to properly represent God in the world.