Genesis 27:18-24: a reflection

As Jacob deceives his father to steal the blessing, he is drawn into lie after lie, each deception requiring another to sustain it, a picture of how deceit compounds. I am Esau your firstborn, Jacob lies to his father; and when Isaac wonders how he found the game so quickly, Jacob lies again, saying the LORD gave him success; and when Isaac asks, are you really my son Esau, Jacob lies a third time, I am. Having begun with one deception, Jacob could not stop at one; each question from his father required a further lie to sustain the first. He even dragged God's name into his deceit. One lie led to another, and the deception compounded, each falsehood requiring the next. This shows how deception compounds, one lie requiring another. Deception compounds; one lie requires another to sustain it. Beware beginning a deceit, for it draws you into more. A single lie rarely stays single; it demands others. Do not enter the tangle of deceit, where one falsehood leads to the next.

Notice how one lie led to another in Jacob's deception. Jacob set out to deceive his father into giving him the blessing meant for his brother. It began with a single lie: I am Esau your firstborn. But it could not stop there. When his father, suspicious, asked how he had found the game so quickly, Jacob had to lie again, and worse, dragging God's name into it: the LORD gave me success. And when his father asked directly, are you really Esau, Jacob had to lie a third time: I am. Each question, each moment the deception might have unraveled, required a further lie to hold the first one up. The single deception compounded into a tangle of lies, each falsehood demanding the next. This holds a warning about the nature of deceit. A lie is rarely a single, contained thing. Once we begin to deceive, the deception tends to require more deception to sustain it; each question, each moment it might be exposed, calls for a further lie to hold up the ones before. One falsehood leads to another, and we are drawn deeper into a tangle of deceit, sometimes even, like Jacob, dragging what is holy into it. This is a reason to beware beginning a deceit at all: not only is the first lie wrong, but it tends to draw us into more, compounding into a web we cannot easily escape. It is far better not to enter the tangle of deceit at all, keeping to the truth, than to begin a deception that will demand more and more to sustain. We do well to beware deceit, which compounds, and to keep to the truth, not entering a tangle where one lie leads to the next. Beware deceit, which compounds, one lie requiring another to sustain it. Do not begin a deception, for it draws you into more. Keep to the truth, rather than entering the tangle of deceit. A single lie rarely stays single; better not to begin.

That is worth taking to heart, for deception compounds, one lie requiring another, and we do well to keep to the truth rather than enter the tangle of deceit, as Jacob's one lie led to more. We can begin a deceit thinking it a single, contained thing; but Jacob's one lie required a second and a third to sustain it. Deceit compounds. Do not begin a deception, for it will draw you into more; keep to the truth, rather than entering a tangle where one lie demands the next. Beware deceit, which compounds so that one lie requires another to sustain it, and keep to the truth rather than entering the tangle of deception, as when Jacob deceived his father to steal the blessing he was drawn into lie after lie, each deception requiring another to sustain it, a picture of how deceit compounds, since he lied that he was Esau, then lied again about how he found the game so quickly and dragged God's name into it, then lied a third time that he was really Esau; for having begun with one deception Jacob could not stop at one, since each question from his father required a further lie to sustain the first, so that one lie led to another and the deception compounded, each falsehood requiring the next, which holds a warning about the nature of deceit, that a lie is rarely a single, contained thing, since once we begin to deceive the deception tends to require more deception to sustain it and each question or moment it might be exposed calls for a further lie, so that one falsehood leads to another and we are drawn deeper into a tangle of deceit, sometimes even dragging what is holy into it, which is a reason to beware beginning a deceit at all, since not only is the first lie wrong but it tends to draw us into more, compounding into a web we cannot easily escape, so that it is far better not to enter the tangle at all and to keep to the truth, and we do well to beware deceit and keep to the truth.