What Are We “Putting On”? Reflections from Genesis 27:14–17

Today’s reading from Genesis 27:14–17 brought into focus a troubling downward spiral inside Isaac and Rebekah’s home—a spiral of distrust, manipulation, and intentional deceit. What stands out most is the partnership between Rebekah and Jacob. Rebekah masterminds the plan; Jacob willingly participates. Together, they scheme against their own family.

When we look closely, Moses highlights three deliberate actions Jacob performs, and five intentional steps Rebekah takes. Rebekah, especially, keeps putting things on Jacob—layer after layer—so he can appear to be someone he is not.

1. She puts on Esau’s best clothes so Jacob smells like Esau.

2. She puts on goat skins over Jacob’s smooth arms and neck so he feels like Esau.

3. She puts the prepared food and bread into Jacob’s hands so he can serve Isaac like Esau.

This repeated phrase—“she put… she put… she put…”—isn’t accidental. It becomes a picture of someone intentionally clothing another person in falsehood.

And this strikes a powerful contrast with Ephesians 4:22–24, where Paul urges believers to:

• Put off the old self,

• Be renewed in the spirit of their minds, and

• Put on the new self.

Paul describes the old self as one that is “corrupt through deceitful desires.” What an accurate description of what is unfolding in this household. Rebekah’s desires—perhaps well-intentioned, perhaps sincerely convinced she was protecting God’s promise—were nonetheless rooted in deceit. And deceit produced more deceit. Sin produced more sin. And the home became shaped by distrust, cunning, and manipulation.

It raises an uncomfortable question:

Was this a one-off moment for Rebekah, or was this pattern normal in that household?

Her cold, calculated efficiency—her lack of pause, hesitation, or moral wrestling—almost suggests a conscience long seared by repeated compromise. And if Jacob grew up in a home where deceit was commonplace, is it any surprise that deception marked so much of his adult life?

This is sobering.

The homes we build shape the souls of our children.

Not just their habits, but their instincts. Not just their behavior, but their moral reflexes.

Paul calls us instead to a different pattern:

“Be renewed in the spirit of your minds”

(Ephesians 4:23)

To be renewed is to be regenerated—to allow God to reshape the inner person daily. And out of that renewal comes the ability and the desire to:

• Put off the old self—its cunning, fear, manipulation, and sin,

• And intentionally put on the new self—like a garment chosen with purpose.

This “putting on” is not hypocrisy. It is spiritual discipline.

It is starving the old self while nurturing the new one shaped in “the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

And that is the exact opposite of what Rebekah modeled. She believed she was doing the right thing. She believed she was helping God’s promise unfold. But righteousness never flows from deceit. Holiness never emerges from sin. God’s purposes are not advanced through shortcuts of the flesh.

Yet—remarkably—God still fulfilled His promise despite their failures. His sovereignty is never limited by our sin, though our sin often multiplies our sorrow.

And so, the final question this passage leaves me with today is deeply personal:

What am I putting on today?

And what do I need to deliberately put off?

Because one way or another, what I put on shapes not only my life—

but the lives of those entrusted to me.