Faith.In.Life

The Prince and the Pauper Revisited

(Esau and Jacob)

In my post about the birth of Jacob and Esau, I made the connection with the classic story “The Prince and the Pauper.”  I was drawn to that classic story because the Prince and the Pauper look exactly the same, but are born into very different circumstances - one into privilege and the other into poverty.  Something very could be said about Esau and Jacob - that the two a born looking similar enough that even their own father will confuse them (as we see in Genesis 27), but into very different circumstances.  The only catch is where Esau is the one who deserves the blessing of what we might call princely status, the blessing is given instead of the Pauper, or Jacob.

There is something very compelling though about the revelation that the Pauper, Tom, has when he is being acknowledged as the Prince by the kingdom and its people.  We read that when Tom is presented as the Prince in all his adornments that:

In Fenchurch Street a ‘fair child, in costly apparel,’ stood on a stage to welcome his Majesty to the city.  The last verse of his greeting was in these words—

‘Welcome, O King! as much as hearts can think;
Welcome, again, as much as tongue can tell,—
Welcome to joyous tongues, and hearts that will not shrink:
God thee preserve, we pray, and wish thee ever well.’

The people burst forth in a glad shout, repeating with one voice what the child had said.  Tom Canty gazed abroad over the surging sea of eager faces, and his heart swelled with exultation; and he felt that the one thing worth living for in this world was to be a king, and a nation’s idol.  Presently he caught sight, at a distance, of a couple of his ragged Offal Court comrades—one of them the lord high admiral in his late mimic court, the other the first lord of the bedchamber in the same pretentious fiction; and his pride swelled higher than ever.  Oh, if they could only recognize him now!  What unspeakable glory it would be, if they could recognize him, and realize that the derided mock king of the slums and back alleys was become a real King, with illustrious dukes and princes for his humble menials, and the English world at his feet!  But he had to deny himself, and choke down his desire, for such a recognition might cost more than it would come to:  so he turned away his head, and left the two soiled lads to go on with their shoutings and glad adulations, unsuspicious of whom it was they were lavishing them upon.

The recognition is given to the status, but ultimately falls on the wrong person.  The Pauper has only achieved privilege by appearance, but in fact has done nothing what-so-ever to earn the praise the kingdom gives him.  Ultimately, he is at odds with the situation, and later sees privilege as a type of prison as he sees the other pauper’s which includes his own mother (who recognizes him for who he is) being abused and treated as scum.

Jacob actually comes up with a similar cunning plan with the help of his mother that they would steal Esau’s blessing.  What we find is that even though Jacob actions are not worthy of Isaac’s blessing, he will receive it anyway.  However, this is not by anything he has done, but purely the appearance that has been created for them that somehow, someway, he might somehow earn the blessing.  

The similarity comes in the realization that despite who we are at birth, the circumstances we are born into, and even how we act does not dictate our outcomes.  Thought the overarching story of the Prince and the Pauper, the Pauper learns that the grass is not greener on the other side, and blessing was always his.  Equally, we were already told in Genesis 25 that the older son will serve the younger.  So, it doesn’t matter what Jacob tries to do to somehow bring upon the blessing, rather it is something that God has already decided ahead of time.  Paul reflects on Jacob and Esau more in Romans 9 when he says in verses 10-16:

10 This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. 11 But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.” 13 In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.” 

14 Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! 15 For God said to Moses, 

“I will show mercy to anyone I choose, 

and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” 

16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. 

I find it so odd that the notion of God’s call and predestination has become a bad thing and something so many in our culture today reject.  In our culture we desire freedom and even in the west we take great value in the notion that we can rise above our circumstances to become more than whatever our birth situation may have otherwise dictated.  It is equally interesting that so many people who are successful and enter into a life of privilege will equally find themselves incredibly empty - living in a prison of their own creation.  

Yet, the very notion of God’s calling throughout Scripture is not dependent on the type of person we are, the circumstances we find ourselves ourselves in, or how hard we will work for it.  The great confusion of the Christian faith is that to become a Christian one has to live some type of legalistic life as a result.  The confusion then becomes that somehow the work will somehow give Creedence to God showing us mercy.  And yet, such legalism is just as much a prison as the prestige.  

We would do well to remember the basic definitions of grace and mercy; grace covers what we cannot cover on our own.  While mercy is offering such grace freely not of any compulsion.  The amazing thing is, none of us deserve it, none of us can work for it, and no matter how hard we try God is not compelled to rescue anyone from the prisons we find ourselves in.  And yet, God calls, chooses, and sets people apart so that it would be all about Him for His own glory.  God acts first - and this is a very good thing.

I will end with something similar to what the Pastor Voddie Baucham was recently quoted in saying:  “If it were up to us, we would definitely lose our salvation.”  But I would add that if it were up to us, we would have never obtained salvation to begin with.  If it were possible, then Jesus need have never come in the first place.  If it were possible for us to achieve princely status simply by our own ability, then we would have done so.   But rather, it is Christ who obtains our princely status not because of anything we have done, but because God chose to offer grace through his son to those He decides to show mercy to.  I then hear the rally cry say well thats not fair! Yet, here is what is fair:  Neither Jacob nor Esau really earned or dissolved Isaac’s blessing.  Nor did either the Prince or the Pauper deserve or earn any prestige they might encounter.  And yet, thank God, that in our case, God would show mercy on anyone at all.  But what is more, is that typically the people who debate the notion of predestination are Christians - and if we say we claim Christ as Lord we can know without a shadow of a doubt that to Christ alone we belong - and nothing can separate us from His great love for us.  We, then, how debate this concept for far too long and forever more - are actually the ones who should take pause and thank God for saving us - for while were once enemies of God, Christ died for us, so that we might be considered privileged royalty - sons and daughters of God most high adopted through Jesus Christ so that, we might tell others of His great love.  We then do not serve out of legalism, but out of adoration that God might chose us because of his great mercy enabled through grace alone.