Detecting Deception: Some Truths from Isaac’s Experience with Jacob
The story of how Jacob deceived his father to cheat his elder brother, Esau, of his inheritance is not a very pleasant one. Jacob could only succeed in his scheming because Isaac was blind and isolated. Isaac had no one with him in the room. He did not call his wife Rebecca to ask if it was Esau presenting the food to him. Although Rebecca would most likely have lied to him since she was the one who orchestrated the entire exercise. Yet, who knows? Perhaps the sight of the husband of her youth, blind and helplessly dependent on her, might touch a cord in Rebecca and bring about a change of mind. Outside of Rebecca, if Isaac had had a second neutral person to ask if indeed it was Esau presenting the food to him, the story could have been drastically different.
Like Isaac, we all have our blind spots as far as decision-making concerning our destiny is concerned. If care is not taken, many can fall into deception and take the wrong path, as Isaac did. In this piece, we examine the role of informed and reliable witnesses in helping us make decisions that concern our destiny.
Blind spots in every human being
Physiologically, we all have blind spots in our eyes. The blind spot is a critical pathway in our visual center. As a matter of fact, it is through the blind spot that the images we are looking at are passed on to the brain. Located in the visual center of each of our eyeballs are some areas that do not have the capacity to detect any image at all. To the right of the visual center is the blind spot for the right eye, and to the left of the visual center is the blind spot for the left eye.
The blind spot is located where the optic nerve and blood vessels exit the eyeball. The brain and the eyes are linked through the optic nerve. The blind spot therefore acts as a highway for visual data to make its way to the brain for analysis. Without our blind spots, our brains will not receive any messages from our eyes, and we cannot understand what we see. By involving the brain, we can verify the accuracy of our observations. Our brains process what our eyes tell them they’re seeing.
The witness of two in our physiological blind spots
In seeing things, we do not notice our blind spots, except in cases of a diseased eye. There are two reasons why you do not notice the blind spots in your eyes. One is that you have two eyes. The second eye acts in such a way that both blind spots overlap and are not noticed.
The second reason we do not notice our blind spots in the case of one blind or damaged eye is that the brain acts as a witness. Your brain is able to receive information via the blind spot and covers up for the blind spot by returning information about the entire image in front of us, thereby giving us a full perception of the entire image rather than just one. Without the help of the second eye or the brain, we shall all be moving around, seeing things around us in patches, with at least one dark hole in a corner!
Who is a Witness?
From the physiological blind spots, we can deduce some characteristics of a credible witness. A credible witness, like our brain, must be able to process information differently, from another angle, and transmit that information to us within record time. A witness who can help us make decisions must be someone we can access whenever necessary. Although it is best to be able to access these people physically, I believe that being able to access them through their works—books, audio messages, phone calls, or such—will also be helpful.
A credible witness, like our second eye or brain, is not an outsider. It is not an external device; they are members of the body of Christ who are active in the running of God’s house, just as the eye and the brain are involved in maintaining our human body. An unbeliever or someone who does not love and participate in the body of Christ should not be considered a credible witness on our path to fulfilling our destiny.
The Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses
No matter of destiny should be undertaken by relying on only one person, not to speak of ourselves alone. There is a need to establish the validity of what we think we know by involving the information gained from a minimum of two credible people.
In several scriptures, God tells His children to always gather the testimony of two or three people before concluding judgment on grave matters. From our study of our blind spots, we see one eye and the brain acting as witnesses to ensure that our blind spots do not give us incorrect information about our sight or even leave us in blindness in some cases. In Deuteronomy 17:6, the Bible says, “[O]n the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.” Further down in the same book, Deuteronomy 19:15, the Bible reiterates that “[A] single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses, a matter shall be confirmed.”
An argument could be presented that the scriptural passages provided above are under the dispensation of the Law. In that case, we must delve into the dispensation of Grace to determine what might be the place of the witness of two or three. Jesus Christ, in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 18:15–16, had this to say: Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”
Even when it comes to prayers, Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). In the place of prayer, Jesus shows us that having more than one person pray is a sure way to ensure the presence of God. The presupposition here, I like to think, is that these two or three Christians are well-versed in the word of God and can easily decipher if a prayer is being prayed amiss or right, saving time and energy. The presence of two or three also shows seriousness, openness to the “riches of God’s glorious inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:18), confession of sins and the clarity that comes with a clear conscience, purity of heart towards others, and the enlightenment from some of our spiritual blind spots that close fellowship fosters.
In the Epistles, Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 13:1: “This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Apostle Paul, writing further to his spiritual son, Timothy, in 1 Timothy 5:19, cautioned that Timothy is not to “receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses.”
Does the Holy Spirit’s Witness count?
The Holy Spirit is our foundational witness in making decisions regarding our destiny. The Spirit fulfills all the requirements that the physiological witness provides. He is a person; He is resident in us and in Christ’s body. Romans 8:16 states, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” The Holy Spirit’s presence in our hearts is important in illuminating the word of God to us as we ask questions about our life’s purpose. God makes this clear in 2 Corinthians 1:22, “and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
The Holy Spirit sees things from a different perspective than our carnal nature. The word of God and the Holy Spirit are most intimately connected. The word is dependent on the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16, the Bible says, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” The word itself has great strength, but the Holy Spirit gives it its efficacy. Even though believers and nonbelievers both hear the word, only believers experience the presence of the Spirit when they hear it; this sets believers apart from the rest of the world.
How about Human Witnesses?
Do we still need people when we have the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth? Yes, we do. Jesus could not accomplish His plans and purposes on earth without people. Jesus chose the 12 disciples soon after beginning His ministry because He knew men’s ministry was equally important. Some Christians feel sufficiently empowered by the Holy Spirit, and therefore isolate themselves from others. But at the root of this isolation is sometimes fear or pride. Fear that people will hurt or harm us or pride that we do not need help from people to fulfill our destiny. When we root out fear and deal with our pride, we arrive at a place where we follow Biblical injunctions that a “threefold cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12) and that, where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14). We must, like Jesus did, identify helpers—people of character, wisdom, and strength whose counsel will always be seriously considered in light of God’s word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Isaac was blind and could not see the gross deception that was transpiring right before his darkened eyes. Perhaps, things could have turned out differently if Isaac had asked a trusted servant to verify the identity of the son presenting him with food. Abraham, Isaac’s father, had such a trusted servant. The servant acted as Abraham's eyes by finding Rebecca for Isaac to marry. Calling for a neutral witness, a third witness outside of Rebecca, would have immediately brought the deception to light, and Isaac would have been saved from the severe agony he experienced after giving Isaac the blessing he reserved all his life for Esau.
In conclusion, the Bible declares, “Woe to him who is alone.” Isolation makes deception easily possible in the life of a Christian. We are vulnerable when our blind spots are not covered. In matters concerning our destiny, Christians must learn to explore the counsel of the Holy Spirit, as He illuminates God’s word to us through Rhema and through communicating with us. Christians must also learn to build connections with other credible, enlightened, value-laden, and driven Christians, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.