I've been reading in Genesis about Isaac, and his sons Jacob and Esau. So, Jacob and Esau, are living life, and Esau being the manly man hunter that he is comes home starving. Jacob had just finished making some amazing food, so, Esau in his desperation to ease his discomfort agrees to the cunning Jacob to give him his birthright in exchange for some food. Seems pretty lazy, but I know what I would give for some chocolate or Jamba now and again, so, I won't judge.
Time passes, we now find Isaac nearing the time of his death. He tells Esau to prepare a meal to have with him after his hunt and he will pass on his blessing. The sneaky Jacob once again (with the help of his mom), impersonates Esau, and brings Isaac the food (its meat, but somehow I think of it as hot delicious soup...)in order to recieve Esau's blessing. Isaac falls for the trickery, because his sight isn't so great, and blesses Jacob with Esau's blessing. He says:
27:28 May God give you the dew of the sky and the richness of the earth, and plenty of grain and new wine. 27:29 May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. You will be lord over your brothers, and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”
When Esau returns and approaches Isaac, he finds out what happens and begs his dad for the blessing too. Instead, Isaac says he only had one blessing to give and instead seems to curse Esau whom is rightly upset, he later wants to kill Jacob.
Esau's 'blessing' goes like this:
He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?” 27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” Then Esau wept loudly.
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him, Indeed, your home will be away from the richness of the earth, and away from the dew of the sky above. 27:40 You will live by your sword but you will serve your brother. When you grow restless, you will tear off his yoke from your neck.”
So, I got to thinking about blessings, and blessings from fathers. Why is it that Isaac had only one blessing to give? Why couldn't he bless Esau to the same degree? That little twerp, how could he get away with it? And later Isaac helps him even more and send him in the right direction for finding a wife and fleeing Esau's wrath.
But, then I realized that Jesus, as God's own son, and firstborn, has all of God's blessing. He has the blessing. All of it. wow. that's gotta be a BIG blessing. More than I could ever dream of. Good things, properity, abundance, life, authority, imagination, family.... so many things. And what's more is, as the Holy Spirit comes and lives within those who recieve Him, we also have Jesus living within us. We have the blessing too. cool. So much more blessing than we can imagine. Not just any blessing, the blessing of a father to his firstborn son, the blessing of inheritance.
I want to let that soak in. I already know it sometimes, but then sometimes it seems to fade to the background and then God shows me something that reminds me again of his fatherly tender love, and all that he lavishes on me... and seeing it through the OT stories is a fun way to be reminded.
