Genesis 27:28-30

I hope you all enjoyed a restful Memorial Day as you gave thanks for all who have served and continue to serve this nation with great sacrifice! Today I am celebrating the 36th birthday of my firstborn, Molly! I remember the day of her birth with such clarity, it seems impossible that all this time has passed!! Happy Birthday, angel child!

Today we are just going to look at the blessing that Isaac gave to Jacob, thinking he was giving it to Esau:

“May God give you heaven’s dew 
   and earth’s richness— 
   an abundance of grain and new wine. 
May nations serve you 
   and peoples bow down to you. 
Be lord over your brothers, 
   and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. 
May those who curse you be cursed 
   and those who bless you be blessed.” (Gen 27:28-29)

Once a blessing was given, it was impossible to take it back. Here, thinking he’s blessing Esau, Isaac prophecies that “Esau” would be lord over his brothers, that they would bow down to him. Yet, he certainly knew that God had already pronounced that Jacob would be over Esau (Gen 25:23). Here we see an interesting thing about the Hebrew culture - words are not spoken lightly! Beth Moore writes the following on this passage:

“Words are powerful. . . We speak words hastily and think we can simply take them back at a moment’s notice without consequences. Sometimes there are simply no ‘take backs.’ Genesis 27 is one of those times.

“Our consolation is the sovereignty of God. Though the players in these. . . scenes proved manipulative, hasty, deceptive, and foolish, a sovereign purpose trumped every play. In a very real sense, Isaac couldn’t take back his blessing because it really wasn’t his to give in the first place.” (The Patriarchs, P. 121)

God did not fulfill this blessing out of obligation to the words spoken by Isaac here, but because He Himself had already spoken them - this was part of his sovereign plan for this family and for the line of the Messiah. There were definite consequences to this family because of the way they had behaved here. We’ll see how Rebekah and Jacob suffered due to their deception. No, God had this all covered, and in His grace and sovereignty, He overcame the folly and sin of this family for their ultimate good and ours (Romans 8:28).

How easily we speak the multitude of words that flow from our mouths! So often we give our words very little thought. In fact, this is my biggest weakness! I have struggled all my life with the ability to say exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time. When we speak reactively, we are bound to say something that has terrible ramifications. I want to be an encourager, and, yet, often my careless words can discourage. It’s why I ask God to control my tongue EVERY day! Anyone else struggle with this? :)

Finally, Jacob makes a quick departure after this blessing, and in fact escapes just in the nick of time:

After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. (Gen 27:30)

Here’s an amazing picture! Jacob has just barely left the room, dressed in his brother’s clothing, when here comes Esau! They just missed each other! Isn’t this something out of “Days of Our Lives?” Esau is about to explode! Tomorrow we are going to look at the response of Esau, and the ramifications of his own choices. Stay tuned, it just gets better!