Genesis 27:26-29
2008.Sep.05 18:00
The Blessing on Jacob
Read Genesis 27:26-29 | Full Chapter
Then Isaac said, "Son, come over here and kiss me." While Jacob was kissing him, Isaac caught the smell of his clothes and said: "The smell of my son is like a field the LORD has blessed. God will bless you, my son, with dew from heaven and with fertile fields, rich with grain and grapes. Nations will be your servants and bow down to you. You will rule over your brothers, and they will kneel at your feet. Anyone who curses you will be cursed; anyone who blesses you will be blessed."
(Genesis 27:26-29, CEV)
The blessing itself, having finally come to it, is not terribly interesting, at least to me. It’s a basic “Things will go well for you,” with an added, “you will rule over others.” As a major point, that others includes Esau (intended apparently to be instead Esau ruling over Jacob).
From a wider outlook, this may be seen as a blessing on the forthcoming nation of Israel. And the Biblical history of that nation sees this blessing fulfilled. But…
As with Jacob, for the nation Israel, the blessing doesn’t apparently preclude suffering and times when pretty much the opposite of the blessing happens. Solomon’s reign or the Babylon captivity. Jacob’s success or his struggles with Laban. Jacob’s joy in his children, or the apparent loss of Joseph. Indeed, it’s rare to see a blessing that doesn’t occassionally feel like a curse–and the bad times may or may not be do to failures on the part of recipient–or a curse that doesn’t sometimes look a blessing.
Promises are good, especially from Yahweh, and it’s wonderful to read through the Bible, seeing his promises for me. But what I need to receive from those promises is encouragement and perspective, not a feeling of invincibility, certainly not pride in myself.
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