Quick Note – Genesis 27 – The Greatest Blessing

Genesis 27:35-38 – But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.”  Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob?  For he has cheated me these two times.  He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.”  The he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”  Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him.  What then can I do for you, my son?”  Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing my father?  Bless me, even me also, O my father.”  And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

I always feel bad for Esau when I read this story in Genesis 27 of the Bible.  This story describes how Jacob tricks his father Isaac in order to get the blessing that was meant for Esau.  For those who don’t know the story, let me give you a short summary, although I encourage you to read it for yourself.  Esau and Jacob were the two sons of Isaac and Rebekah.  Jacob loved Esau the most, while Rebekah loved Jacob.  When Isaac was getting old, had become basically blind, and was near death, he told his son Esau to prepare a meal for him to eat and then to receive his blessing.  So Esau went out to hunt for game and prepare that meal.  Rebekah, overhearing what was said, cooked up a plan to get that blessing for Jacob instead.  She prepared a meal, dressed Jacob up in Esau’s clothes, and sent him to get the blessing from Isaac.  Jacob then went in, deceived his father by claiming he was Esau, and received the blessing, which included bountiful harvests, lordship over his brothers, and more.  After the blessing was given, Esau returned from his hunt, prepared the meal, and went to Isaac for the blessing, only to find out that the blessing had already been given away to Jacob.  Jacob had tricked his way into getting Esau’s blessing.  It was then that Esau said these words in our passage today, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 

Now, it is true that Isaac basically blessed Jacob with everything here.  He blessed him with material wealth, power over his brothers, and even the blessing of blessing to those who blessed him and cursing to those who cursed him; but there was a blessing that was not given – the blessing of Abraham – the blessing that God gave to Abraham and his offspring that they would inherit the land of their sojourning and would become a blessing to the world.  This blessing was reserved for the person that God had chosen to give it to.  It was a blessing given to Abraham, then given to Isaac, and would eventually be given to Jacob.  But at this time, it had not yet been given to Jacob, so it makes me wonder why Esau never asked for this blessing.  Why was it that when Isaac asked Esau, “What then can I do for you, my son?” that Esau didn’t ask for the blessing of Abraham?  In just the next chapter, Isaac would bestow this blessing on Jacob, so during this time, it could have still been asked for by Esau (although it likely would not have been given, because it was meant for Jacob by God all along).  However, Esau could have asked.  Esau was so focused on the loss of physical and monetary blessings that he forgot to ask for the most important blessing of all – the spiritual blessing of having a close relationship with God, a relationship that Abraham his grandfather had and Isaac his father had.  Often, we can get caught up in all the physical things in this life that we forget that the most important blessing that God has given us in this life is a relationship with Him.  We forget that there is nothing greater than being called children of God, walking with Him, and getting to know Him better.  Instead, when we don’t get more money, don’t get a promotion in our workplace, don’t get the latest and greatest technological toy, we think that God either abandoned us or forgot about us.  But rather than focusing on the here and now, we should always keep our eyes on Jesus Christ.  Our treasure should be stored up in heaven rather than on this earth.  Let us take joy in the greatest blessing that we can have – Jesus Christ.