Genesis 28:1-4

2008.Oct.03 12:15

Extending the Blessing

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham."
(Genesis 28:1-4, NIV)

Isaac, after having been tricked, more or less, into giving the first-born blessing to the younger of his twins, now goes ahead and gives a similar blessing to Jacob, now explicitly adding that Jacob–not necessarily to the exclusion of Esau–shall inherit Yahweh’s promise to Abraham: he will have many descendents; they will possess the land of Canaan. In which the descendents of Abraham are aliens. Which is an increasingly difficult point to argue.

But Isaac takes the opportunity to give, if not a condition to the blessing, at least a clearly related instruction. “Jacob, go home,” he says, “and marry one of your cousins.” Or, more generally, do not marry a Canaanite. This particular point only comes up fifty thousand times in the Old Testament, so I won’t dwell on it here. At least, it now occurs to Isaac to state this desire, where I’m not sure it did in the case of Esau. Isaac, I am concluding, is not a great example of a father.

It’s also interesting that, in Genesis 24, Abraham made it clear to his servant that he did not want Isaac to leave Canaan at all, whereas Isaac explicitly sends Jacob off. It would have been interesting to see interaction between Laban and Isaac.

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.

Genesis 27:1-4

2008.Aug.08 18:00

Food for a Blessing

Read Genesis 27:1-4 | Full Chapter

After Isaac had become old and almost blind, he called in his first-born son Esau, who asked him, "Father, what can I do for you?" Isaac replied, "I am old and might die at any time. So take your bow and arrows, then go out in the fields, and kill a wild animal. Cook some of that tasty food that I love so much and bring it to me. I want to eat it once more and give you my blessing before I die."
(Genesis 27:1-4, CEV)

I can’t say that Isaac’s best decision, if he really intended to give his blessing to his eldest son, was in first requiring Esau to make him a meal. Has he not yet figured out that Jacob is willing to use such opportunities to his advantage, and happens to be much better at doing so that Esau? My impression of Esau is that of the “dumb jock”, but without the motivation (By the way, is it just me or are the an uncanny number of bookish and artistic heros in the Bible?).

Still, I’m sure there’s plenty of significance, well-meant of Isaac’s part, in having Esau first prepare a meal for his father. If nothing else, it’s likely that a good meal will put Isaac in a better mood, thus enhancing the quality of said blessing. For Isaac, this event is probably much more significant than for any of the other players. He is about to die, he is losing his eyesight, at least, and likely feels like he is no longer capable of independent action. This blessing represents his last foray as a powerful patriach; the meal he requests may be the final acknowledgement of his waning power. Of course, as it turns out, the attempted bless more demostrated his failing health and strength.

In other words, this should have been a big moment, and one particularly focused on Isaac. It would have been nice to see the family gathered together, celebrating Isaac’s life. Ha ha. Instead, it’s family politics.

So, my wife is pregnant. Which is wonderful. I read this story, think about my future, my family’s future. Family politics is something I want to be a wall against. What a shame for the last moments of your life to be filled with rivals positioning to gain from your death. And maybe Isaac and Rebekah did make an effort to stop this earlier. But I don’t see any evidence thereof. Indeed, it appears they actively participated.

Genesis 26:23-25

2008.Jul.19 15:20

”I Will Bless You”

Read Genesis 26:23-25 | Full Chapter

Isaac went on to Beersheba, where the LORD appeared to him that night and told him, "Don't be afraid! I am the God who was worshiped by your father Abraham, my servant. I will be with you and bless you, and because of Abraham I will give you many descendants." Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. Then he set up camp, and his servants started digging a well.
(Genesis 26:23-25, CEV)

God reiterates his promise to Abraham, that his descendants will be blessed, and that Yahweh will be with them. That’s not something I should just read past. I’m accustomed to discussion of generational curses, but here is something that is so wonderful: a generational promise. Yahweh often extends his promises to a family or group, for a long period of time. And, isn’t this nice, he is actually able to keep those promises.

The flip side, of course, is that we may not come into possession of a promise within our lifetime. A promise that I may think I will receive, may actually be received by my descendants several generations down the line. That’s okay, but it’s important to be aware that I may not fully understand the details of a specific promise from God. Not so that I can play the Nostradamus game of trying to make anything that happens fit with a given promise, but so that I can check my own expectations. Often, of course, the fulfillment of a promise blessing from God can be better than what I had imagined.

And one more aspect of this generational promise is that Isaac is receiving a portion of that promise, not because of himself, but because of his father. Likewise, I receive the promise of salvation in Christ, not because of me, but because of Christ.

And, of course, Isaac’s servants dig another well.

Genesis 14:19-20

2007.Mar.11 21:42

Blessing from Salem

Read Genesis 14:19-20 | Full Chapter

King Melchizedek of Salem was a priest of God Most High. He brought out some bread and wine and said to Abram: “I bless you in the name of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. All praise belongs to God Most High for helping you defeat your enemies.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
(Genesis 14:18-20, CEV)

Melchizedek, in his postbellum meeting with Abram, gives two things, and receives one: 1. He gives Abram bread and wine. 2. He gives Abram a blessing. 3. Abram gives him a tenth “of everything”.

Why Melchizedek brought the refreshments is not explained here, but I think it’s significant that he did meet one of Abram’s needs, that of food; although there’s no indication that Abram was in particular need of food, this is something that, to my knowledge, most cultures do: honor someone by giving them food and drink. So, Melchizedek does a good thing there.

He follows this by blessing Abram, and then praising Yahweh, God of Abram, for the war’s victory. He does something succinctly that seems so hard to do; that is, to honor those who are carrying out some work of God (leading worship, serving some need, teaching, etc.), while giving the principle praise to God, who ultimately deserves it. It bothers me that this seems so hard to do, and I’m not sure why. Both honoring other humans and praising God are very, very important, but I think we humans in general tend to overcompensate one way or the other, either giving all praise to the human party or not honoring or encouraging them at all. To propose that one who ought to honored for their faithfulness in the work of the Lord should be humble and not require any reciprocation is, in my opinion, dishonoring to the work God is doing in them, and perhaps more importantly is just plain hurtful to the person. As a Christian, I have a responsibility to honor and bless others for both good works and their faith evidenced in good works.

And, no, I’m not going to try to define “honor” today.

Abram responds by giving Melchizedek a tenth “of everything”, which I assume refers to the spoils of the war. And Melchizedek receives it. No argument, at least none recorded for posterity. The implication is that this priest/king received as Abram gave. Maybe this was partially payment for troops, maybe it was to assist in Melchizedek’s priesthood, maybe just an exchange of gifts between leaders, I don’t know. But this interaction of giving and receiving is so much how I’d like to act in such situations. I want to receive humbly and gratefully (i.e., without protest) the gifts from God, either directly or through others. I also want to give with joy and without strings attached as God directs me.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35) : It is such a blessing to receive gratefully, and even more to give.

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