Welcome to Wednesday! We’re well on the way to a wonderful Father’s Day message in the Pastor’s Workshop!
As you know from Monday and Tuesday, our focus this Father’s Day is on “Blessing”. Our Scripture is Genesis 27:1-10, 30-38. But if you want to get the “full story” read verses 1-40. We’re keying in on the cry of Esau, “Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also, father!”
On Wednesdays, we look at the background of the Scripture. We consider the context of the text. As we know more about the days in which the story was originally told it deepens our understanding and our appreciation of the drama unfolding in the text. It also helps in our application for living today.
The bestowal of the blessing we are witnessing in this Scripture was a very formal and formidable event in the lives of ancient Hebrews. The blessing was like the reading of a will or the bequest of inheritance, except it was bestowed while the giver was still alive.
In this patriarchal society, the giver would have always been the father. The father was the oldest living male and was responsible for the provision and protection of the immediate family. But more than that, he was responsible for the well-being of the extended family, the entire clan. The blessing, as the passing on of the family fortune, was to provide for the continued care of the entire family.
Also, in a patriarchal society, the blessing would have been given to the oldest son, in this case, Esau. He was the one who would take the father’s place when the father passed. The mantle of responsibility fell to him. This societal tradition of succession provided for a smooth transition of power and ongoing care for the family.
The blessing was an earthly inheritance, but it was more. It was the “passing on” of not only the family fortune but also the favor of God. Verse 7 expresses this depth of the blessing, “… I may bless you, before the Lord, before I die.”
The blessing was often given in a ceremony accompanied by a meal. Thus there was the preparation of “savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you…” (verse 4).
The contrast to the “blessing” was the “curse”. With a will for “good” and “favor”, there was also a will for “bad” and “evil”. We read in verse 29, “Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” The “blessing” and the “curse” were matters of “provision” and “protection”.
To steal the “blessing”, as Jacob did in this Scripture, would have been a shocking crime. It would have violated all the norms of the day. No wonder Esau plotted to kill Jacob (verse 41).
It was a shocking crime, by a patriarch of the faith. And yet the Scripture tells the story. It invites the listeners to know this as part of their heritage. And as people of faith, it is part of our heritage as well.
Part of what we learn as this story continues forward is that God honored the blessing given by Isaac. God’s favor and faithfulness did rest upon Jacob. Grace was there not because Jacob deserved it. Clearly he did not. Grace was there because God, our Heavenly Father, was faithful to the covenant care of His family.
What happens along the way is that this blessing of God changes Jacob. The change is reflected in the change of his name to Israel. And the last act Israel does in his life is to bless his twelve sons, the twelve tribes of Israel. The covenant care goes on.
The gospel good news is that we have this same Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father extends this same covenant care to us in Jesus Christ. It’s never a matter of us deserving it. It’s always a matter of God desiring it for us and with us. Our privilege is to live into that covenant care in ways that we not only know that blessing but additionally pass it on to others.
I invite you to reflect on what it means for you to call God your “Heavenly Father”. Jot down your thoughts.
In that blessing we share together as the family of God, I look forward to tomorrow and “putting it all together” for Sunday’s message. In that joy, I’ll see you then!
Prayer: Gracious God, thank you for the stories of our faith. These stories show our earthly fathers may not have been perfect people, but this did not stop you as our Heavenly Father from embracing them and us with your amazing grace. By your Spirit strengthen us in that faith and help us to live as the blessing you would have us to be, so that others will know through us the blessing you would pour on them in Jesus Christ, our Lord. This we pray in Jesus’ holy name. Amen