Stolen blessings...

"And he said, 'Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing."--Genesis 27:35.  In brief, here Esau had been sent out to hunt and bring back game for his father, Isaac to eat.  Isaac is nearing death and is about to offer the blessing to Esau but while Esau is out Rebekah talks Jacob into deceiving Isaac into thinking Jacob was Esau.  Isaac was going blind so Jacob could pull this off and he did.  The full account can be found in Genesis 27:1-29.  The blessing that was intended for Esau was given to Jacob.  Jacob would be master of his brothers and people would serve him.  This was intended for Esau but was given to Jacob but there was no revoking the blessing once it had been given in this case.  What we are talking about here is stolen blessings.

Stolen blessings.  The blessing, according to one of my instructors Denny Petrillo here at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver was different from the birthright that Jacob had previously stolen from Esau through manipulation.  The birthright dealt more with material possessions and the blessing dealt more with the direction your life would take and was considered to be from God.

Stolen blessings.  What both Jacob and Rebekah did was wrong.  This incident would only add to the already existing tension between Jacob and Esau to the point where Esau would want to kill Jacob, does this sound familiar? Let's not forget Cain who became angry with Abel and killed him. Difference is Esau would not succeed as Jacob would become Israel.  Jacob would be sent away until his brother's anger subsided (vv. 43-45).

Stolen blessings.  Esau had a right to be frustrated to be sure but at that time the blessing was irrevocable.  Esau would be told when confronting his father Isaac about the situation that he would serve his brother,  Jacob.

Stolen blessings.  Ultimately, what we have to realize is while what Jacob and Rebekah did was wrong.  However, God would use this as part of His grander plan to bring about the nation of Israel.

Stolen blessings.  Sometimes people are going to take advantage of us but God can ALWAYS take the worst of circumstances and use them to His glory. It is difficult to understand why things were allowed to happen the way they did but one thing we have to understand is that God created us with free choice. Sometimes we make the wrong choice and that wrong choice can impact others.  But again, if you learn from those wrong choices as Jacob ultimately would and allow God to work through you some great things will happen as did with Jacob. Jacob would be in the genealogy of Christ along with king David bringing salvation to the world. This is what the Bible is all about.  Man's journey back to God from leaving the garden in Genesis 3 to the return of Christ coming for those who have committed to following Him.

If you want to know more about redemption of sin, click on the highlighted link. Don't let anyone or anything take away from you the spiritual blessings found only in Christ.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!