Devotion - Wednesday, February 8

As a child (even to some degree as an adult) I am troubled by the chain of events in Genesis 27. Issac is old. He thinks he is about to die. He decides it is time to offer a blessing to his son. He calls into his chamber his first-born, Esau. Asks him to go hunt for game, prepare it, bring it to him. When Issac receives his son's offering, he says he will bless him.

Perhaps you remember what happens next. Rebekah, Issac's wife, who favors the second-born, Jacob, cooks a meal just the way Issac likes it, sends Jacob in, disguised and pretending to be Esau, and Jacob gets the blessing of the father.

This "blessing" consists of some words, spoken between two persons. If it was gotten inappropriately, shouldn't there be the opportunity to revoke? And if the blessing was intended for Esau, what would it matter that the words were spoken to Jacob? It is the words or the intention behind the words which matter?

Esau seems to think similar thoughts. When he realizes that Jacob has gotten the blessing he asks Issac if there might be another, or something more.

There is much about customs in the ancient near east which we don't understand. This ritual between father and son is only one such example. We cannot fully pull back the curtain to see everything clearly. However, there are some things we learn, about blessings, and the lack of value they often have in our culture.

First, these "words," spoken by the father, have power. They are not empty gibberish - they mean something. How often we devalue the spoken blessings in our world. We miss the power of these utterances out of some insistence for action. "I had rather see it that hear talk about it," is often our attitude.

Second, blessings are not revokable. They are permanent. Once given, they are never removed. This is language which we sometimes find confusing in the book of Hebrews. The author has to work through how it is that the first covenant is given to Israel, then a second covenant is given to the followers of Jesus. "Surely," he writes, "God's first covenant is not revoked!" Again, in our culture, we have a "What have you done for me lately" attitude. We live with a fear that blessings, previously offered, might be revoked.

Finally, as a youth our young adult, we may glimpse the value of the blessing of our parents, but it is only later in life that we come to understand how important this really is. My experience is that most parents offer such blessings to their children - but it isn't formalized and so the child often "misses" it or fails to realize the impact of what is being offered. This lack of a formal ceremony means the parents don't speak clearly as to what it is they are trying to pass on. This is a bit of advise for the students on this list, as well as the parents - Make it a point to "bless." This is a terribly important expression of the parent-child relationship. The Bible tells us so.

I am still (a bit) confused by the story in Genesis 27. But the confusion becomes opportunity for me to understand something that I might otherwise fail to grasp. The strange chain of events teaches me about blessings and challenges me to learn of their value.