"When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here I am," he answered. Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. Now then, get your weapons – your quiver and bow – and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die." Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, 'Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 'Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.' Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies." Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a man with smooth skin. What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing." His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me." (Genesis 26:34-27:13)
The scripture passage above describes Rebekah's plan for her son Jacob to steal Isaac's patriarchal blessing from Esau. There is something subtle in this passage that we don't want to miss. And that is that this trickery is motivated by passion...Rebekah's passion to get the best for the son she believes deserves it the most, and Jacob's passion in that he is willing to risk a curse in order to get this blessing.
What is it about this blessing anyway?
The patriarchal blessing was prophetic in nature. It is not just a "wish" or a "hope" that good things will come to the one over whom the blessing is spoken…it is actually calling down heaven upon someone here on earth. When we proceed a bit further and see the type of blessing spoken over the two sons of Isaac, we will see that by pronouncing specific blessings on his sons, Isaac will be "hearing" from the Lord and speaking that which he hears (or sees); and the things he pronounces will take place in the future. So, really, the blessing is a great thing as it actually takes place in heaven before it reaches earth, in the sense that God has ordained it to be so. That is what prophecy is all about: God's will spoken from heaven to and through men on earth.
The opposite of a patriarchal blessing, would of course, be a curse. We have already seen an example of a curse being pronounced over Ham's son Canaan…not because of what Canaan did, but because of what Ham did. This isn't about unfairness; it's about how our actions can set a divine precept into motion. When a father sins, his sins are visited on his descendants as well. We see that today…a father who is violent towards his own children, often breeds that same violence in his children…so that his sin continues on in them.
Thus, the blessing that Rebekah was passionately procuring through deception for her son was not only for Jacob, but for the generations to come after him. Rebekah had passion; and she had vision. It was these things that caused her to go with Abraham's servant, so many years before, to become the wife of a man she had never seen. Had she been fearful rather than visionary and passionate, she would have missed the life God had ordained for her. But God knew Rebekah; He knew her passionate nature and He chose her as Isaac's bride.
If Rebekah could see the eternal things of God; then Jacob, who spent all of his time at home near his mother, had to have been inspired and taught, by example at the least, to be the same. Thus, while Jacob recognizes the danger of the curse falling on him if he is found out, still, he also recognizes that the value of the blessing far outweighs the risk of the curse. And so he does as his mother tells him to do.
Esau has neither passion nor vision for the things of God. It is the lack of these two things that causes him to so easily give up his birthright and to marry two Hittite women bringing the influence of their false gods into his life. And he is about to lose his patriarchal blessing as well…for he has only apathy for the things of God. His only passion is for hunting and Hittite women.
We must ask ourselves this question: Do I have a passion to have ALL that I can get of God? Do I value the eternal things of heaven, or are my eyes set only upon the things of earth? How much am I willing to risk in order to get a blessing from God?
And, if you are passionate, are your passions focused on the things of God…or on earthly things?
In other words: are you a Jacob or an Esau?
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, 'These things say the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, an neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." (Revelation 3:13-16)
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