Bless you, my son

Well, this is interesting. After all that scuffle about who’s getting what blessing, when Rebekah tells Jacob she doesn’t want Jacob to marry a Hittite woman (like Esau did), Jacob calls Isaac and… blesses him again.  He sets Jacob up as the inheritor of Abraham’s blessing – to be the father of nations, of God’s [...]

Be careful what you wish

Yesterday Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking he was blessing Esau.  He wished for his son not just good things that Jacob could enjoy himself or with his family – he wished that this son would be master to his brothers, that he would have and be better than anyone else. Today, Isaac learns that his blessing [...]

Make it work

In yesterday’s reading, we saw Isaac and Rebekah waiting patiently for the LORD to answer their prayers. And the LORD does answer, and says to Rebekah, “your older son will serve your younger son.” And then, in the part we skipped, Esau sells his rights as the firstborn son to Jacob. Now Isaac is about [...]