17 - Blessings affirmed and blessings stolen

Jacob offering a dish of lentils to Esau for his birthright, 18th century painting by Zacarias Gonzalez Velazquez

Chareen's Thoughts:

Genesis 26:2-5 The Lord affirmed His blessing to Isaac.  Of particular note to me is verse 5. because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My mandate, My commands, My statutes, and My instructions.

I had a look at the meanings of these words in Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary because God states a reason here for His blessing upon Abraham I wanted to more fully understand what He said. This is what I found:

• Mandate - A command; an order, precept or injunction; a commission
• Commands -  To bid; to order; to direct; to charge; implying authority, and power to control, and to require obedience
• Statutes - declaring, commanding, or prohibiting something; a positive law, An act of a corporation or of its founder, intended as a permanent rule or law
• Instructions - The act of teaching or informing the understanding in that of which it was before ignorant; information, Precepts conveying knowledge Proverbs 8:10 Receive my instruction in preference to [striving for] silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold,
• listened - To hearken; to give ear; to attend closely with a view to hear. To obey; to yield to advice; to follow admonition

Genesis 26:6 - 10 Yikes Isaac does the same as his father and lies about his wife calling her his sister (at least in Abraham's case it was a half truth!)
Genesis 26:29 Interesting to note that the people of the land recognised the hand of the Lord's blessing in Isaacs life.
In Genesis 27:1-46 We read about Isaac handing Esau's blessing to Jacob.  As I read it I realised that Isaac doubted and asked Jacob 3 times if he was Esau before he blessed him. It made me think of Peter denying the Lord three times before he went to the cross (Matthew 26:69-75).

In Genesis 27:36 Esau speaks thus about Jacob (surplanter) - So he said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing." ... One thing that is dear to my heart is the naming of my children. I have felt quite strongly that the name of a person carries with it a blessing. It amazes me as I read this account that Jacob stole from Esau twice. First he bought his physical inheritance with a bowl of lentils and second he stole his spiritual blessing.

The thing that astounds me is that once the blessing was given it could not be retracted. Secondly the Lord honoured the blessing even though it was meant for another. The blessing was conveyed through touch.  Blessings are another area of interest to me. 

Blessings

Chareen