“Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.”
Genesis 27:38 ESV
Through the Bible: Genesis 27-29
Sometimes God uses human characters in Scripture to show us what He is like. But in the heartbreaking story of Isaac and Esau, God shows us what He is not like.
Jacob cheats Esau out of the blessing that should have been his. You can read the whole sorry story in Genesis 27. But when Esau realizes the deception, the pain and bitterness of his heart’s cry tears me up. Three times he begs:
- “Bless me, even me also, O my father!””
Genesis 27:34 - “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?””
Genesis 27:36 ESV - “Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.”
Genesis 27:38 ESV
Esau saw the blessing of the father as a zero-sum game. If Jacob gets it, he doesn’t. And apparently Isaac understood it the same way. Thankfully, in the next generation, Jacob seems to have learned from Isaac’s mistake. He has a blessing for all twelve of his sons. (See Genesis 49)
Do we treat God the same way? Do we look at the big church across town and wonder why all God’s blessings seem to be going in their direction? Do we look with envy on other families Facebook feeds and instagrams and say “Bless me too, my Father!”?
Worse, do we think God’s blessing of our nation or our race or our culture or our way of doing things is all the blessing He has to give?
God, have mercy on us.
Oh God, forgive us for treating you like a human father with only so much blessing to go around. Your storehouse of blessing is bottomless!
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”
Romans 11:33 ESV
And God, because we have freely received, let us freely give of your bottomless blessings (Matthew 10:8)!
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