What is the “Blessing” of Genesis 27?
After preaching a sermon from Genesis 27, I received a great question from a Member about the blessing in that episode, and what exactly is it?
In the week leading up to this sermon we talked through Genesis 27 at Reforming Group, we talked about this particular blessing at length and I would've like more time in the sermon to talk about it, but there’s a few things happening at once I think in both the blessing culture and in the both the blessing to Jacob and the “blessing” to Isaac.
Blessing culture of the days of the patriarchs involves a family or a father, giving a blessing upon the firstborn son. We can see this dotted throughout the Old Testament and particularly in Genesis. So in part, the word of blessing could just look to us like wishful thinking applied to the next generation, but really it is more like a prayer for children when in a believing home (not a pagan home of the Canaanites for example).
Yet also, this particular blessing is key - as all the way through what are we expecting? Most of all in this blessing from Isaac? We are expecting it of course to look exactly like the same blessing that was given to him by God through his father Abraham. Except when we look closely at it, it isn’t exactly that - not yet until chapter 28. For it’s in Genesis 28 that we will see a convicted Isaac finally give Jacob that Abrahamic blessing received from God, received by Jacob (Genesis 28:3-4).
What is interesting is that the blessing given to Jacob and Isaac seem to a focus on earthly prosperity and not on the blessings of the gospel that are given to Abraham. Whilst there is the blessing and cursing language the we see later in Deuteronomy 28, much of it is worldly in focus - which makes sense of Isaac’s worldliness in this spiritually dull moment of his life.
Ultimately I think that when Isaac has his trembling experience of conviction, that then he sees that such a blessing can only be given once (that is, it can’t be given again to Esau) for there is no room for Esau to be the inheritor of God’s sovereign blessing for Jacob and Esau, as the line of promise comes through one man.
Now, although those who hold to a view that the blessing is only a worldly blessing in a patriarchal blessing culture would argue that it can be only given once because Isaac is trying to be noble and fair - that doesn’t make sense of the text which shows that this is all linked to the line of promise. For this blessing is connected to the prophecy from God revealed to Rebekah that the older will serve the younger.
So I think that this particular blessing is linked to that particular promised blessing of God, which becomes a prayer of blessing for Jacob. Then that blessing Jacob receives, even by deception in this episode. For the sovereignty of God shows that Jacob received what only Jacob can receive - and it’s all by grace.
