Nougat 14

Today’s Holy Nougat is a blessing for us all and a caution to consider the implications of our choices before we act.

“May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭28‬:‭3‬ ‭NRSV‬‬

Blessing for the Task Ahead

This wasn’t just an ordinary blessing. Not at all. This was Isaac’s blessing for Jacob after the grand deception. (You have heard of the grand deception before haven’t you? I’m referring to the time when Rebecca, Isaac’s wife, plotted with Jacob to supplant his twin’s blessing). What made the blessing even more interesting is that it was not forced, nor achieved by trickery. Isaac knew what he was saying and to whom.

A bit of backstory …

The twins were as different as chalk and cheese in their features and in their personality. While Esau was an impetuous hunter, Jacob was a quiet thinker. Esau’s impetuous ways led him to sell his birthright for a meal, and to marry local women, a grave disappointment to both his parents. It was the latter which resulted in Jacob receiving this double-portion blessing from his father. For Isaac desired a daughter in law from among his father’s kin.

That desire proved invaluable for Jacob. He needed a safe haven away from his furious older twin, and the ‘quest’ for a suitable wife offered an appropriate alibi. Isaac blessed him and his future endeavors abundantly unreservedly.

The blessing seems to have sobered Esau. For we learn in verses 6 – 9, that Esau sought a wife from among Ishmael’s children, with the sole purpose of appeasing his parents for his previous choices. Of course, by that time, in the way of blessings, it was once again ‘too little, too late’. Jacob had already been blessed.

At that point, Jacob’s past wrongs didn’t matter. The decision to go to his parents’ hometown to find his spouse worked in his favour. It became the source of a powerful blessing for fruitfulness.

Did the back story around this blessing remind us of the call to be compatible in our own relationships (see 2 Corinthians 6)? It says to me that working according to God’s will overrides the eternal consequences of our past sins. That’s what redemption looks like. It’s not what we deserve, but what God’s grace has earned for us through Jesus Christ.

So as we appropriate this blessing over our lives, let’s work towards ensuring that we seek our Lord’s favour in our endeavors. Moving forward, may our lives be fruitful and blessed, in Jesus’ name.

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May all we seek be found in Christ