The Useless Blessing

There have been many sermons on the dishonesty of Jacob in stealing Esau’s blessing. I believe the truth is that the blessing would not have done Esau any good because all blessings in the Bible are conditional. The descendants of Esau could never have enjoyed the blessings that came down from Abraham because they were always wicked and they always rejected the God of Abraham.

I agree with Rebekah. She knew that the descendants of Esau would be trained in the worship of other gods (the fallen angels). Esau’s wives were heathen Canaanites who did not worship God. Rebekah was distressed with her daughters in law. “And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?” Genesis 27:46.

Esau was out hunting when Jacob got the blessing by deception. Isaac had sent Esau to the hunt. “Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.” Genesis 27:3-4. It would have been wrong for Isaac’s soul to bless Esau. Blessings should come from the Holy Spirit, not the person’s soul. The Holy Spirit would never have blessed Esau.

The blessings of Abraham were these. His descendants would multiply as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea shore. His descendants would hold military bases close to their enemies. His descendants would bless all the nations of the earth. (Genesis 22:17-18).

Isaac expanded the blessings by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The correct person was there to receive the blessing, so the Holy Spirit blessed him (Jacob), even though Isaac’s soul thought he was blessing Esau. The added blessings were as follows. God would give Jacob’s descendants good land that would bring forth an abundance of food. Jacob’s descendants would rule over other people and other nations including the other descendants of Abraham and Isaac. God would curse those who cursed Jacob’s descendants and bless those who blessed Jacob’s descendants. (Genesis 27:28-29). Later God promised Jacob that his descendants would become a nation and a company of nations. (Genesis 35:11).

Surely we can see that the Anglo-Saxon and kindred people received those many blessings, but only after they became a Christian people. The British Empire, followed by the United States, have revealed to the world the advantage of choosing Jesus Christ and the Bible to shape their national destinies. They have received the blessings of Abraham and Isaac, but those blessings are conditional. If we turn away from Jesus Christ, we will lose them.  

Isaac later blessed Esau with blessings, one of which would be more a curse than a blessing. His descendants would be wealthy. They would rule over the descendants of Jacob for a period of time (probably a short time). They would survive by violence. (Genesis 27:39-40). The descendants of Esau settled in Idumea. They all became Jewish in religion according to the records of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. The Jewish people are a mixture of Israelites and non-Israelites. Their little country in the Middle East fulfills the prophecy of the descendants of Esau. They survive by violence. They are always in conflict with other people in the Middle East. The descendants of Esau have never accepted Jesus Christ as King, so even if Isaac had blessed Esau with the blessing of Abraham, it would not have amounted to anything. The blessing had to be ignited by national acceptance of the Christian faith. Without Christ it would be a useless blessing.

Good news: There is another blessing available to the Anglo-Saxon people if we would return nationally to Jesus Christ. God said Jacob’s descendants would one day own all of the land the Canaanites lived in. The extent of that land has never been owned by Israelites – not even in the reign of Solomon. I believe that prophecy will be fulfilled in the reign of Jesus Christ.

The greatest blessing of all time has been given by God to the whole world – eternal life. But again, it is conditional. People must believe everything in the Bible about Jesus Christ and confess it. Otherwise, the blessing is useless to them.