| Commentary and Philosophy Fiction posted January 14, 2022 |
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Retelling of a Biblical story.
Blessing with a Tricky Twist
by BethShelby
When I hear the word 'blessing', I tend to think in terms of what we read about blessings in the Bible. From the very first book, God seemed to be the one to hand out blessings. My favorite story about Biblical blessings is the story of Jacob and Esau.
Before those twins ever entered the scene, God had to bless their mother, because Rebecca, who was married to Isaac, couldn’t have babies. It seemed to be the plan all along for her to be blessed, because when God was handing out blessings to Isaac’s father, Abraham, He said there would be more children with Abraham's DNA than there were stars in the sky.
Apparently, they had to learn to wait for it. All the women in that family seemed to be barren to begin with and needed to be blessed. In order to be blessed, they had to ask for it. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was an old lady when she had her, one and only child, Isaac. Then Rebecca and Isaac had to ask to be blessed with offspring, before she could get pregnant. She was sixty-years old before it happened, so God wasn’t in any big hurry.
When it happened, Rebecca was confused about what was going on in her belly, because those twins were fighting before they ever saw the light of day. She asked God about all the commotion going on, and He told her she had two nations at war in her stomach, and the one that got birthed first was going to end up serving the other one.
Well, Esau got to go first, but Jacob was holding on to his heel. Folks in those days were big on tradition, and that meant Esau was supposed to get all the good stuff, even though they were twins. What the good stuff amounted to was a birthright, a blessing and a word of prophecy about what would happen in the future.
Moms and pops shouldn’t have favorites, but this couple did. Isaac was more fond of his rowdy firstborn son, who was a big sportsman and liked to going hunting. Mama Rebecca perferred the gentle boy, who she could teach to cook. She already knew he was more deserving than the wild one with all that unruly red hair.
To begin with, Esau didn't care much about the blessing he was supposed to get, and he sold it to his brother for something to eat. It seems Jacob was a pretty good cook, and Esau was awfully hungry. I think Esau probably knew his daddy wouldn’t pay any attention to the deal he’d made with Jacob.
Sure enough, when it came time for Isaac to die, he had every intention of giving the blessing and the birthright to his favorite son, Esau. He probably didn't bother discussing it with his wife, because men in those days seemed to think it was up to them to make all the big decisions.
Rebecca knew who was really supposed to get the good stuff, and she wasn’t about to let Isaac get away with blessing the wrong twin. She was pretty tricky with knowing how to get around her husband, and Jacob took after her, because he had some tricks up his sleeves too.
Isaac was getting up in years, and he wasn't feeling so good, so he figured the time had come to pass out the blessing. Isaac sent Esau out to shoot a deer, so he could have a good last meal before he preformed the traditional honor.
Rebecca got busy and disguised her favorite boy to make him look and smell like Esau. Isaac was nearly blind, but he was suspicious, because Jacob’s voice didn’t sound like Esau's. Still, he had on Esau’s smelly clothes and some fake hair on his arms. What cinched the deal was he came bringing some pretty good lamb stew, which tasted enough like venison Isaac decided he was dealing with Esau after all.
Apparently, when this kind of blessing is handed out, it might as well be written in stone, because it can’t be revoked, so Jacob got what Isaac thought he was giving to Esau.
Once Esau got back home with the deer meat, he found out he was too late, and all Isaac had left for him was the blessing that made him his brother’s servant. Esau was upset enough to be out for blood, and Jacob had to run for his life.
The whole thing worked out the way God and Rebecca intended for it to work out. If you want to read a more refined version of this story, you can find it in Genesis, chapter 27 and 28. God had to give out a lot more blessing for Jacob before he finally get straightened out and stopped being so underhanded.
The blessings are still going on today, and it seems if you want to be blessed, it is still a good idea to ask for them. I think that is part of the plan. Don’t forget to say ‘thank you.’ That way those blessings will keep on coming.
Blessing contest entry
When I hear the word 'blessing', I tend to think in terms of what we read about blessings in the Bible. From the very first book, God seemed to be the one to hand out blessings. My favorite story about Biblical blessings is the story of Jacob and Esau.
Before those twins ever entered the scene, God had to bless their mother, because Rebecca, who was married to Isaac, couldn’t have babies. It seemed to be the plan all along for her to be blessed, because when God was handing out blessings to Isaac’s father, Abraham, He said there would be more children with Abraham's DNA than there were stars in the sky.
Apparently, they had to learn to wait for it. All the women in that family seemed to be barren to begin with and needed to be blessed. In order to be blessed, they had to ask for it. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was an old lady when she had her, one and only child, Isaac. Then Rebecca and Isaac had to ask to be blessed with offspring, before she could get pregnant. She was sixty-years old before it happened, so God wasn’t in any big hurry.
When it happened, Rebecca was confused about what was going on in her belly, because those twins were fighting before they ever saw the light of day. She asked God about all the commotion going on, and He told her she had two nations at war in her stomach, and the one that got birthed first was going to end up serving the other one.
Well, Esau got to go first, but Jacob was holding on to his heel. Folks in those days were big on tradition, and that meant Esau was supposed to get all the good stuff, even though they were twins. What the good stuff amounted to was a birthright, a blessing and a word of prophecy about what would happen in the future.
Moms and pops shouldn’t have favorites, but this couple did. Isaac was more fond of his rowdy firstborn son, who was a big sportsman and liked to going hunting. Mama Rebecca perferred the gentle boy, who she could teach to cook. She already knew he was more deserving than the wild one with all that unruly red hair.
To begin with, Esau didn't care much about the blessing he was supposed to get, and he sold it to his brother for something to eat. It seems Jacob was a pretty good cook, and Esau was awfully hungry. I think Esau probably knew his daddy wouldn’t pay any attention to the deal he’d made with Jacob.
Sure enough, when it came time for Isaac to die, he had every intention of giving the blessing and the birthright to his favorite son, Esau. He probably didn't bother discussing it with his wife, because men in those days seemed to think it was up to them to make all the big decisions.
Rebecca knew who was really supposed to get the good stuff, and she wasn’t about to let Isaac get away with blessing the wrong twin. She was pretty tricky with knowing how to get around her husband, and Jacob took after her, because he had some tricks up his sleeves too.
Isaac was getting up in years, and he wasn't feeling so good, so he figured the time had come to pass out the blessing. Isaac sent Esau out to shoot a deer, so he could have a good last meal before he preformed the traditional honor.
Rebecca got busy and disguised her favorite boy to make him look and smell like Esau. Isaac was nearly blind, but he was suspicious, because Jacob’s voice didn’t sound like Esau's. Still, he had on Esau’s smelly clothes and some fake hair on his arms. What cinched the deal was he came bringing some pretty good lamb stew, which tasted enough like venison Isaac decided he was dealing with Esau after all.
Apparently, when this kind of blessing is handed out, it might as well be written in stone, because it can’t be revoked, so Jacob got what Isaac thought he was giving to Esau.
Once Esau got back home with the deer meat, he found out he was too late, and all Isaac had left for him was the blessing that made him his brother’s servant. Esau was upset enough to be out for blood, and Jacob had to run for his life.
The whole thing worked out the way God and Rebecca intended for it to work out. If you want to read a more refined version of this story, you can find it in Genesis, chapter 27 and 28. God had to give out a lot more blessing for Jacob before he finally get straightened out and stopped being so underhanded.
The blessings are still going on today, and it seems if you want to be blessed, it is still a good idea to ask for them. I think that is part of the plan. Don’t forget to say ‘thank you.’ That way those blessings will keep on coming.
Before those twins ever entered the scene, God had to bless their mother, because Rebecca, who was married to Isaac, couldn’t have babies. It seemed to be the plan all along for her to be blessed, because when God was handing out blessings to Isaac’s father, Abraham, He said there would be more children with Abraham's DNA than there were stars in the sky.
Apparently, they had to learn to wait for it. All the women in that family seemed to be barren to begin with and needed to be blessed. In order to be blessed, they had to ask for it. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was an old lady when she had her, one and only child, Isaac. Then Rebecca and Isaac had to ask to be blessed with offspring, before she could get pregnant. She was sixty-years old before it happened, so God wasn’t in any big hurry.
When it happened, Rebecca was confused about what was going on in her belly, because those twins were fighting before they ever saw the light of day. She asked God about all the commotion going on, and He told her she had two nations at war in her stomach, and the one that got birthed first was going to end up serving the other one.
Well, Esau got to go first, but Jacob was holding on to his heel. Folks in those days were big on tradition, and that meant Esau was supposed to get all the good stuff, even though they were twins. What the good stuff amounted to was a birthright, a blessing and a word of prophecy about what would happen in the future.
Moms and pops shouldn’t have favorites, but this couple did. Isaac was more fond of his rowdy firstborn son, who was a big sportsman and liked to going hunting. Mama Rebecca perferred the gentle boy, who she could teach to cook. She already knew he was more deserving than the wild one with all that unruly red hair.
To begin with, Esau didn't care much about the blessing he was supposed to get, and he sold it to his brother for something to eat. It seems Jacob was a pretty good cook, and Esau was awfully hungry. I think Esau probably knew his daddy wouldn’t pay any attention to the deal he’d made with Jacob.
Sure enough, when it came time for Isaac to die, he had every intention of giving the blessing and the birthright to his favorite son, Esau. He probably didn't bother discussing it with his wife, because men in those days seemed to think it was up to them to make all the big decisions.
Rebecca knew who was really supposed to get the good stuff, and she wasn’t about to let Isaac get away with blessing the wrong twin. She was pretty tricky with knowing how to get around her husband, and Jacob took after her, because he had some tricks up his sleeves too.
Isaac was getting up in years, and he wasn't feeling so good, so he figured the time had come to pass out the blessing. Isaac sent Esau out to shoot a deer, so he could have a good last meal before he preformed the traditional honor.
Rebecca got busy and disguised her favorite boy to make him look and smell like Esau. Isaac was nearly blind, but he was suspicious, because Jacob’s voice didn’t sound like Esau's. Still, he had on Esau’s smelly clothes and some fake hair on his arms. What cinched the deal was he came bringing some pretty good lamb stew, which tasted enough like venison Isaac decided he was dealing with Esau after all.
Apparently, when this kind of blessing is handed out, it might as well be written in stone, because it can’t be revoked, so Jacob got what Isaac thought he was giving to Esau.
Once Esau got back home with the deer meat, he found out he was too late, and all Isaac had left for him was the blessing that made him his brother’s servant. Esau was upset enough to be out for blood, and Jacob had to run for his life.
The whole thing worked out the way God and Rebecca intended for it to work out. If you want to read a more refined version of this story, you can find it in Genesis, chapter 27 and 28. God had to give out a lot more blessing for Jacob before he finally get straightened out and stopped being so underhanded.
The blessings are still going on today, and it seems if you want to be blessed, it is still a good idea to ask for them. I think that is part of the plan. Don’t forget to say ‘thank you.’ That way those blessings will keep on coming.
 Recognized |
I hope no one is offended by the loose way in which I relate this story. Maybe by doing it like this, I won't be accused of plagiarism. It's a true story, but I'll call it fiction since it's my version.
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