January 9th

Genesis 25:27-28:5

The competition between Jacob and Esau, which started when Esau came out of the womb with Jacob grabbing his heel, finally came to its climax. Jacob manipulated Esau into forfeiting his birthright. In the end, Esau traded something of great value for something of little worth.

Then, as if that weren’t enough, Jacob and his mother secretly planned a way to steal Esau’s parental blessing. As a result, Jacob was made the master over Esau and his descendants, prosperous beyond measure, and the heir to the covenant which God initiated with Abraham. Of course, Esau was furious and swore to kill Jacob once their father died. In the meantime, Jacob did the smart thing, for once, and got out of town.

In the midst of all the craziness of today’s story, there seemed to be a common theme — the blessing of God. In Genesis 26, we read how God blessed Isaac in a way that distinguished him from everyone else. “Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, and he became rich and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy” (v. 12, 13). The Lord appeared to Isaac in the night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants...” (v. 24).

When we set aside the drama of what took place, it is clear that all of the characters in the story recognized that God is the One who makes men prosperous. He alone makes men healthy and wealthy. He alone holds the key to success in this life. Though men have been given the ability to make wealth, that ability is a gift from the gracious hand of God. We would do well to remember that.

Daily Reflection

Have you come to the place in your life where you recognize that the blessings of this world are given to you by God and are not a result of your own doing? What, then, should be your response to the Lord?