Hebrews 11:20 — Bless me, bless me, not Esau, but me!

READ THIS: Hebrews 11:20

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

We are about to embark on a few interesting stories that seem a little odd to include in the Hall of Faith, so buckle in. Isaac, Abraham's son, ends up having two sons himself. They are twins, named Jacob and Esau. Their whole story is very messy, and Isaac blessing them is confusing. Yet, somehow Isaac blessing his sons was done in faith. 

I encourage you to read the story here. In short, Esau is the oldest son, so he's supposed to get this awesome blessing, especially since he was Isaac's favorite. But, Jacob's mom wants Jacob to have the better blessing, so they work together to steal Esau's better blessing, tricking Issac into thinking he was blessing Esau when in reality he was blessing Jacob. When Esau comes to be blessed, Isaac freaks out because he doesn't really have anything left to ask God for, and Esau gets a pretty rough blessing. 

So, what does any of this have to do with faith? Two things, at least! 1) Isaac fully believes that God follows through on blessings. That is evidenced by his giving a blessing at all, and especially shown by his freak out about already giving away a blessing. What he was saying wasn't just words, but true God-behind-it blessings. 2) The verse clearly points out that Isaac's blessing had to do with Jacob and Esau's future. Isaac was aware of God's promise to Abraham, because God also made the promise to Isaac (Genesis 26), so he knew that he should have many descendants. Isaac trusted that he could bless Jacob and Esau's future because God had promised that there would be a future for his descendants. Isaac had faith in God's promise!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Why do you think Isaac's blessing was included in this Hall of Faith? Does his giving a blessing seem like an act of faith to you? What makes it hard and/or easy to see Isaac's blessing as an act of faith?
 
2. What's something that you've done that felt like an act of faith that other people might have a hard time seeing that way? 

TRY THIS:

Do something small that feels like an act of faith today. You never know how much someone else might value it! Here are some options:

  • Pray for someone you've never prayed for
  • Text someone an encouragement
  • Clean the kitchen without telling anyone

SONG OF THE WEEK:
 
Listen here and consider what little act of faith you can do with God! Most of the faith-things I do, I would not want to do unless I was doing it with God! 

"I don't wanna go unless I'm going there with You!"





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