Jealous Blessing

Jealous Blessing

February 29, 2016

Genesis 27:35  "But he said, 'Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.'"

Jealousy, it causes us to do things we sometimes regret in hindsight.  The emotions it generates are second only to hatred; it is that severe of an animal.  The person you become when consumed with jealousy is not someone the Lord wants to bless, yet it is at that time, burning with jealousy, that you attempt to take a blessing not rightfully yours.  Jacob understood this when he stole his brother's birthright.  He deceived his dying father into thinking he was Esau, the firstborn.  The firstborn was due a double blessing and Jacob wanted it.  He wanted it real bad.  Aided by his mother's influence, Jacob pretended to be Esau while their father was on his death bed.  Jacob was nervous about the trickery, fearing a curse from his father if the ruse was uncovered, but nonetheless he moved forward with efforts to steal the blessing of the firstborn.

Jacob wanted what rightfully belonged to another.  He coveted the blessing so badly that he risked alienation from his father.  It is sad when a person values a physical blessing more than he values an upstanding relationship.  But Jacob persisted in his attempts to steal someone else's blessing; the jealousy was so strong, urging him to do something he knew was wrong.  Jacob pursued the blessing of someone else and while it worked in the short-term, it only created enmity into eternity.  Recall that Esau's descendants were the Amalekites, the dreaded enemies of the nation of Israel.  The Amalekites have always been at war with the Israelites, some say because the Amalekites want what the Israelites now have.  Many believe the modern day Amalekites are ISIS, who want nothing but to destroy the Israelites first and foremost.  The descendants of Esau are still trying to get back what Jacob stole from them, all because Jacob coveted someone else's blessing.

While Jacob received the blessing from his father, it came with the modern day price of war for thousands of years.  Jacob didn't deserve the blessing, but took it anyway, creating problems for himself that he never bargained for.  Though it may seem overreaching that ISIS is trying to take back their birthright, it is the same jealous reaction Jacob displayed so many years ago.  Nothing good can come from being jealous of someone else's blessing.  You know exactly how it feels, as you compare your life to others and think you deserve what they have.  It causes you to act and react in a way that attempts to get the same blessing, the one thing that rightfully belongs to someone else.  Maybe you're jealous of their job or house or car or spouse or children or a combination of all of the above.  Regardless of what you think you deserve it does not allow you to act in a manner not consistent with your Christianity.  The Lord determines your blessing; you will never have the same blessing as someone else.

My advice is to be grateful for what you have, not being jealous of someone else.  You will never know how or why the Lord decided to bless the other person, just know you will get what you deserve as well.  If you don't have a blessing and feel you deserve one, then this is a significant clue.  The Lord is just to bestow blessing without choosing favorites.  If you didn't get what you wanted, then figure out how to be grateful for that which you DIDN'T get.  Sometimes not getting a blessing is way better than getting the blessing that created your jealousy.  The Lord is in charge and He is more than fair to bless you as He sees fit.  If you didn't get it, then you don't want it.  Let me say that again.  If you are lacking your desired blessing then maybe it's actually a good thing you don't have it. 

Don't take my word for it; look it up: Gen 27, Proverbs 27:4, Romans 13:13, Gal 5:19-21, James 4:2