The Blessing of Abraham

“His mother [Rebekah] said to him [Jacob], “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” [1]

Rebekah was Christlike when she was willing to bear the curse of Jacob’s sin so that he could be blessed of God. Paul wrote to the Galatians about Christ bearing the curse of the law so that we Gentiles who believe in Christ receive the blessing of Abraham… we receive the promised Holy Spirit…

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” [2]

Jacob received God’s blessing but had to flee from his brother. Before he fled, his father gave him an added blessing, saying, “May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may be an assembly of peoples; and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” The writer of Hebrews testifies to Isaac’s faith, saying, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.” [3] The inheritance of Abraham is given to all who believe in Christ. He is the descendent of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through whom all the blessings of God are received.

What happened after the blessing? Jacob had a dream. In his dream, he saw a ladder stretching from earth to heaven. Angels of God ascended and descended on it. This ladder represents Jesus. He is the mediator between God and humanity. He is the path through Whom communication flows back and forth between God and humanity. The Lord told Jacob, “In your Seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Paul wrote of this Seed saying, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.” [4]

We who receive the blessing of faith in Christ inherit a better land than the temporary properties of earth. We receive an eternal place with God. We like Jacob may experience betrayal and persecution from others in our race who have rejected the life of faith in God, but the blessings far outweigh the curses. We have this promise from God, “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” [5]

[1] Genesis 27:13
[2] Galatians 3:13-14
[3] Genesis 27:22, 41; Genesis 28:3-4; Hebrews 11:20
[4] Genesis 28:12, 14; 1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:6; Galatians 3:16
[5] 2 Corinthians 4:17