What would you do to receive the blessing of your parents? I have known friends who lived their whole lives longing for but never receiving their parents' blessing. This wound has left a scar.
In the ancient world, the law of primogeniture promised birthright and blessing to the firstborn son. God regularly flips this rule on its head. So, Jacob was promised primacy over his older brother before he was born. With a name that meant grasper, he took his brother's birthright and blessing by hook and by crook with the approval of their mother Rebekah.
Favoritism ran in the family. Rebekah and Jacob colluded to steal Esau's blessing. Given the chance to tell the truth, Jacob lied and invoked the name of the Lord in his trickery. He literally stopped at nothing to take what God had already promised him.
In the life of faith, the end does not justify the means. Further, God is not a means to the end of our self-exaltation. True, Jacob has God's blessing. But his choices created a rift with his brother that took years to repair.
How can we work to stop the plague of favoritism in our families? Let's ask the Lord to help us!
