How were Isaac and Jacob blessed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the times of the Old Testament children could inherit two things from their parents: property and a blessing. If your parents had three children, then on their death their property was divided four ways (one more than the number of living children). The eldest child generally received two portions and the remaining children received one portion each. Along with the double portion, the eldest child generally received a blessing from his father. The blessing was a prophecy about his future and the future of his descendants. When a child received the blessing, he was then made the head of the family after his father’s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of the time the double portion went to the eldest child, but sometimes the father might choose to give it to another child. The blessing also might not be given to the eldest child because the child displeased his father in some way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abraham was given a special blessing from God (see Genesis 12:1-3; 17:1-14). As long as Abraham’s descendants remained faithful to God, they were allowed to pass that blessing on to their children. One blessing is that Abraham’s descendants would become a mighty people. Another was an inheritance of the land of Canaan. But the most important blessing was a promise of a person through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed (in other words, Jesus Christ).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abraham passed the blessing on to Isaac as God had told Abraham (Genesis 17:15-17). The actual giving of the blessing (and the inheritance) was recorded in Genesis 25:5. God told Isaac and Rebekah to pass the blessing to their second born son, Jacob (Genesis 25:22-23). The blessing is implied in the phrase “the older shall serve the younger.” However, when Isaac’s two boys grew up, Isaac liked the older boy better because of the meat he brought home (Genesis 27:1-4). Isaac decided to give pass the special blessing to Esau instead of Jacob. Rebekah happened to overhear Isaac’s plan and she helped Jacob trick Isaac so that he blessed Jacob instead of Esau (Genesis 27:18-29). Jacob blessed each of his own children, but he passed the special blessing to his son Judah (Genesis 49:8-12). The special blessing is always seen in who is declared the head of the family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: How were Isaac and Jacob blessed? Answer: In the times of the Old Testament children could inherit two things from their parents: property and a blessing. If your parents had three children, then on their death their property was divided four ways (one more than the number of living children). The eldest child generally…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[23,21,26,22,25],"class_list":["post-410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-abraham","tag-blessing","tag-esau","tag-inheritance","tag-jacob"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8720,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-difference-between-a-birthright-and-a-blessing-as-in-the-story-of-esau-and-jacob\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":0},"title":"What is the difference between a birthright and a blessing as in the story of Esau and Jacob?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the difference between a birth right and a blessing as in the story of Esau and Jacob? Answer: Birthright: A birthright referred to a person's inheritance. For most of the world's history, the firstborn child of a family would receive an extra inheritance from his father. What\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35550,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-proper-way-to-distribute-an-inheritance\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":1},"title":"What is the proper way to distribute an inheritance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the biblical guidelines in regard to the proper way to distribute an inheritance? In regards to emphasis, should it be based on sex, capability, relationship, need, character, or other factors? For example, should inheritance be given more to a male, a wise person, or a close family,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25890,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/joseph-was-the-favorite-of-all-of-jacobs-sons-so-why-did-judah-get-the-blessing\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":2},"title":"Joseph was the favorite of all of Jacob’s sons, so why did Judah get the blessing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Joseph was the favorite of all of Jacob's sons, so why did Judah get the blessing? Answer: There were two things which typically went to the eldest son (not the favorite son): The blessing and a double portion. While it was normally the right of the firstborn to receive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5177,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-jesus-created-since-he-is-the-firstborn-of-creation\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":3},"title":"Was Jesus created since he is the firstborn of creation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 8, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Throughout the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit and Jesus are mentioned. For clarity, I wanted to know if the Holy Spirit and Jesus were created by God or were they ever in existence. Many people use the analogy that all three are of one body, but the Bible says that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54334,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-woman-divorce-her-husband-because-he-hid-the-fact-that-he-was-impotent\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":4},"title":"Can a woman divorce her husband because he hid the fact that he was impotent?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What can the church do in a situation where a sister says she has been deceived by a brother who is impotent? He concealed the matter until he had married the sister. Can the sister marry another person since she desires children and was misled? Answer: The short answer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29388,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-mahalath-a-canaanite-and-did-esau-marry-her-to-get-back-at-his-father-isaac\/","url_meta":{"origin":410,"position":5},"title":"Was Mahalath a Canaanite and did Esau marry her to get back at his father, Isaac?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Mahalath a Canaanite and did Esau marry her to get back at his father, Isaac? Answer: \"When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 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