For many years, I felt my dad loved and accepted me if I followed in his footsteps being successful in business. I didn’t have confidence in my vocation because I was following someone else’s dream. Once my dad affirmed my career change to full-time vocation ministry, it gave me renewed energy and peace, while cancelling out my prior doubts and hesitations concerning God’s will for my life. My relationship with God then took on a new dimension of boldness and purpose. In Gen. 28, Isaac’s blessing of his son, Jacob, has a direct correlation to his relationship with God.
Isaac instructed Jacob to take a wife from his uncle, Laban, and not from Canaan. Isaac acknowledged the blessing of God Almighty upon his son, Jacob, to make him fruitful and multiply his descendants so they could possess the land given to Abraham (Gen. 28:1-5). Father blessing his children by imparting a vision of God’s plan provides the encouragement for fruitfulness and success.
Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and that he obeyed his father. Esau understood that the daughters of Canaan displeased Isaac so he married Ishmael’s daughter in addition to his other wives (Gen. 28:6-9). Lack of a father’s blessing can lead our children to making poor choices.
Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending. God appeared to him saying He was Lord and father over Abraham and Isaac. He reminded Jacob of what Isaac said earlier concerning the land he lived on would be given to him along with descendants like the dust of the earth in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed. Isaac encouraged him concerning God’s presence wherever he went and guaranteed that His promise would be fulfilled by bringing him back to this land (Gen. 28:10-15). God applies the vision of a father’s blessing by imparting His promises of hope and a bright future to his children.
Jacob responded, “Surely the Lord is in this place I did not know it.” He was also afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God.” He called the name of that place, Bethel, meaning house of God. (Gen. 28:16-19). Fathers blessing their children open their hearts to begin an intimate relationship with God.
Jacob made a vow that if God protected and provided food and clothes to wear on his journey, then the Lord would be his God. If he returned safely to his father’s house, He would God a tenth (Gen. 28:20-22). Bargaining or asking God to serve us becomes part of the process in developing intimacy with God.
Once Isaac blessed Jacob, his relationship with God began to blossom where he owned it for himself. Granted, Jacob placed conditions: ‘if you bless me God, I will bless you.’ From this point on, Jacob’s relationship with God grows deeper and more intimate over time.
1. Fathers: bless your children by reminding them how God has worked in your life and how He promises to do the same in their lives.
2. Everyone: If you haven’t received a blessing from your father, ask him to bless you. If your father has died or is unavailable for whatever reason, ask a Godly man to bless you.
