day no. 14,222: Rebekah, interrupted

Genesis 27:45

Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?”

 

Rebekah's plans also fall flat. She sends Jacob off so that she will not have to see him die, but in sending him off, she will never see him ever again. By the time Jacob returns, she will have passed away. Thus the plans of Isaac and Rebekah are both interrupted. Esau did not receive the blessing and Jacob was never again seen by this mother. By their interference, Isaac was prevented from giving what he wanted and Rebekah was prevented from keeping what she wanted.

day no. 14,221: blessings are received, not taken

Genesis 27:29

Let peoples serve you,

and nations bow down to you.

Be lord over your brothers,

and may your mother's sons bow down to you.

Cursed be everyone who curses you,

and blessed be everyone who blesses you!

Isaac attempted to usurp God's plan by blessing Esau instead of Jacob. Jacob attempted to usurp his father's plan by appearing before his father under the guise of his brother Esau. And in the midst of all this deception and rebellion was the sought after blessing. But blessings are received, not taken and God had communicated clearly from the beginning which son was to receive the baton. So Jacob cheats and tricks his way into a birthright and blessing that was already his and Isaac plots and plans to pass the privilege exclusively to Esau. But Jacob had already been chosen by God to receive the blessing. So all the maneuvers on either side counted for nothing toward the blessing.

day no. 14,220: flying in the face of God

Genesis 27:1-4

When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

 

Why is Isaac trying to bless Esau? Because it is who he would choose if given the choice. But to whom did God say the blessing would go? Jacob. So while one may empathize with Isaac's zeal to bless the child he loves, it should be noted that his attempts to do so fly in the face of the clear will of God.

day no. 14,219: whomever they with one become

Genesis 26:34-35

When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah

 

Next to who you will worship, who you will marry is the most important decision you will ever make (and not just for you). While it's true that a marriage couple begins a brand new family, they don't do so in a vacuum. Their existing families are blessed or cursed by whomever they with one become.

day no. 14,218: they came in conflict and walked away with peace

Genesis 26:30-32

So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.”

 

During the course of reading Genesis 26 we find most people coming to Isaac in conflict and all walking away in peace. Isaac was a peacemaker. Whatever you were looking for when you went looking for Isaac, it appears you always walked away from him with peace. Even here, we find him preparing a feast and making promises of peace to people who have done nothing but harass him previously. Isaac was often ready to forgive and quick to act if asked to give it.

day no. 14,217: made to make much of someone else

Genesis 26:23-25

From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

As much as we might want to have blessings multiplied for our own sake, it is never as satisfying as when they are multiplied for another's sake. Our lives were designed to bring glory to another and those who embrace this part of their DNA find fuller expression of who they are and deeper satisfaction in being who they are than those who continually run their accomplishments up the flagpole.

day no. 14,216: water wherever he walked

Genesis 26:22

And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land."

 

Isaac accommodated others' inclinations. He did not box out or throw elbows. He simply moved on and sought a peaceful existence in the land where God was blessing his productivity. As vital as water was, Isaac valued peace more and trusted God to provide water wherever he walked.