Genesis--Part 16--The Blessing

Now it came about when Isaac was old and his eyes were very dim.
He called for Esau, his oldest son, to confer the blessing on him.
He told him to leave and hunt same game, then fix his favorite meal.
After that he would bless his son; his leadership role would be sealed.

Rebecca was listening when Isaac spoke, a memory stirred in her mind.
She remembered the words of God many years back in time.
"The older shall serve the younger," God said, "that's the way it will be."
Was there a way to steal the blessing since Isaac could no longer see?

She fixed the meal that Isaac liked, had Jacob wear Esau's clothes.
She covered his arms and neck with skins so Isaac wouldn't know.
She gave the food to the younger son to take to his father's tent.
She had accounted for three senses: his taste, his touch, his scent.

Jacob took the food to his dad and received his father's blessing.
But once again he employed deception, a fact that's quite distressing.
Esau came back from a successful hunt to be blessed as the oldest son
Only to learn that Jacob's deception could not be undone.

When Esau threatened murder, it was heard in his mother's tent.
She reminded Isaac of Esau's wives and the evil they represent.
They decided to send their son to the house of his mother's dad.
To find a wife to marry there, for the prospects in Canaan were bad.

Future chapters will disclose what happened where he went.
They will reveal the truths he learned and how his time was spent.
Through it all we will observe how God worked out His plan.
Transforming Jacob, the lifetime deceiver, into a godly man.

And when you think of Esau, let me give you the scoop:
This is the man who sold his birthright for a bowl of soup.
There are many like Esau all over the world today
Who do not have a heart for God or care about His way.

There are things in this account that bring sorrow to our heart.
God was not pleased with Jacob for the way he played his part.
Our God never needs deception to bring about His plans,
For He is not limited or restrained as is puny man.

This poem was a finalist in the January 2010 poetry contest