Rev Francisco BilogGenesis 27:25-34
Today June 15 marks the 104th anniversary of Father’s Day. It was all started by Sonora Smart Dodd of Spoken Washington.
Sonora Smart Dodd was the eldest child of William Smart whose wife died in the winter of 1898 while giving birth of their sixth child. But William Smart with the help of Sonora, the eldest child and only girl held the family together. William Smart’s sacrifice made him the father and the mother of his children. Sonora became upset by the widespread mocking of fathers during her time. It has become a cultural norm for people to make fun of guys to get them to perform and prove themselves. Sonora became convinced of the importance of fathers, at a time when they were not considered that relevant to the family.
For her the last straw was a church sermon in 1908, when her priest rambled on about the newly created Mother’s Day and the importance of mothers. She approached her priest and said, “I liked everything you said about motherhood, however, don’t you think fathers deserve a place in the sun, too?”
She pushed for the first Father’s Day celebration, which was held in June 13 1910, in Washington state. Fathers in church were given red roses, and people whose fathers were deceased wore white roses. The celebration was so moving and successful that she campaigned nationally for the creation of a national celebration of Father’s Day. It was not until 1966 that Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers and set the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. In 1972 President Nixon signed the law that made it permanent celebration in USA.
Look at some statistics on Fathers:
15% of single parents today in the US are men.
There were 158,000 stay-at-home dads in America in 2009 who raised their kids while their wives worked.
90% of homeless and run-away children came from fatherless homes.
71% of high school drop-outs were from fatherless homes.
63% of young people who commit suicide were from fatherless homes.
On the other hand:
71% of 6 year-old ate breakfast and dinner with their fathers every day in 2006.
According to the US Census bureau, Fathers are also good about reading to their children, praising them at least three times day, and taking them on outings.
Fatherhood may have changed a bit in our society, but I don’t think God’s perception of what the father is to be & do has changed.
So this morning I’d like for you to turn to the 27th chapter of Genesis, to the story of Isaac bestowing his blessing to Jacob. Of course, the blessing was intended for the oldest son, Esau. But through deception the blessing was given to Jacob instead.
As you may remember, Isaac & Rebecca had twin sons, Esau & Jacob, who were not anything alike. Esau was an outdoorsman with hairy arms & hands & he loved hunting & fishing. Jacob was more of a homebody, & spent a lot of time with his mother.
Now in the 27th chapter of Genesis, their father, Isaac, has grown old & blind, & he decides it is time to pass on the blessing to his oldest son.
Now a Jewish father’s blessing was a formal passing on of the father’s honor & authority to his oldest son. And since the oldest son was assuming the leadership responsibilities of the family or tribe, he also received a double share of his father’s possessions. So the bestowing of the blessing was a very important event indeed.
In vs’s 2-4 Isaac tells Esau, “I am now an old man & don’t know the day of my death. Now then, get your weapons – your quiver & bow – & go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like & bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”
So Esau leaves, & while he is gone, Rebecca seizes the opportunity to secure the blessing for Jacob, who was her favorite. She quickly prepares some tasty food & tells Jacob to put on Esau’s best clothes. To help fool blind old Isaac, she puts goat skin on Jacob’s hands & arms to make them feel hairy. Then she sends him in with the food to ask for the blessing.
Listen to vs. 19, “Jacob said to his father, `I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up & eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing.’”
Now Isaac was suspicious because Jacob’s voice didn’t sound like Esau’s. So he asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” Jacob replies, “The Lord your God gave me success.”
Then vs. 21, “Isaac said to Jacob, `Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.’ Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him & said, `The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.’ He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.”
Now the blessing that was given is found in vs’s 27-29. “So he went to him & kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him & said, `Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you of heaven’s dew & of earth’s richness – an abundance of grain & new wine.
“May nations serve you & peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, & may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed & those who bless you be blessed.”
After he received the blessing from his father, Jacob left. Shortly after, Esau came in with the game that he had killed & prepared, & was ready to receive his father’s blessing.
Listen to vs’s 33-34. “Isaac trembled violently & said, `Who was it, then, that hunted game & brought it to me? I ate it just before you came & I blessed him – & indeed he will be blessed!’ When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud & bitter cry & said to his father, `Bless me – me too, my father!’”
If those ingredients are absent in the home, then too often the child ends up like Esau, steeped in bitterness & anger.
So let me share with you the 4 ingredients of Isaac’s blessing.
I. The First Ingredient was a Meaningful Touch.
A. “The first ingredient,” Dr. Smalley says, “was a meaningful touch.” Notice vs. 22, “Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him.” Vs. 26 says, “Then his father Isaac said to him, `Come here, my son, & kiss me.”
Now this is not an isolated incident in scripture. Almost every time a blessing is bestowed in Hebrew culture, it involves touching – the laying on of hands, a kiss, an embrace – something that conveys acceptance & love.
ILL. The 10th chapter of the Gospel of Mark says that people brought children to Jesus so that He could touch them. Jesus took them & placed them on his knee, & laid His hands upon them, & the scripture says, “He blessed them.”
Jesus knew exactly what children need to feel loved & accepted. So He touched them & blessed them.
B. It’s important to do that in our homes, too. When children are very small you can’t communicate love with words because they don’t understand words yet. But the best way to communicate love to a very small child is to demonstrate it by touching them, cuddling them, & holding them close.
Jacob was 40 years old when Isaac touched him & kissed him to convey the blessing to him. And no matter the age, I think it is important to continue to communicate love & acceptance & affection in some meaningful way.
The first ingredient of the blessing was a meaningful touch.
II. The Second Ingredient was a spoken Message of affection & Love
A. The 2nd ingredient was a spoken message of affection & love. Listen as he blesses his son in the last part of vs. 27, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field. . .”
Now I suppose that today’s child would not consider it a compliment to be told, “You smell like a field. I just wanted you to know that.”
But to an old outdoorsman like Isaac, who thought he was speaking to Esau, the smell of a field about ready for harvest was a great smell. It was a compliment, a positive message that communicated his love & affection.
B. You see, too often parents are quick to criticize & remind children of their mistakes. “You dummy, why did you spill the milk?” “You’re lazy.” “You’re too fat.” Words of criticism that really don’t accomplish much. All they do is cause a child to withdraw.
I think there is room for constructive criticism. But it’s more important to communicate love through words that say, “You’re worth something. You’re such a good little boy or girl. I’m glad that God gave you to us. You’re better than any Christmas present I could ever receive. Father’s Day is special just because you’re here.”
Those are words that communicate acceptance & love. And they need to be spoken over & over again, even when our children stumble & fall. Don’t wait until the last minute to do it.
III. The Third Ingredient was the Attributing of a High Value.
A. The 3rd ingredient of the blessing was the attributing of a high value. Notice what Isaac says in vs. 28, “May God give you of heaven’s dew & of earth’s richness – an abundance of grain & new wine.”
He’s saying, “You’re special, so God will give you the best He has to give.”
We’re constantly being told that we should teach our children to have a good, positive self-image, to build up their self-esteem. So it is important to teach the child, “You’re so valuable that God even came into our world & died on the cross for you.”
ILL. But it’s not just by words. We teach high value in a number of ways. A lot of times when a child comes, we’re so busy. We have one eye on the TV & one eye on them, & we can’t concentrate on what they’re saying.
So when a child comes to talk to you, turn off the radio or TV set. Lay aside the newspaper, & look them in the eye. You’ll see wonder after wonder when you look into a child’s eyes, sparkling with excitement. They have so many things they’re anxious to tell you. So look at them, & listen to what they have to say!
That communicates value. “You’re worth something. You’re more important to me than the ballgame or newspaper. You’re an extremely valuable part of our family. I’m glad God gave you to us. And whenever you have something you need to talk about, I’m here to listen to you.”
IV. The Fourth Ingredient was the Picturing of a Glorious Future.
A. The 4th ingredient was the picturing of a glorious future. In vs. 29 Isaac says to Jacob, “May nations serve you & peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, & may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed & those who bless you be blessed.”
Isaac is helping him to raise his sights & see that his future is bright.
That is an important responsibility of parents, isn’t it? We all know that passage in Proverbs that says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, & when he is old he will not depart from it.”
We’ve always made a spiritual application there, “Teach them the things of God & when they’re old they will not forsake them.”
But there is another application. We’re to help our children find their niche, discover who they are, & why they’ve been made. God made them special. So as they’re growing up, help them understand their gifts & talents, & what they’re best suited to do in life. Counsel & guide them to become the kind of person God wants, & made them to be.
B. The mistake most of us make as parents is we try to get our children to become what we want them to be, other than what God made them to be.
ILL. Maybe you heard the story about a little girl named Sandra who was raised in an adobe house in a rural area of New Mexico, without electricity & running water.
In fact, her mother & father had to drive to El Paso, 200 miles away, so that her mother could be in the hospital when Sandra was born.
Because they were so far away from any school, Sandra’s parents home-schooled her. They ordered a variety of magazines to expose her to the outside world. She grew up in a very wholesome environment.
Her fondest memories of her family are of the times when mom & dad took the whole family on vacation to visit state capitols. They went into every capitol building & climbed their domes, west of the Mississippi.
When Sandra graduated from high school, she went to Stanford University & graduated with honors. Today, Sandra Day O’Connor is the first woman to be seated in the Supreme Court of the United States of America. All because mom & dad cared enough to help her see herself in the image in which God created her. And then to encourage her to be all that she could be.
Now maybe our children aren’t that intelligent or gifted. But our responsibility as parents is to help them see themselves for who they really are, & to help them prepare for a glorious future.
SUM. I think this is the mortar that holds a family together – A meaningful touch, a spoken message, attributing a high value, & picturing a glorious future.
CONCL. This morning, God is the perfect parent who has conveyed to us all the ingredients of His blessing in just one verse of scripture. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
This morning we offer God’s invitation. A loving Father reaches down to touch us, speak to us, tell us how valuable we are, & help us see the glorious future that we have in Him.
If you have a decision to make this morning we invite you to come. We pray that you will respond as we stand & sing.