Open Heaven 16 June 2024: The Father’s Blessings
MEMORY VERSE:“The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” Genesis 49:26
READ: Genesis 27:27-40 (KJV)
27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:
28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
29 Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.
32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.
33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly*, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
36 And he said, Is not he rightly named* Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
39 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;
40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
Read Yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
A father has tremendous power over the lives and destinies of his children. Any wise child will always seek his or her father’s (biological or spiritual) blessings. This is why you must always think of ways to provoke your father to bless you. Unfortunately, these days, most people are after getting material things from their fathers and hardly think of what they can do to make their fathers bless them.
One day, I had just returned from a journey, and two of my spiritual children came to welcome me. The one who got to me first merely greeted me, the other followed suit when he joined us and then proceeded to collect my bags. Immediately he did that, I said to him, “God bless you.” The first son said, “Daddy, you did not say ‘God bless you’ to me.” I responded, “What did you do for me? You saw me carrying these bags, but you didn’t help me.” If you want your father to bless you, you must be ready to do something that will provoke him to do so.
One very important thing about a father’s blessing is that it is irreversible. Even though Isaac realised that he had blessed Jacob instead of Esau, he could not reverse it (Genesis 27:33). This is why you must seek your father’s blessing in every way you can.
Once your father blesses you, you are blessed forever. Nevertheless, blessings are different. Some blessings come from the soul, some from the heart and some from the mouth. When Isaac wanted to bless Esau, he told him to prepare his favourite meal so that after he had eaten it, he could bless him from deep within his soul (Genesis 27:4).
A father can bless three of his children, but one will still be greater than the rest because the father loves that one in a special way. How well does your father love you? Do you often provoke him to pray for you or are you the type that provokes him to anger regularly? Some people hardly send money to their old parents, some hardly call them, while some others don’t even visit them. They may be old and frail now, but their blessings and curses remain very powerful. Whatever you do, ensure that you get as many blessings as possible from your father before he dies.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Do something for your father today that will provoke him to bless you. If you are a father, call your children and bless them from your soul.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 69-72
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – The Father’s Blessings – written by Pastor Enoch Adeboye
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Open Heaven 16 June 2024
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