Gen 27:28+29, Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine; May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you." 
	In this passage, we have the blessing of Jacob by Isaac. In our readings, we saw that Esau did not appreciate the birthright and sold it to Jacob for a pot of lentil stew. Then, when the time came for the blessing, Jacob deceived his father in order to obtain that which was customarily given to the eldest son. 
As we read in the Letter to the Romans, what played out in this morning’s scripture is described in the context of the heart of God. Please turn to Rom 9:10-16. Rom 9:10-16, And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born, and had not done anything good or bad, in order that God's purpose according to His choice might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, "The older will serve the younger." Just as it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 
This was evident even as the Promise was given to Abram, soon to be Abraham. Gen 12:2+3, And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." God is the Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth. Everything functions and flows together as He ordains. He knows the hearts of each one of us and He knows those who will partake of the Promise of blessing and those to whom that promise means nothing. Such was the case with Esau and Jacob. Jacob valued it while Esau counted it as worthless in the day to day efforts of his survival. 
This is the case, as we read concerning the two of them as foretold by God to Rebekah in Gen 25:23. And the Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples shall be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger." 
Despite the human custom of the birthright going to the eldest son, that son had no desire after the blessing of God’s promise. There was no interest in what was to be the heritage of the Lord. Esau lived for the moment, in selling the birthright for the immediate satisfaction of feeding his hunger. Jacob, on the other hand, sought the future blessing that God’s promise entailed through all the means at his disposal. Because God knew the hearts involved and the one that would seek after Him, He proclaimed that the Promise would be carried through the lineage of Jacob. "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." 
In that declaration, all the value of spiritual life and knowledge rested on the head of Jacob. He was desirous after the totality of what that blessing entailed. He was not able to be content with anything less than the manifest blessing of God. That was the delight that God saw in Jacob’s full commitment to do all it took to receive the blessing.
We see this intense striving after the fullness of God’s sanction in the account of Jacob’s wrestling all night with the heavenly being. It was inherent in his utter refusal to give up until he received the blessing of God. Gen 32:24-30. Let us read it together. Gen 32:24-30, Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. And when he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved." 
It is no small thing to consider that from this point onward, the Chosen people of God were the Children of Israel. They proceed forth from the twelve sons of Israel, formerly called Jacob. The direct blessing of God extends to all mankind through this line of the twin who could not settle for anything less than God’s promised birthright with His blessing. 
We also see, as recounted by the passage in Romans, that God’s manifest wisdom and knowledge are laid before us in His selection of the one whose heart would seek Him. As we read earlier, God is the One Who chooses and Who elects those whom He will have near to His heart. "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 
As human beings, with our finite human mind and resources of understanding, we tend to try to put God under the microscope of our reasoning powers. We attempt to impose upon Him the characteristics of ourselves and our way of doing things. We try to make Him accountable to our ideas of fairness and equity. 
The reality, however, is that God is not limited by our human mind or heart or understanding or wisdom. He so far transcends what we think and how we operate in this realm. He knows the beginning from the end. He knows how everything is put together and how it will all operate to bring forth His blessing and His glory and His honor in the entirety of His creation. The election of God is the blessing that He bestows upon those whom He wills to bless. His salvation is for those whom He so chooses to save, despite all our earthly ideas of what it means to be a good person. Our concept of goodness is so miniscule to the reality of the Righteousness and the Holiness of God. 
As we read in Rom 3:10-18, as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one." "Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving," "The poison of asps is under their lips"; "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness"; "Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace have they not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." 
It is the blessing of God which bestows salvation upon those whom He so chooses to bless with the merciful, grace-filled, glorious gift purchased at the immeasurable cost of the life-blood of His Only Begotten Son. Only God knows who will believe upon Jesus Christ, whether in looking forward to the Christ throughout the Old Testament time, or looking back to the cross in these New Testament years. "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." This is not a decision that any man can oblige upon another or force God to make. It all begins and ends with God’s Divine Knowledge and determination. 
	Returning then to the lineage of the blessing through Israel, we come to the story of Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob. Joseph was favored by Jacob because he was the son of Rachel in his old age. Joseph was not the one with the birthright. It was through the line of Judah that the Promised blessing was carried forth. This fact, however, did not deter God from proceeding forth with the elevation of Joseph over all his brothers. As recorded in Gen 37:5-11, God revealed that He was with Joseph and was going to save His heritage through the younger brother. 
Gen 37:5-11, please follow along. Gen 37:5-11, Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. And he said to them, "Please listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf." Then his brothers said to him, "Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, "Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." And he related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?" And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. 
	Please note that even though Jacob rebuked his son for the telling of the dream, there was something within him which caused him to reflect and to take that dream to heart. He knew the manner of God’s ruling and overruling in the lives of men, therefore, as we read, Jacob …kept the saying in mind. He pondered it and he thought about it, and he considered it before the Lord. He didn’t just dismiss it as did Joseph’s brothers. It is obvious that Jacob held forth the concept that what was shared might take place in some form or fashion. He knew that the hand of God was not governed by the intellect or the rituals of men. The seeking after God’s blessing will never be hindered by any order of birth nor by any stipulation of tradition. It was and is always a matter of the heart’s response to God.
	This was further evidenced years later after Israel and his family went into Egypt for their salvation from the devastating drought that was sweeping over the land. They were in fact brought face to face with Joseph, whom his brothers had sold into slavery. Joseph was the second highest official of the Egyptian Empire and his entire family did, in fact, bow down to him and to his authority.
	Once again, in this set of circumstances, we see a familial blessing being put upon the younger son of Joseph by Israel, rather upon the eldest of Joseph’s sons. Let us read the passage of this blessing in Gen 48:9-20. Gen 48:9-20, And Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." So he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them." Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. And Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well." Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them close to him. But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the first-born. And he blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; And may my name live on in them, And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the first-born. Place your right hand on his head." But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people and he also shall be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." And he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'" Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 
	Just as with Jacob and Esau, so the younger received a familial blessing from Israel, against all the custom and the ritual of that day. Whether Israel was guided by the thoughts of his life and his experience, would be but speculation at this point. However, the fact that we need to take from this study is that God is not bound by our thoughts or our traditions or our understanding. His Supremacy is over all of His creation. His people are those whom He chooses to be His people, not those who try to prove their own worthiness or goodness.
The matter before us is that the blessing of God will be bestowed upon those whom God chooses to bless, regardless of any other stipulation or criteria or manipulation that we might try to foist upon Him. He knows our hearts and He knows if we do truly desire His blessing to be our life. 
May we all desire, with all our hearts and minds and strength and beings to know His blessing upon us and may that be the focal point of all that we want in this life. We do not live for the moment, just to fill our belly with the food of this realm. We live for the day of the birthright that is Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Our Savior, Our everything! So be it!
Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine; May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you." Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Isa 63:15+16. Look down from heaven, and see from Thy holy and glorious habitation; Where are Thy zeal and Thy mighty deeds? The stirrings of Thy heart and Thy compassion are restrained toward me. For Thou art our Father, though Abraham does not know us, And Israel does not recognize us. Thou, O Lord, art our Father, Our Redeemer from of old is Thy name. Amen.