God told Abraham that Isaac would inherit his covenant, so when God gave those promises directly to Isaac, it was a reaffirmation of what he already knew.
Isaac’s son Jacob, in contrast, received the covenant gradually, as Abraham did.
The first stage of that process was the patriarchal blessing he received after convincing his blind father that he was his brother, Esau. At that time, Isaac pronounced the following blessings on Jacob:
God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
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.
Genesis 27:28-29
This could be read as an echo of the very first promise God gave to Abraham: “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). It includes at least two elements of the original promise: nation-building and divine advocacy. But it lacks the selflessness and service-orientation of Abraham’s promise.
Shortly after, as Jacob prepared to travel to the land of Padan-aram in search of a wife, his father specifically invoked the blessings of his father’s covenant:
God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
Genesis 28:3-4
It’s not surprising that blessings of land and posterity would be on Isaac’s mind as his son left their promised land in pursuit of marriage and family.
But during Jacob’s journey to Haran, at a place which he named Beth-el (“the house of God”), Jacob saw a vision in which God added an outward-facing promise: the blessing of all families of the earth through Jacob’s seed:
I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Genesis 28:13-15
In the Book of Mormon, both Nephi and Jesus summarize Abraham’s covenant in terms of that last promise: “In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed” (1 Nephi 15:18; 22:9; 3 Nephi 20:25, 27). While Jacob received elements of the covenant through his father’s blessings, he received that central promise directly from God.
The vision in which Jacob received this blessing is reminiscent of Nephi’s vision after hearing about his father’s dream. After hearing his father Lehi describe a spiritual dream he had experienced, Nephi wrote, “I … was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him” (1 Nephi 10:17). Genesis does not tell us that Jacob sought this manifestation as Nephi did. Yet Isaac’s parting words had reminded Jacob of the Abrahamic covenant. It is therefore significant that Jacob received that covenant most fully directly from the Lord.
Abraham’s seed may inherit his covenant in stages. Their own parents may reaffirm promises to them which they ultimately receive from God Himself.
Today, I will reaffirm God’s promises to my own children. I will remember that my testimony of His blessings can prepare them to receive those promises directly from Him.
Leave a Reply