“I will surely bless you… and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 22:17, 18
What did Jacob do that had lasting significance during this most fruitful period of his life? He spoke words of blessing into the lives of other people. The first time we see this is in Genesis 47:10, when he arrived in Egypt “and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.”
This is a remarkable statement. Pharaoh has all the power; Jacob is a refugee fleeing from famine. Pharaoh has all that this world can offer; Jacob, when he arrives in Egypt, is full of sorrow and regret. How can this man who has so little bless Pharaoh who has so much?
The answer is that Jacob knows God, and God said to Abraham, “I will surely bless you… and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (22:17, 18). So here, through Abraham’s grandson, we have God’s blessing coming through Israel to “the nations” represented by Pharaoh.
If you know the living God, you are blessed. No matter what griefs, sorrows, or regrets you may have in your life right now, you can speak the blessing of God into the life of a person who does not know Him.
Do you feel that you have too much grief to bless someone else today? Too much sorrow? Too many regrets? It is simply not true. Jesus was known as “the man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3) and yet His words have imparted more blessing than any other in the history of the world. Ask God for the opportunity to bless someone else today.
