Backstory

After Jacob stole Esau's blessing, Esau begged his father Isaac to bless him as well.  "Have you not reserved a blessing for me??  Bless me, even me, O my father."

Isaac's response seemed more like a curse:  Esau would live away from the fat of the land and the dew of heaven.  He would survive by the sword and one day break Jacob's yoke from his neck. It is hard to understand such a blessing for Isaac's favored son.  No backstory or explanation is offered for Isaac's change of heart.  When offered a chance to redeem what Jacob had stolen, dad passes.  Instead, as Jacob makes plans to flee to Haran, Isaac does not rebuke his deceitful son, but extends the stolen blessing.

Genesis 28:3-4 "God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.  May he give you the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that  you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham."

It is unclear why Isaac chose to retain and expand on the blessing that Jacob gained deceitfully.  But he did.  Even so, Jacob labored twenty years for his father-in-law and endured much injustice at the hands of Laban.  As Jacob received the blessings Isaac bestowed on him, hardship was met along the way.  And the years of difficult work, the loss of a son, and a beloved wife refined Jacob as much as the possessions he gained and the children he fathered.  As Jacob's blessing unfolded, suffering became part of the story.  He lived on the fat of the land and the dew of heaven, but he worked hard for it.  He became fruitful and multiplied, but mourned the faked death of his favored son, Joseph, for many years.

His blessing came with suffering that refined both he and his children.  Perhaps blessing is best understood in the light of suffering.  Jacob's family rejoiced when Joseph came forward.  His toiling in Egypt ultimately preserved his father and brothers.  They continued to live fruitfully because of Joseph's suffering.

I pray to understand what God has spoken through backstory and untold thoughts and conversations.  I pray that I would see suffering as a co-partner to blessing, and that both are worthy of rejoicing.