Jacob, Pharaoh, & J.D. Drew Part II

Genesis 47:7-10

The second thing about Jacob's blessing Pharaoh that surprises and challenges me is that he was willing to bless him at at all. Wasn't Pharaoh the polar opposite of what it meant to be a God worshippor? His whole life Jacob has been taught the truth that there is only one true God. He has experienced personal intimacy with that one true God. Now he is face to face with Pharaoh who not only promotes the idea of many many gods, he claims to be one of them. And Jacob blessed him? Now that goes against our natural inclinations.

In 1994 I was in Washington D.C. for a youth evangelism conference. During the conference a dozen youth from the crowd of 22,000 were selected to go and meet with the president of the United States. At the time it was Bill Clinton. This was our big chance. We would preach the truth to this baby killing, womanizing, drug using man. At least that was our initial gut reaction. But should it have been? That wasn't Jacob's response when he came face to face with a world power. His only agenda...bless him. Maybe if we were a little more like Jacob - more inclined to bless others than try to persuade them with intelectual argument - than people maybe a little softer to the good news we have for them.