Genesis 27: 28, 29: “Therefore 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.”
We can see that this is an ancient piece of writing as the blessing are about things to do with the earth rather than things to do with commerce or trading. The dew of heaven was important because it came down from God and watered the earth on a daily basis. Isaac had to fight hard for water during his life and his blessing was that his son would receive water from heaven from day to day so that he wouldn’t have to fight so hard for the water. He also asked that his would know the fatness of the earth. Fatness of the earth deals with the extras rather than just with the basics. Isaac wanted his son to have the basics as represented by the dew but he also wanted him to have more than just the basics, he wanted him to know abundance as well. This was further expounded when he prayed that his son would have plenty of corn and wine. In a society where there were no international treaties or international courts of law it was important for a person to rule other nations rather than to belong to a nation that part of an empire belonging to someone else. If your nation was ruled by another nation you would have to work hard but you would never really see the benefits of your hard work for someone else would take it all away. This blessing also refers back to the promise that God first made to Abraham when He called him to the life of a wanderer. Isaac, and Jacob, both knew the importance of this blessing. Isaac was given this blessing as Abraham’s only legitimate son but Jacob had to scheme and plot with his mother to get it. However, this part of the blessing was the most important part.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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