Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.” – Genesis 27:3-4

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 18, 2018): Genesis 27

Shania Twain released her hit single “That Don’t Impress Me Much” on December 15, 1998. Soon after the release of the song, I was on a bus with a group of teens, and some of the young girls were singing along with the Twain’s then-new hit single. In the song, Twain remarks about things that don’t impress her, like intelligence and cars and apparently “movie star looks.” At one point in the song, she remarks -

Okay, so you're Brad Pitt
That don't impress me much
So you got the looks but have you got the touch
Don't get me wrong, yeah I think you're alright
But that won't keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don't impress me much

The truth and intent of the song, that looks are a passing thing and that there are other things more valuable in a relationship, were lost on the young teenage girls who were traveling on the bus. At this point in the song, they sang “That does impress me much” and then broke into uncontrollable laughter that lasted throughout the rest of the chorus.

We are an impressionable people. Some things make an impression on us, and maybe make us do silly things. What might impress us varies from person to person, but all of us are impressed by something.

Isaac was impressed by Esau. Esau seemed to be a man’s man. He was good with the bow and successful in his pursuit of game. In fact, it becomes apparent as the story is told that it is not the taste of the food that impresses Isaac. Evidently, at this point in his life, Isaac can’t tell the difference between the game caught by Esau and the lamb prepared by Jacob. But Isaac wants a son that is skilled in the hunt. Esau was skilled in this way, and Jacob was not. Isaac liked that about his older son so much that he was willing to disregard the directives of God. God had already made it clear the line of blessing would follow Esau’s younger twin brother, Jacob. But Isaac was determined to give his blessing to Esau, in spite of the plan of God.

The temptation to chase after what impresses us instead of what impresses God is something that shapes us still today. Too often we go down wrong paths because we are impressed by things that have left God unimpressed. To have his heart means that we want to be impressed by what impresses him. We want to see with his eyes, as we act as his hands and feet in the world.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 28