Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

temple of Solomon. Prior to the high priest’s passing, his oldest son would receive the garments of his father, the anointing oil was poured upon his head, and any secret that the high priest knew was passed from the mouth of the father to the son (Num. 20). Without a son, the high priest could not have passed on his priestly ministry! T HE B LESSING AND THE B IRTHRIGHT The firstborn was granted two unique honors: the birthright and the blessing. The Jewish sage Rashi commented that when Esau gave up his birthright, he was forfeiting the right of his future firstborn to become the priesthood through his lineage, as it would be the firstborn in the future to carry the responsibility of the priesthood. 1 The birthright was a heritage grant from the father to his firstborn son and imparted to the firstborn son a double portion of the estate blessing, including the houses, lands, trees, and animals on the father’s estate. When Esau returned from the field, he was hungry, and he asked his brother, Jacob, to fix some soup of lentils (Gen. 25:30). Esau was covered with red hair, and in Hebrew the text reads he wanted the “red stuff,” speaking of the soup he desired to eat. The word Edom means red, and Esau eventually lived in Edom and became the father of the Edomites (Gen. 32:3; 36:1). The “blessing” was to be imparted near the moment of death. When Jacob was dying, he called his sons together and gave each one a strong message in the form of a