Have you ever been around someone and there is just this sense of guilt emitting from them? You can just tell that they did something wrong and now are searching for the right thing to do to make amends. If it is a child, they are probably cleaning their room or taking out the garbage. If it is a teenager they are probably offering to give a ride to their younger sibling...or just simply talking to their younger sibling. If it is a husband, there is probably an abundance of flowers coming through the front door. In all stages of life we have things we do to try and make amends when we feel that we have wronged someone. This brings us to Jacob.
Jacob hears that is Esau, his brother, is coming. Most of us would be overwhelmed with joy to see a sibling that we had not seen in a while. Jacob has a whole family that Esau has never met. Think of the first time you met new additions to your family. What an exciting time, whether it be a marriage or a birth. Jacob has two wives and eleven children that his brother Esau has never met; this should be an exciting family reunion. But, as you may recall, Jacob has not been the best brother to Esau. He swindled his inheritance and stole his blessing. I would say that Esau has every right to be angry and that Jacob has every reason to become the gift giving brother. That is exactly the plan that Jacob goes with, good old fashioned bribery. Now he uses words like “so he will find favor” and “to please him”,but we know this is bribery.
There is probably a time in your life that you can remember when you pulled out the bribery card, although maybe not as intense as Jacob. Last week I talked about how it was clear that we have not changed much over these thousands of years since the Bible was written, and just like our need instant gratification, we still have the need to try and make up for our mistakes. Now, please don’t hear me wrong...men, we should absolutely shower our wives with flowers, children should absolutely do extra chores, and teenagers should absolutely try and be kind to their other siblings. I am speaking on a spiritual level of making up for wrong deeds. I think that sometimes we think that when we sin, we have to go the extra mile and do something to make it up to God. We offer to serve somewhere we don’t normally serve, or we read an extra chapter in our daily time, we listen to Christian music during the car ride, or a number of other things. The great thing is we do not have to be like Jacob. We serve a God who does not require works to make up for our mistakes, and I am so thankful for that. We serve a God who wants us to confess our wrong doings, change and move on.
I think the thing I love about this story the most is that when Esau and Jacob come face to face, Esau is not mad at all. What a great twist in the plot. He embraces his brother and is not angry at all. He tells Jacob that he does not need all the gifts. He is so happy to see him, and he can tell that Jacob is sorry for their past experiences.
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