Jacob and Easu, the names of these brothers are familiar to most of us who have heard their story in Sunday School and in sermons over the years. These two sons of Isaac provide us with several lessons in life. In our message on Sunday, we turned to Genesis 32 as we studied an appearance of the Angel of the Lord to Jacob.
To refresh your memory, Esau and Jacob were twins born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was born first and therefore it was his duty in life to carry the name of the family forward and to be the head of the family once Isaac had passed. As Isaac aged, he wanted to pass along his blessing and the family responsibility to Esau. But, Jacob, with his mother’s help, deceived Isaac and was given the family blessing. See Genesis 27. As a result, Jacob angered Esau and Jacob ended up running from his family home. The lesson here is that deception may seem a shortcut to your blessing, but in the end you will pay the price.
Years later, after both Jacob and Esau had married and established their own families, Jacob was visited by the Angel of the Lord. See Genesis 28 for the details. He was told his descendants would bring blessing to all the families of the earth. Jacob married, raised a family, and his flocks increased. But still, he was bothered by the deception that gained him his father’s blessing.
Our study focused on Genesis 32, some 30 years after Jacob deceived his father, when he sought to return to the land of his family. He remembered how he had deceived Esau and in his mind he feared Esau. Once again, he took matters into is own hand and devised a way to avert Esau’s anger and at the same time protect his family and flocks. He sent a peace offering in Esau’s direction in the hopes that Esau would forgive him for his deception. That night, Jacob was once again visited by the Angel of the Lord. They wrestled and Jacob was told his name would become Israel because he had striven with God and with men and had prevailed. The Angel of the Lord touched Jacob’s thigh and it was dislocated. Take a few minutes and reflect on Jacob’s deception and how it possessed him and impacted his life. For 30 years, he’d lived with the results of his deception and in fear of Esau.
As our story progressed, Esau and Jacob finally meet again. See Genesis 33. But, instead of anger, Esau is forgiving and offers to help Jacob and his family and flocks on their return to the land of their fathers. For 30 years Jacob had lived with the burning concern caused by his deceptive action to receive his father’s blessing. But God knew better things were in store for him and pushed him to reconnect with Esau. The story continues through Genesis with illustrations of God’s blessing and man’s attempts to take matters into his own hands.
Often, in life, we feel we can take matters into our own control. It’s not that we are too weak, but that we are convinced that we can handle things. And, we pay the consequences. Is there an Esau in your life? Are there times when you’ve taken matters into your own hands? Do you feel things have gone wrong as a result? God must often cripple the self-sufficient in order to truly bless them.
"And that is why many of the most God-blessed people limp as they dance for joy!"
(Tim Keller in Counterfeit God's)
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