Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Reunions are wonderful experiences, aren’t they, especially when you’ve been separated from friends or family for a very long time, right? So when was the last time you experienced a joy overflowing reunion? How did you prepare for it, what was your experience in it, and how did it fill the void that has been growing in all of us over the past 18 months of global COVID? Join me again today in Genesis 33 as twin brothers Jacob and Esau finally have their reunion after more than 20 years apart. Do you remember WHY they had been apart for so long? Rebekah their mother had one day said something shocking to her favorite son Jacob… “Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there…” (Gen. 27:42-45)
Months passed, years passed, two decades passed, with no word of hope or change coming to Jacob from his mother Rebekah! Those shocking words she had spoken to Jacob followed several years of family dysfunction which pitted Isaac and Rebekah against each other as they each showed their partiality to their favorite son, and as a result those twin boys lived in deep, sibling rivalry. It was true, Esau was plotting to kill Jacob. Jacob had deceived his father and his brother, and Jacob had been urged to do so by his mother! And so Jacob fled, north, 400 miles to Haran, but that was 20 years ago. We have no record of what transpired during those 20 years either with Isaac & Rebekah or Esau and his family. We know Esau had already married two women, both Hittites, before Jacob left. The record says “They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.” (Gen. 26:34,35)
Deeply wounded by Jacob’s deceitful stealing of his firstborn inheritance from his father Isaac, after Jacob ran away, traveling to Haran, the record gives us this amazing glimpse into Esau’s angry heart: “Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac, so Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael…in addition to the wives he already had.” (Gen. 28:8,9) We presume in disgust, bitterness and deep grief, Esau took his three wives and moved away from Isaac and Rebekah. Over the next 20 years the Bible is silent about Esau, while it traces the story of Jacob, in Haran, with Laban’s family.
Now, 20 years after that mess, Esau and 400 men are standing face to face with Jacob, and his four wives, his children, his servants and his flocks of animals. This standoff is where we concluded yesterday. Look closely, can you see the tension, the anxiety, almost fear in the eyes of Jacob and his wives? Oh I’m sure Jacob had told his wives the stories. They had every reason to be fearful of Esau. Now watch closely what happens next. The record says: “Esau ran to Jacob and embraced him! He threw his arms around Jacob’s neck and kissed him. And they wept…” (Gen. 33:4) Can you believe it? What does it mean? What were both brothers feeling in this moment? What were the wives and the children feeling?
“Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. ‘Who are these with you’? Esau asked. ‘They are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant.’ Jacob responded. Then the maidservants (Bilhah and Zilpah) and their children approached and bowed down. Next Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and his mother Rachel, and they too bowed down.” (Gen. 33:6,7) It’s quite a scene isn’t it my friends? You notice the order of this procession don’t you? The women came in order of their importance to Jacob. He deeply loved Rachel. He was married to the others, and he appreciated them, as the mothers of his children, but his heart was won by his beloved Rachel. Please remember Jacob had four wives out of necessity and deception. He had worked 7 years for Rachel, but was deceived by her father Laban and given Leah instead. Then Jacob worked another 7 years to finally gain Rachel. Since both Leah and Rachel were initially barren, unable to have children, both of them gave their maidservants to Jacob as surrogate mothers, thus Jacob had children by all four wives.
Because Rachel was his favorite wife, Joseph, Rachel’s only son, was already Jacob’s favorite child. Jacob knew all about parental favoring of one child over the other, so I presume it started very early for young Joseph, and all the rest of his family could see it. Look at the scene in front of you, my friends. My guess is Rachel is standing next to Jacob, with little Joseph in her arms. All the rest of his family are standing around, but none as close as Rachel and Joseph. Esau is flabbergasted! And then pointing to Jacob’s flocks of animals, Esau asked, “What do you mean by all these droves of animals I met?” Jacob bowed a little as mid-eastern people do when speaking in reverence to another person. “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,’ Jacob said. But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother, keep what you have for yourself…” That is a first insight we have that the past 20 years have been profitable for Esau, at least in the animal ranching business. You’ll remember Jacob had sent ahead three large droves of animals as what I called a ‘peace parade’, hoping Esau’s anticipated anger would be calmed by Jacob’s generosity.
Jacob next said something really profound to his twin brother: “Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.” (Gen. 33:10) Now that’s powerful isn’t it my friends? Forgiveness and reconciliation is one of the most powerful, life changing human experiences, isn’t it? May I ask you to reflect back on your life for a moment. I’m sure you, like me and everyone else, have had conflict with people, maybe long lasting conflict. What are some of the forgiveness / reconciliation experiences you’ve had, and how have those experiences impacted your life and your personal legacy? If you are a parent or grandparent, how have you taught forgiveness & reconciliation to your children and grandchildren?
The truth is, I can’t fully explain to you what is happening here between Esau & Jacob. Neither of them give any explanation as to WHY they reunited with tears and embrace, rather than anger and revenge. I believe the only viable answer is that God had been working deeply in both their hearts during those 20 years, giving both of them a deep desire to leave all the pain, deceitfulness, anger, and dysfunction of their former years in the past, and agree to forge a new future relationship of reconciliation and respect, rather than retaliation and unforgiveness. Now ponder that a moment, can you grasp how significant their actions are in this moment and how powerfully their forgiveness of each other is impacting all those who are watching? May I ask, have you discovered the freeing, life changing power of Jesus in forgiveness and the crippling power of UNforgiveness?
Unforgiveness is like a cancer that consumes us from the inside. It is insatiable and will never be satisfied, not even with outrageous retaliation. Do you know anyone being consumed with unforgiveness, resentment and bitterness? Do you know anyone who has found the solution, the antidote to unforgiveness? The cure for unforgiveness is when you experience the forgiveness of God for yourself and you are reconciled to God in a genuine relationship of adoption into God’s family as His son or daughter. In that experience you go from enemy to beloved family member of God! But there’s a vital key. God is holy and justice must be served on evil. Sin…your sin and mine is evil. God’s justice for evil is horrific. It is death and eternal separation from God. That’s called “perish”! And with Holy, Justice God there is no negotiations, no bargaining, no payments, no efforts, no promises can make up for the evil of the past in your life and mine. Justice must be served… and that’s what happened as Jesus died on the cross.
Jesus took my sin and yours upon Himself and God poured out justice on Jesus as He died an excruciating death on that cross! Then God raised Jesus from the dead so now Jesus is a living Savior, (Hebrews 7:25) offering His death payment to be applied to your sin, my sin, and the sin of any repentant person! As we experience God’s forgiveness, then we are able to forgive others! We can take the horrible things they did to us and give them to God, then we can ask Jesus to give us His power to extend forgiveness to them. We give what we have received from God! Reconciliation begins in forgiveness, isn’t that right?
I think we need to pause right here. Look over the landscape of your relationships, over the years, many years. Are you still harboring unforgiveness, bitterness against someone who hurt you long ago? Are you ready to give to God that person and what they did to you, asking Jesus to break the hold of resentment, bitterness & unforgiveness that has held you in bondage? Can you trust that God will deal with that person and those hurts according to the same justice with which He has dealt with you? I think that’s what Jacob and Esau did. They realized how consuming bitterness and unforgiveness was and how much they were missing as brothers to remain angry. I think they both asked God to give them at least one more chance to see each other… not to kill each other but to embrace each other and be set free from their resentment. And that’s what we have witnessed today, in Genesis 33.
So let’s just stand here with them and watch forgiveness and reconciliation happening right in front of our eyes. Think about the magnitude of what Esau was forgiving! Now…is there any reason we can’t do that with God’s help? I’ve found a song that might help us ponder these great truths as you pray, asking Jesus to help you with forgiveness:
Today’s Scripture is Genesis 33.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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