Esau and Jacob were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah.
Rebekah was unable to have children for twenty years. Finally, Isaac prayed for her and she conceived. [Genesis 25:22-27 - All quotes from The Voice Bible unless otherwise noted.]
But the children she carried struggled and fought with each other until, in great pain, she exclaimed, “What is going on? Why is this happening to me?” In frustration she inquired of the Eternal One why this civil war was occurring inside of her.
Eternal One (to Rebekah): Two nations are growing inside of your womb,
and the two peoples will be divided in the future.
One will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.
When it was time for Rebekah to give birth, she saw that she was carrying twins. The first came out red—his entire body like a hairy blanket—so they named him Esau. His brother followed with his hand clutching Esau’s heel, so they named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to the twins.
When the boys grew up, they could not have been more different.
As the boys grew and developed, Isaac developed a special love for Esau, while Rebekah grew especially close to Jacob.
Eventually, Jacob baited Esau and got him to trade his birthright for a bowl of stew. Later, when Isaac was growing old and wanted to pass his blessing on to his firstborn son, Esau, Jacob and Rebekah conspired for him to steal Esau's blessing through deceit. [See Genesis 27]
Esau hated Jacob with a fury, because his brother now carried the blessing his father meant for him.
Esau (to himself): The days of mourning for my father are approaching. When he has died, I will kill my brother, Jacob. [v.41]
Rebekah learned of Esau's plans and persuaded Isaac to send Jacob to her homeland to find a wife.
Jacob spent many years in Paddan-aram where he worked for his uncle Laban and married Leah and Rachel. Through his two wives and their servants - Bilhah and Zilpah - Jacob gained twelve sons [who eventually became the twelve tribes of Israel].
After many years, God instructed Jacob to return to his homeland. After an encounter with his uncle Laban, he began the long journey with his family, servants, and large flocks and herds. As he got close to Canaan he was told that Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. Jacob was terrified! He separated his family in groups along with his flocks and herds. He sent an abundance of flocks and herds ahead of him as gifts for Esau to appease his anger.
Then, after laying his plans and securing his family as best he could, Jacob wrestled with a messenger from God all night. The end result of this encounter was that his name was changed to Israel!
Finally, when he encountered his brother,
"Esau ran to meet him. He embraced Jacob, kissed his neck, and they both cried." [33:4]
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Well, that's a surprise ending! What happened to the anger that Esau had felt toward his conniving brother? What happened to his plan to kill Jacob?
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We don't have an answer to that question! The Bible gives no explanation for the change that Esau apparently experienced! Somehow, he had forgiven his brother, Jacob, and was able to genuinely welcome him back to their homeland. After much persuading from Jacob, Esau did finally accept the VERY GENEROUS gifts that Jacob presented to him:
- 200 female goats
- 20 male goats
- 200 female sheep
- 20 rams
- 30 milk camels and their colts
- 40 cows and 10 bulls
- 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys
Although the presentation of these gifts may have impacted Esau, the narrative leaves us with the impression that somehow God had brought peace to Esau's heart long before this moment.
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Does time heal?
There's little doubt that time does allow us to adapt to unwelcome circumstances. With the passing of time, we gain perspective and realize that we can move forward in spite of our anger, hurt, loss, pain!
Esau wanted desperately to please his parents! But when he married two Hittite women, he brought a lot of pain to Isaac and Rebekah [27:46]. This was part of Rebekah's reasoning for sending Jacob away to find a wife!
Now Esau saw that his father, Isaac, had again blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife there, instructing him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. He learned, too, that Jacob had gone there just as his father and mother both wanted. So, realizing his father did not like his Canaanite wives, Esau went to see Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael (Abraham’s other son) and the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the two others. [28:6-9]Esau wanted to please his parents, but everything he did seemed to disappoint them. He surely must have felt like a failure! Yet somehow, through the many years that Jacob spent in Paddan-aram, Esau came to peace with the situation.
Instead of holding on to hatred and bitterness, he seems to have found a way to be satisfied with the life that God had given him. He welcomed his brother back with a hug, a kiss and tears of joy.
The only other time that Esau shows up in the biblical story is when he and Jacob meet to bury Isaac together [Genesis 35:28-29].
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Lord of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Esau,
Esau's sub-story reveals that even when we're not the main character in the plot, You still keep Your eye on us and help us to resolve the conflicts and dilemmas of our lives! You are so awesome, kind and generous! Thank You for this sub-plot of Esau's. Thank You that his life didn't end in bitterness and hatred! Thank You that You found a way to bring peace to his heart and life!
There are many in our world today who are like Esau! They feel like they're the sub-plot in their family! They feel neglected. They realize that they didn't get their parent's blessing. They're angry and distracted by plans to get even. They're jealous. They need You, Gracious God! They need to hear Esau's story! They need to realize that Your resources are unlimited and Your grace is readily available!
Find them, Lord, and heal them. Remove the bitterness and replace it with satisfaction and peace and joy! You can do this! You've done it for many - including Esau! Praise Your Holy Name.
Amen
