Once Again Brothers
WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ
Jacob, Esau, and the Power of Reconciliation
The story of Jacob and Esau (Genesis chapters 26-33) is complex. Their dynamic as brothers is interesting, to say the least. Though they are both the sons of Isaac, they are really nothing alike in terms of their personality. Esau was intensely masculine - a real man’s man. He was a great hunter and his father Isaac loved to partake of the game he would bring home from the field. Jacob, on the other hand, was the reserved, isolated type. He liked to spend time alone in his tent, and seemed to have a stronger relationship with his mother Rebekah than with Isaac. The differences between the two will be manifested in ways that will ultimately rip the brothers apart in a bitter feud.
Jacob’s Deception
If you’ve ever been to a Sunday school class, you’ve likely heard the famous story of how Jacob and Esau’s relationship went sour. One day, Jacob was cooking stew and Esau came back from hunting. He was so hungry and famished that he offered to trade his birthright for Jacob’s delicious stew. Jacob obliged, and Esau ate the stew.
Isaac also loved a good meal. Once, as Isaac was nearing death, he sent Esau out to hunt and bring home game to eat so that he would have the energy to bless Esau before he passed away. Thus, Esau headed out into the wilderness with his bow and arrow to hunt game for his father. While Esau is described as a “hairy man,” Jacob did not possess his brother’s manly mane. In keeping with his penchant for deception, he decides that he will cover himself in animal pelts. This way, he can pose as Esau, and take his brother’s blessing. Jacob does just that, and Isaac blesses him. When Esau arrives, he discovers that Jacob has stolen his blessing from Isaac:
“Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.”
Genesis 27:36
Isaac’s response offers little consolation for Esau, who is incensed by being deceived:
“Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be,
and away from the dew of heaven on high.
By your sword you shall live,
and you shall serve your brother;
but when you grow restless
you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
Genesis 27: 39-40
The Brother’s Estrangement
Esau is mortified to learn that he has lost both his birthright and now his blessing at the hands of his brother Jacob. He is so distraught and angry over what has taken place that he resolves to kill Jacob. However, when their mother Rebekah hears of Esau’s plot, she warns Jacob to flee to his uncle Laban’s house in Haran. It is her hope that Jacob can find refuge here until Esau cools off.
The Restoration
It may have been surprising to Rebekah that this estrangement between the brothers would not be over quickly. In fact, the brothers will not meet again for nearly twenty years. Both have had decades to recall the events of their youth, and both have married and now have wives and children of their own. Jacob has never forgotten Esau’s fury against him for cheating him out of his birthright. When Jacob departs from his uncle Laban and heads into the land of Edom where Esau dwells, he sends a party ahead to meet with Esau, offering gifts of servants and livestock as a sort of peace offering. They return to Jacob with some terrifying news:
“We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.”
Genesis 32:6
This isn’t great news for someone who suspects that his brother wants to kill him. Jacob prays to God out of fear. He sends handsome gifts ahead to his brother, hoping to soften his brother’s heart before they meet. When the brothers finally catch sight of one another, something incredible happens:
“But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.”
Genesis 33:4
One can only imagine the jubilance both brothers must have felt. One can feel the burdens being lifted off of the hearts of the brothers as they embrace one another in an act of mutual contrition. Despite supposing the contrary, God has been at work in the hearts of both brothers. Esau has not been consumed with bitterness. His first action is to set aside whatever it is that is coming between he and Jacob, and to run and embrace him. As his father Isaac predicted, the yoke is not broken from Esau’s neck until he falls down at Jacob’s feet in love and the burden is lifted from him.
Jacob has also grown for years in his maturity through his trials with his father Isaac and his uncle Laban. His “wrestling with God” on the banks of the river illustrate for us the interconnectedness of relationships between God and man (Gen 32:22-32). When we struggle to become reconciled with God, we are likewise reconciled to one another, and vice versa. We too can take this story as a model in our own lives, to set aside that which is coming between us to once again embrace those we love.