Esau
discovered that no one could steal his essential blessing.
It’s been twenty years since Jacob tricked his near-blind old father Isaac into giving him the blessing to which the firstborn Esau was entitled. He stole it, the little momma’s boy, and ran away to escape the wrath of his swarthy hunter brother who could have torn him limb from limb.
But now, twenty years on, Jacob is hoping time has tamped down the fire in Esau. He sends word that he’d like to meet up, and his messenger returns saying, Yes, Esau is coming…with a posse of 400 men.
Jacob brings a thousand gifts to appease his brother; he comes bowing seven times. Yet what he finds is a brother who runs to meet him, embraces him, falls on his neck, kisses him. They weep together. (Genesis 32-33)
It’s a big deal to forgive someone who steals your birthright blessing. In this culture, it’s the difference between the life and something decidedly less. Which is why at that moment of stealing, “Esau hated Jacob” and said to himself, “I will kill my brother” (27:41). But two decades have apparently taught Esau a few things. He looks at all the guilt-gifts Jacob offers him and says, “I have enough, my brother, keep what you have for yourself.”
That could be the best mantra for life: I have enough. You tried to steal my blessing, Esau seems to say, but I have all I need. Something tells me Esau pitied his shifty little brother who always needed more. Twenty years on, that made it possible—maybe even pretty easy—to forgive him.
COMPANIONS ON THE WAY
Introduction
Stories of Turning
Week One
Stories of Wild Places
Week Two
Stories of Dogged Faith
Week Three
Stories of Mercy & Forgiveness
Week Four
Stories of Simplicity & Joy
Week Five
Stories of Prayer & Surrender
Week Six
Stories of Transforming Love
That first line is a zinger. No one can steal our essential blessing; only we can do that to ourselves. A great way to start the week. Thanks David
Yes, finding out essential blessing—and not the contrived blessing we run after—is the work of a lifetime.
That God worked into good both brothers’ stories (which sometimes does take years), as flawed as they were, gives hope to us all. Gotta love redemption stories.
These Genesis stories are just stunningly real. They are deeply, unmistakably human stories that have little to do with “religion” as we think of that enterprise. They’re just about people living life as it comes to them and making huge mistakes and then trying like crazy to find a way to live again in some new way. Which, it turns out, is as deeply religious as it gets.