Esau and
Jacob
Conclusion
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Two
issues were presented in last
month’s Wake Up Report!
That requires a short review.
First, to appreciate the context
of Jacob’s actions, we need
to remember that Jacob was about
seventy years old when he
deceived his father, Isaac. In
other words, Jacob’s
deception was not a youthful
indiscretion. Jacob covered
himself with animal skins, put on
Esau’s clothes, and then
lied to his father to steal
Esau’s birthright. Second,
we know that Esau was a free
spirit; he loved to roam the
“open country,” whereas
Jacob was content to live among
the tents of his parents. Esau
was not a spiritual man, whereas
Jacob had a heard for God.
Moreover, Isaac favored Esau and
Rebekah favored Jacob. These
dynamics converged into a tragedy
when Rebekah and Jacob conspired
to rob Esau of his birthright by
deceiving Isaac. This summary has
been provided because Esau and
Jacob represent two classes of
sinners – the
“non-religious wicked”
(Esau) and the “religious
wicked” (Jacob).
I call
one group the “religious
wicked” because outwardly,
they are religious, but their
conduct is wicked. A great gulf
exists between being religious
and having a character that
pleases God. All religions have
wicked people in them. It is
paradoxical that a person can
have the heart for God and behave
like the devil. The devil is
thrilled when
”religious” people
profane God’s holy name.
Millions of people will have
nothing to do with God because
they have witnesses the
disgusting behaviors of those who
claim to be religious! For
example, the Pharisees in
Christ’s day were
religiously devout, but their
ways were evil. For a while,
Judas appeared to be a
wholehearted disciple of Jesus,
but his ways were evil.
Corporately speaking, the nation
of Israel claimed to be
God’s people, but their ways
were often an abomination to Him.
“And wherever they went
among the nations they profaned
my holy name, for it was said of
them, ‘These are the
Lord’s people, and yet they
had to leave his
land.’” (Ezekiel
36:20)
Three
Groups of People
I believe
God sorts the people of Earth
into three groups: The religious
wicked, the non-religious wicked,
and His saints. A sinner becomes
a saint when he surrenders his
life to the Holy Spirit and
experiences the miracle of
“sin-sorrow” in his
heart. It’s like being born
all over again! Sin-sorrow is
a divine gift that arrives
through the ministry of the Holy
Spirit. Sin-sorrow produces
reformation, an eagerness to
provide restitution, as
necessary, and a determination to
glorify God in every aspect of
life. Sin-sorrow should not
be confused with guilt-sorrow.
Cain built an altar to worship
God because Cain was a religious
man, but God rejected Cain’s
offering because Cain refused to
provide the required sacrifice.
Cain became angry with God and
furious with his brother because
God exalted the altar of his
younger brother. Cain killed Abel
out of jealousy. He coveted the
respect and honor that God gave
Abel.
God saw
Cain kill Abel and God confronted
Cain with his sin. Cain was not
sorry that he killed Abel. When
Cain learned that he had been
cursed for his sin, Cain
experienced guilt-sorrow. He
became sorrow that he had been
cursed. God evicted Cain from his
home and exiled him from working
his beautiful gardens. For the
rest of his life (which probably
lasted several hundred years)
Cain would have to wander about
as a marked man and he cried out
to the Lord that his punishment
(not his guilt) was more than he
could bear. (Genesis 4:9-13)
Again, there is a huge difference
between sin-sorrow and
guilt-sorrow.
According
to the apostle Paul, Esau was a
godless man. (Hebrews 12:16) This
is why Esau belongs in the
category of the non-religious
wicked. Many people in this
category (atheists and agnostics)
have good hearts (humanly
speaking), but they do not know
“sin-sorrow.” When Esau
learned that Jacob had stolen his
blessing, Paul says that even
though Esau was furious, “…He
could bring about no change of
mind, though he sought the
blessing with tears.” (Hebrews
12:17) Esau was agnostic and he
chose to stay that way by
shutting out the promptings of
the Holy Spirit. He was not
interested in walking with the
Lord or assuming the spiritual
responsibility that came with the
birthright. Esau wanted his
father’s blessing (human
approval), but he did not want
the obligation of trusting and
obeying God.
Because
Jacob sinned against Esau and
Isaac, he had to leave his mother
and the security of home. As he
trudged through the open
wilderness, the weight of his
transgressions became more
overwhelming than the weight of
his backpack. At some point in
his trip, “sin-sorrow”
overtook Jacob and he realized
for the first time that he was
unworthy of the very birthright
that he had stolen! The Holy
Spirit finally managed to open
Jacob’s eyes when he was
seventy years old. He realized
how far he had fallen from
glorifying God in word and action
and that he had insulted God by
doing things that God hates. Even
more, he had profaned God’s
holy name in Esau’s eyes by
defrauding him. Jacob saw his
hypocrisy as Esau saw it and was
crushed. I can imagine that tears
rolled down Jacob’s cheeks
as he confessed his sins to God.
I am sure he cried, “Lord
have mercy on me! Look at the
huge mess I’ve made!”
Sin robbed Jacob of his home and
his brother’s respect. He
was a fugitive from justice,
seeking refuge in the wilderness.
(Ironically, in a number of ways,
Jacob was not very far away from
the wilderness where Moses would
flee centuries later after
killing an Egyptian and where his
offspring, the twelve tribes of
Israel, would wander for forty
years.)
“When
he had reached a certain place,
he stopped for the night because
the sun has set. Taking one of
the stones there, he put it under
his head and lay down to sleep.
He had a dream in which he saw a
stairway resting on the earth,
with its top reaching to heaven,
and the angels of God were
ascending and descending on it.
There above it stood the Lord,
and he said: ‘I am the Lord,
the God of your father Abraham
and the God of Isaac. I will give
you and your descendants the land
on which you are lying. Your
descendants will be like the dust
of the earth, and you will spread
out to the west and to the east,
to the north and to the south.
All peoples on earth will be
blessed through you and your
offspring. I am with you and will
watch over you wherever you go,
and I will bring you back to this
land. I will not leave you until
I have done what I have promised
you.’
“When
Jacob awoke from his sleep, he
thought, ‘Surely the Lord is
in this place, and I was not
aware of it.’ He was afraid
and said, ‘How awesome is
this place! This is none other
than the house of God; this is
the gate of heaven.’ Early
the next morning Jacob took the
stone he had placed under his
head and set it up as a pillar
and poured oil on top of it. He
called the place Bethel, though
the city used to be called Luz.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying,
‘If God will be with me and
will watch over me on this
journey I am taking and will give
me food to eat and clothes to
wear so that I return safely to
my father’s house, then the
Lord will be my God and this
stone that I set up as a pillar
will be God’s house, and of
all that you give me I will give
you a tenth.’” (Genesis
28:11-22)
God gave
this vision to Jacob for a least
two reasons. First, because Jacob
had experienced sin-sorrow, God
assured Jacob that His covenant
would be conveyed to him. Of
course, Jacob did not have a
godly character at the moment,
but he had become a saint because
he experienced
“sin-sorrow” and
repented of his sins. Jacob
resolved that if and when
possible, he would make things
right with Esau. Second, the
vision separated Jacob’s
past from the future. From this
date forward, Jacob would live
according to God’s will. His
greed would be displaced with
contentment – receiving with
gratitude whatever God had
provided for him. His dishonesty
would be displaced with honesty.
(See Genesis 30:33.)
Some
people have wondered how God
could skip over Esau and pass His
covenant to Jacob because (a)
biologically, Jacob was not
entitled to the birthright and
(b) legally; Jacob was not
entitled to the birthright
blessing because he acquired it
through fraud. So, consider the
following thoughts. We know that
God rejected Cain’s offering
because Cain did not meet the
requirements. God’s approval
is not determined by man’s
will. God is not bound by
biological order. God’s
covenant is not limited to the
firstborn. In fact, God did not
convey His covenant to Jacob
until Jacob had repented of his
sins against Esau and Isaac. God
only selected Jacob, as the heir
of His covenant after the sinner
became a saint!
Jacob
served Laban for twenty years and
Laban defrauded Jacob more times
than Jacob could count. I am sure
that Jacob saw his past mirrored
in Laban’s deceitful actions
many times. Nevertheless,
God’s grace changed
Jacob’s heart. He was
diligent and honest in his ways
and he waited patiently upon the
Lord for each blessing. After
twenty years of serving Laban,
the Lord told Jacob to return to
his homeland. (Genesis 31:3-13)
Jacob obeyed and he managed to
get away from his grasping and
overbearing father-in-law, only
to face his brother Esau coming
with 400 men.
“[As
he was nearing home] Jacob sent
messengers ahead of him to his
brother Esau in the land of Seir,
the country of Edom. He
instructed them: [notice the
humility] ‘This is what you
are to say to my master
Esau: “Your servant Jacob
says, I have been staying with
Laban and have remained there
till now. [After 20 years of
service] I have cattle and
donkeys, sheep and goats,
menservants and maidservants. Now
I am sending this message to my
lord, that I may find favor in
your eyes.’”
“When
the messengers returned to Jacob,
they said, ‘We went to your
brother Esau[but we did not speak
to him – we were afraid when
we saw the number of men], and
now he is coming to meet you, and
four hundred men are with
him.’ In great fear and
distress Jacob divided the people
who were with him into two
groups, and the flocks and herds
and camels as well. He thought,
‘If Esau comes and attacks
one group, the group that is left
may escape.’
“The
Jacob prayed, ‘O God of my
father Abraham, God of my father
Isaac, O Lord, who said to me,
“Go back to your country and
your relatives, and I will make
you prosper,” I am unworthy
of all the kindness and
faithfulness you have shown your
servant. I had only my staff when
I crossed this Jordan, but now I
have become two groups. Save me,
I pray, from the hand of my
brother Esau, for I am afraid he
will come and attack me, and also
the mothers of their children.
But you have said, “I will
surely make you prosper and will
make your descendants like the
sand of the sea. which cannot be
counted.”’
“He
spent the night there, and from
what he had with him he selected
a gift fro his brother Esau: Two
hundred female goats and twenty
male goats, two hundred ewes and
twenty rams, thirty female camels
with their young, forty cows and
ten bulls, and twenty female
donkeys and ten male donkeys. He
put them in the care of his
servants, each herd by itself,
and said to his servants,
‘Go ahead of me, and keep
some space between the
herds.’ He instructed the
one in the lead: ‘When my
brother Esau meets you and asks,
“To whom do you belong, and
where are you going, and who owns
all these animals in front of
you?” then you are to say,
‘They belong to your servant
Jacob. They are a gift sent to my
lord Esau, and he is coming
behind us.”’ … For
he thought, “I will pacify
him with these gifts I am sending
on ahead; later, when I see him,
perhaps he will receive
me.’” (Genesis 32:3-20,
insertions and italics mine)
This
story has a happy ending. Jacob
and Esau were reconciled. “But
Esau ran to meet Jacob and
embraced him: he threw his arms
around his neck and kissed him.
And they wept. Then Esau looked
up and saw the women and
children. ‘Who are these
with you?’ he asked. Jacob
answered, ‘They are the
children God gave graciously
given your servant.’
Then the maidservants and their
children approached and bowed
down. Next Leah and her children
came and bowed down. Last came
Joseph and Rachel, and they too
bowed down.
“Esau
asked, ‘What do you mean by
all these droves I met?’
‘To find favor in your eyes,
my lord,’ he said. But Esau
said, ‘I already have
plenty, my brother. Keep what you
have for yourself.’
‘No, please!’ said
Jacob. ‘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. Please accept the
present that was brought to you,
for God has been gracious to me
and I have all I need.’ And
because Jacob insisted, Esau
accepted it. Then Esau said,
‘Let us be on our way;
I’ll accompany
you.’” (Genesis
33:4-12, insertion and italics
mine)
Two
brothers separated by sin were
united through the humility and
repentance of one. Esau saw a
profound change in Jacob. Instead
of the arrogant and stingy
brother who counted every penny
twice, Jacob had become humble
and exceedingly generous. Esau
immediately saw that Jacob’s
greed for money had been
displaced by love for people.
Jacob’s arrogance had been
displaced by genuine humility.
Even Esau, a godless man, was
touched by what he saw! In fact,
both men laid their father to
rest. “Isaac lived a
hundred and eighty years. Then he
breathed his last and died and
was gathered to his people, old
and full of years. And his sons
Esau and Jacob buried him.” (Genesis
35: 28,29)
