Reunited!

When we last saw Jacob and Esau together, Jacob was running for his life because Esau wanted to kill him for stealing the blessing from him. Since that time, Jacob has gone through his fair share of suffering and blessing. He fled his home, was taken advantage of by his father in law, and now has a huge family and much wealth on his way back to Canaan. Beyond the change externally was the internal change that Jacob experienced. The Jacob who was self reliant has become the Jacob who trusts God and His promise. We see further evidence of this when he wrestles with God, and God changes his name from Jacob to Israel, which means “He strives with God.” But the amazing thing, is that Jacob is not the only one who’s been changed since that time. Esau is not the man he once was either.

Read Genesis 33

With a group of four hundred men at his back, we could fully expect that Esau was out to finally take his revenge for Jacob’s actions in the past. That was probably what Jacob was thinking too since he put himself in front of all his family to shield them from Esau’s coming wrath. But Esau’s response to seeing Jacob is not what Jacob was expecting. Genesis 33:4 tells us, “Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.” That doesn’t sound like a man out for revenge. It actually is exactly how Jesus describes the father welcoming the prodigal son back in Luke 14. These are words of welcome, compassion, and forgiveness. Though it doesn’t say what leads to Esau’s transformation, one thing is clear: their reconciliation cannot take place if Esau is the same angry man he was when Jacob left. The restoration of their relationship points to the greater restoration that’s taking place. Jacob is being restored to his place in the land of promise, the land that was a physical representation of God’s blessing. But first, Jacob had to be reconciled with Esau.

So what then for us? Are there relationships in your life that need to be reconciled? Perhaps you’re like Jacob and have wronged someone. Consider that maybe God may be calling you to humble yourself and go to the one’s you’ve hurt and ask for forgiveness. Or perhaps you’re like Esau and you need to let go of the anger you’ve been holding on to. Perhaps God is calling you to forgive and be reconciled. In either case, reconciliation with the people God has placed in your life is necessary for God’s blessing to take its full effect.