The Bible has great stories which tell us who we are, and how we should live.
I like to dive into one person's story, and look into his entire life to get a sense of what God might teach us.
About a man name Jacob.
His parents struggled to have children, and finally did.
Jacob's mom, named Rebekah, knew something was wrong with the pregnancy.
If you've ever had fertility issues, I guess that's what she was concerned about.
Genesis 25:23 (NLT)
And the Lord told her,
“The sons in your womb will become two nations.
From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals.
One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”
You're having twins!
These twins were already in conflict with one another in the womb, and they would be in conflict all the days of their lives.
In the ancient world, the older boy would be leader of the family, but not so with these two boys.
In the pages of Scripture, God is always looking for people who will live life His way.
It was the younger son not the older that God had a special blessing for.
The babies were born, and they could not be more different.
Fast forward several years.
Genesis 25:27-28 (NLT)
As the boys grew up,
Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman,
but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home.
Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home,
but Rebekah loved Jacob.
It doesn't say that Isaac loved Jacob.
Nor does it say that Rebekah loved Esau.
Nor does it say that Rebekah loved Esau.
The family was split.
Mom's got a favorite.
Dad's got a favorite.
Your children are hardwired to figure out if you love them, and if you love someone else more.
Parents and Grand Parents love all your children differently, but equally.
Engage them in whatever they are interested in.
These two parents chose favorites, and it sowed destruction into their family.
Their sons competed for their affection.
Jacob felt the pain of his father not loving him.
You'd think that when he became a parent he'd not have a favorite.
Right?
Wrong!
When Jacob got married, he had a lot of kids, but had just one favorite.
Jacob's love was even more extreme than his father's, and he gave his son Joseph a very special coat.
Jacob sowed another seed that destroyed his family too.
Jacob's sons revolted on the one that was his favorite.
By telling their father that Joseph had died, and by selling him into slavery.
Oftentimes, we can experience wounds.
If we don't get those wounds repaired, we will pass them on to others as well.
If we don't get those wounds repaired, we will pass them on to others as well.
Wounds passed from you to your kids to your grand kids as well.
Do the hard work to determine what were the wounds that you received in your past.
How are you going to get the help that you need?
That's why I encourage you to be in a small group of believers.
God wants to heal you of these things, but you have a part too in that healing process.
Be intentional. Say I'm not going to pass on those wounds to others.
They stop with me.
Jacob failed at that.
I hope that you won't follow him in his pattern.
Please read the Scripture below on Jacob's failure.
27 One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said,
“My son.” Yes, Father?” Esau replied.
2 “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die.
3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me.
4 Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat.
Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.”
5 But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau.
So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game,6 she said to her son Jacob, “Listen.
I overheard your father say to Esau,
7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal.
Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’
8 Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you.
8 Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you.
9 Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats.
I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish.
10 Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.”
16 She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats.
17 Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread.
18 So Jacob took the food to his father.
“My father?” he said.
“My father?” he said.
“Yes, my son,” Isaac answered.
“Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”
19 Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son.
I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game.
Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.”
Here is the moment that Jacob embraces deception.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.”
22 So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him.
“The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said.
23 But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s.
So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob.
24 “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“Yes, I am,” Jacob replied.
25 Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game.
Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.”
So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate it.
He also drank the wine that Jacob served him.
26 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.”
27 So Jacob went over and kissed him.
And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son.
At this moment, Jacob was embraced by his Dad like he'd always wished he would have been.
In this moment, Isaac embraced Jacob with words that he always wished that he would have heard previously.
That moment must have been incredibly bitter sweet.
He heard words that he had always wanted to hear, but they weren't for him.
Were they?
Were they?
Commit yourself to being a truth teller.
Jacob kind of gets what he wants, but not really.
This deception destroyed his whole family.
As painful as it is to choose a truthful path.
All deception brings pain in the long run as we will see.
You've probably have heard that sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
That's a total lie.
Words spoken in anger and condemnation.
Our brains are hard wired to hit record.
Those phrases will be replayed throughout your entire lives.
People in authority and people we respect.
Those words matter more.
On the flip side, words are powerful when used the right way.
Words of blessing can shape your future.
Choose in your life never to speak words of anger in condemnation, but always speak words of life.
Parents, Grand Parents, Bosses, Teachers,and Coaches be very mindful of what you say, and make sure that you speak blessings to others.
Back to the story,
Jacob deceives his dad, and within the hour, Esau realizes what his mom and brother took from him, and so does the dad.
Genesis 27: 41 From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing.
And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death.
Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”
Esau is boiling with rage, and he is very capable of killing.
Jacob flees for his life, and he never sees the one person (his mom) in his life who truly loved him again.
He ends up in the wilderness.
The place that he was never truly comfortable unlike his brother.
In the ancient world, you never wanted to be out in the wilderness, by yourself, alone at night.
In Jacob's immense fear, God showed up.
In a dream, God confirms that he has a plan for him.
God describes his futures to him and establishes hope.
The darkest time in your life is at a time when God can be the most present with you.
In the dark times in your life, always turn to God and hold on to his great hand.
From that point on, Jacob has quite a story.
He goes from rags to riches.
He's fled town with nothing.
He finds a new family to be with.
He finds a spouse, but he still wasn't home.
There is a point years later that God gives Jacob a prompting to go back.
Jacob begins his final journey to face his brother with Esau's promise to kill him, but when God says go.
Jacob goes.
Jacob is traveling with his entire family, his livestock, and his servants, so he sends servants to scout ahead.
They find out that Esau is heading towards him with an army of 400 to meet Jacob.
One more time Jacob heads back into the wilderness and into the darkness to seek his God.
Once again God shows up.
In that darkness, Jacob wrestles with someone.
He's in this fight all night
Genesis 32:26 B-27 (NLT)
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
“What is your name?” the man asked.
He replied, “Jacob.”
It echoes back to Jacob's great deception of his father when he answered I am Esau,
but this time he said I am Jacob.
Jacob has been transformed over all these years.
He's no longer Jacob the deceiver.
He's the Jacob who has trusted in God to shape his future.
Live your lives honest and open before the world, and honest and open before your God.
The beauty of this story is that people can change.
If there are parts of your story that you don't like,
good news.
God can change a person.
He did that in Jacob.
He can do that in you.
Just trust Him.
You pursue Him.
In the darkness of the night,
hold on to His hand.
Say God I'm not letting go until you bless me.
He loves to do that.
Back to the story.
Jacob receives a blessing and the sun comes up, and now he has to face his fear.
He has to go to his brother who hates him.
A brother that he knows that he has wronged.
The Bible says that Jacob saw him a long way off, and Jacob went out to meet him...
alone.
In front of an army of 400 plus his brother,
Jacob bowed to him multiple times. In essense, owning from a distant that he had done him wrong.
He didn't know how his brother would respond.
Genesis 33:4 (NLT) Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him.
And they both wept.
The twins wept.
The brothers were reunited.
Their connection and love continued all the rest of their lives.
God loves to see people reconciled.
This verse contains a promise.
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
When two people are gathered together to work things out, God is with them in their midst.
If there is anyone in your life that you're in conflict, do what you must do to repair it.
Notes from Steve Gilliam, Willowcreek Church.
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