Day 26 – March 31, 2022

Jacob and Esau – Part 1

³⁴ When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”

³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

³⁶ Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”

³⁷ Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud….

⁴¹ Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

Genesis 27:34-38, 41

Talk about a “sibling rivalry!” As the eldest son (by minutes) Esau has all the privileges and birth-rights of the firstborn and is favored by his father. The younger Jacob (whose name means “heel-grabber” and often is used to describe a manipulative opportunist) is favored by his mother. First, Jacob manipulates his brother out of the birthright, and later, he and his mother successfully conspire to ensure that he gets the “family blessing” from his father–essentially flipping the order of birth. Jacob’s conniving may have gotten him the birthright and the blessing, but it came at the loss of a relationship with his brother.

With whom do you relate in this story? Is Esau’s grudge justified? Would murdering Jacob solve the problem? Why or why not? When have you been “wronged?” What did you do about it? What (if anything) would help you to “get past it?”

Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.