Genesis 33
Jacob
prepares for a violent meeting with his brother Esau, but is pleasantly
surprised.
Gensis
33: 4-5, NIV 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.
Esau is
genuinely happy to see his brother, and does not hold on to any bitterness or
resentment. He forgives Jacob, and it really makes you wonder why Esau is the
one that God (and Rebekah) loathes.
From there,
Esau goes back to Seir, and Jacob settles in Succoth, also in Canaan, in what
turns out to only be a surface reconciliation on Jacob’s part. Jacob continued
to mistrust Esau, and did not want Esau to accompany him, nor did he want Esau
to leave some of his men for protection. Jacob let his brother think he was on
his way to Esau’s home in Seir, but then turned north to Succoth as soon as
Esau was out of sight.
Why does
Jacob continue to be God’s favorite when Esau is clearly the better guy?
Here is
an answer to that question according to the commentary in my NIV Student Bible:
“God
couldn’t choose everyone—moreover, those individuals God did choose were not
always the ones we admire. God makes his own judgments, Paul says, and God’s
people must bow before him even when they do not understand.”
Blind
faith.
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