"And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. Then the handmaidens came near and their children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself."
Genesis 33:1-9
Twenty years earlier Jacob, after deceiving his father Isaac into giving him his brother Esau’s blessing, fled to his mother's brother’s house to escape the anger of his brother. Genesis 27:41 says that Esau hated Jacob and that after the days of mourning for his father were over he had plans to slay Jacob. For twenty years Jacob worked and served his uncle Laban and God had prepared and blessed him during that time. God was now calling Jacob to return to the land of his fathers but what would he be met with? Did Esau’s anger still burn so strong that he wanted to slay Jacob?
Have you ever so messed up or even allowed the busyness of “life” to put distance between you and God that you didn’t know how you could get back into God’s favor? Or maybe you thought you had to come to Him with works and offerings. Thinking you must deny or prove your devotion to Him in order to be accepted. Oh dear heart, have you? I have. I’ve tried to appease God – so many times I have allowed the enemy to skew my view of God or have taken my finite knowledge and relational experience and applied it to my relationship with God. If we were honest, I believe we all have.
Beloved, His LOVE and GRACE and MERCY and TENDERNESS and FORGIVENESS towards us is SO great and He desires for each of us to know it.
“…that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:17-19
I know my own anxiousness and trepidation when coming before Him after times of separation. What was Esau’s response?
He RAN!
Esau ran to meet Jacob! He embraced him, fell on his neck, kissed him and wept! He didn't want the droves sent as an offering - he wanted only the restoration between himself and his brother. Oh the grace! I read that and heard the Spirit of God speak these grace words to me.
“Theresa, why did you bring all of this to Me? Sweet, precious, daughter, I do not require this of you. You do not need to appease Me or buy back My love toward you. I have already secured your place in My Son! My love for you is everlasting. My grace for you is in Jesus. Daughter, I desire you to have a broken and contrite heart before Me (Psalm 51:17). A heart that trusts and is wholly Mine – surrendered (Proverbs 3:5-6). You are a chosen generation, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world that you should show forth the praises of Me who has called you out of darkness and into my marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9, Ephesians 1:4).
Why do I complicate something that is so simple – Come before Him with a broken and contrite spirit. Confess my sins (1 John 1:9), trust in His forgiveness and faithfulness and show forth His praises (goodness).
Father, I lift up each one that might read here today, Lord I pray that we might wholly surrendered to You and allow Your Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all Truth. Father I pray that we would no longer allow the enemy or our humanness to replace Your words spoken to us and over us. May we be renewed in mind as we read and meditate on Your word and have complete trust and confidence in You. Thank you for Your Son, Jesus and for the picture of grace you showed to me today in this story of Jacob and Esau. May we give as we have been freely given, In your name I pray, Amen.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isaiah 1:18
