Light and Life for Today

42. Regret and Revenge

Family troubles can cause a great deal of pain for all involved. Sibling rivalry can often continue on as children turn into adults and unresolved issues of jealousy, anger and bitterness can become quite ugly and out of control if not dealt with in time. Parents can be quite distressed as they try to deal with the fallout and it can also damage their relationships too.

Isaac has just been deceived and has given to Jacob the blessing which was supposedly be for his eldest son Esau. The results of this deception are devastating to this family:

"After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing." His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau." Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!" 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!" But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing." 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?" 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?" Esau said to his father, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" Then Esau wept aloud. His father Isaac answered him, "Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck." 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." When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides. When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?" Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.""
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭27:30-46‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Esau is very upset to discover that his brother Jacob has tricked their father into pronouncing the blessing over him. Although Jacob had been given the birthright by Esau many years before, in order to make it binding, he needed to receive his father's blessing. Esau was so angry with his brother that he couldn't even see that his own actions in giving away his birthright for a bowl of stew were at the heart of the problem. Isaac is quite clearly very upset as he 'trembled violently' when he realised the deception that had taken place.

Now Esau was desperate for some sort of blessing from Isaac. He pleads with his father, only to be disappointed as he realised all that had already been promised to Jacob. The blessing Isaac gives him is very different to the one he expected yet in fact, despite everything, he ends up being a very blessed man. Life would not be easy for him, but God would bless him and he would not always be under his brother Jacob.

Despite this, out of anger and bitterness, Esau holds a grudge against his brother and plots his revenge. He plans to kill him! Rebekah must have felt so much regret on hearing this and immediately seeks to protect Jacob, sending him to safety with her brother Laban.

It's sad that Rebekah tells her husband that the reason Jacob is going away is because of the unsuitability of the Hittite women as potential wives for their son when really she is mainly concerned with keeping Jacob safe! One deception often leads to another! It also leads to consequences —the breaking part of a family!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

This was a sad passage to read but it serves as a reminder of the consequences of our choices and actions. When we live according to Your Word, we choose truth over deception, love over hate, forgiveness over grudges. Help us all to seek Your will and Your way. Holy Spirit fill me and guide me today. Thank You Jesus that Your blood covers all my sin. I choose to live in a way that honours and glorifies Your Name.
Amen.

"For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭36:9‬ ‭NLT‬‬