My God and My Brother

In Genesis 32, Jacob is on his way home to meet his brother Esau, from whom he has been estranged for some time. Remember that the last time Jacob saw Esau, things were a bit tense. Jacob had received Isaac's blessing instead of his (barely) older, (perhaps) more manly brother. As most of us know, sibling reunions can be a bit rough. Especially when there's something like this in the backgound.

So anyway, Jacob decides to spend the night alone and gets an unexpected visitor (v. 24). Jacob and this mysterious man wrestle until morning, and does pretty well. He later finds out that this man was God. Jacob earns himslef a new name for all of his effort: Israel.

Well anyway, that much is familiar. But lets look into the text and see what Jacob was feeling. Shall we? Okay!

So Jacob is going home to the nemisis in all of his childhood dreams, his bully big brother. Jacob was his mamma's favorite; Esau loved to hunt and won his father's favor. Esau was the woodsman. Jacob is terrified that his brother is still holding a grudge, and that his life is on the line. Jacob is -in short- afraid to face his brother. Imagine the fear that gripped him as he got closer to home. And yet for all his fear he is able to outwrestle the divine. It was this striving with God which made Jacob able to face his fear, and face his brother.

When Jacob sees his brother, he tells him: "truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God" (Gen. 33:10). It's one of those things we read in a story and have a better idea of what Jacob means than what Esau realizes. "Truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God." In both situations, Jacob is thankful to be alive after his encounters. "Truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God." Truly, Esau, like you have no idea.


-Wyatt