Dear Christa—
Well, if there was any doubt about the pecking order among the wives,
which there wasn’t, the set up to meet Esau tells all.
First, came the maidservants, nameless, only their job identifies them.
Not only does Jacob not love them, to put them and their children first in the
line of danger reveals all. Other than the children they bore him, they are not
mentioned again in the narrative. Then came Leah—higher than a concubine, yet still
not loved. Last, and most priced, are Rachel and Joseph. If Esau attempts to
slaughter them all, perhaps they’d have time to escape.
I wonder what the women thought. I wonder what the children thought.
And Jacob goes before them all to meet what he does not know—trusting in
the words of the God of his fathers—his God.
And, Esau ran to him, hugged him hard, and they wept.
Time has a way of putting life into perspective; it has a way a washing
away rashness. It allows for reflection and pondering. And, most importantly,
it makes way for God to work and people to accept His sovereignty.
The fact that Esau came to meet his brother indicates all these things.
God had blessed both men, and the things they’d vied for as young men no
longer mattered to either of them.
I wonder how often we panic and take matters into our own hands, which
causes discord and broken relationships, when if left to the workings of a
sovereign God would eventually be irrelevant.
It’s something to ponder.
—the parishioner who doesn’t do
anything
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