Lessons for Life with James Long, Jr.
Are you longing to find answers to the deeper issues of life? Join James, a pastor, counselor, and university professor with over 30 years of experience. Hear James as he tackles some of life's biggest questions and helps us find God's solutions to life's struggles. Learn the power of living by God's grace and for His glory. Experience the joy of forgiveness and freedom found in Jesus Christ alone. If you are on a search for freedom, you will love being part of this conversation. Subscribe, and enjoy the show!
Lessons for Life with James Long, Jr.
The Power of Forgiveness in the Face of Family Strife
What happens when family conflicts become seemingly insurmountable? In this episode, we uncover the profound journey of reconciliation and healing through the powerful narrative of Jacob and Esau. Reflecting on our universal experiences of broken relationships, whether familial, friendly, or professional, we delve into the pain and unresolved conflicts that many carry. Through the lens of Genesis 33, we explore how the gospel of Jesus Christ offers hope and a path to true peace, urging us to consider our own lives and any severed ties that need mending.
As we walk through Jacob and Esau's decades-long journey toward reconciliation, we focus on the themes of humility, grace, and divine providence. Witnessing Jacob's act of complete submission and Esau's unexpected embrace, we uncover a powerful illustration of forgiveness that mirrors the parable of the prodigal son. We emphasize the transformation in Jacob as he becomes a spiritual leader for his family, acknowledging God's grace and striving to restore broken bonds. This chapter serves as a reminder that human efforts alone are insufficient for true reconciliation; it is through God's intervention and the transformative work of Jesus Christ that healing is achieved.
Finally, we address the struggles and brokenness within Jacob's family, caused by favoritism and rivalry, and highlight the transformative power of God's grace even in our failings. By examining theological concepts of justification and sanctification, we encourage listeners to grow in practical holiness and embrace their role in the ministry of reconciliation. Through prayer and reflection, we remind ourselves of the necessity to rely on God's strength, seek forgiveness, and become a light to those in darkness. Join us on this journey of healing and unity as we strive to live out the truth in our lives and bring others closer to God.
ABOUT JAMES AND LESSONS FOR LIFE
Are you longing to find answers to the deeper issues of life? Join Dr. James Long, Jr., a pastor, counselor, and university professor with over 30 years of experience. Hear James as he tackles some of life’s biggest questions and helps us find God’s solutions to life’s struggles. Learn the power of living by God’s grace and for His glory. Experience the joy of forgiveness and freedom found in Jesus Christ alone. If you are in search of freedom, you will love being part of this conversation. Subscribe, and enjoy the show!
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So, as we gather today, I want you to acknowledge something probably all of us can, that we all experience broken relationships in some way or another. There are relationships that are severed in some way. For you, maybe it's a family member, maybe it's a friend, maybe it's even professionally, in your professional settings, and that unresolved conflict may be deep and it feels like there is no way that thing could ever be changed or reconciled. And we live in a world, very honestly, as you look at the world today, that is filled with anger and it's filled with division, it's filled with bitterness. You can't turn on the news without hearing it, you can't get into circumstances without seeing it, and the drive for what is right is just overwhelming us at times. The drive for what is right overwhelms us at times. And Is that what it is? Oh, thank you, my friend. So the drive for what is right can overwhelm us. It can trump us the desire to listen to people, it can trump the desire to forgive, to reconcile with people and perhaps the situations with a friend or a family member, a close friend, and the pain of that betrayal, that misunderstanding, can linger for years, maybe even decades for you, maybe there are people that you haven't spoken with for quite a long time and amidst the brokenness and amidst all the struggles that are there, I want you to know that the Bible has an opportunity for hope. There is an opportunity that God gives you in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that there can be reconciliation, that there could be real change, that there could be real peace. Maybe you've never experienced that peace with this person, but God tells you that you can have peace within and then peace with others because of this powerful story. Now, what he does is he gives us this powerful story that we will see here in Genesis, chapter 33. And this powerful story we see of the person of Jacob. Now, jacob, we know his life has been a mess and we see these two brothers coming together who have not talked to one another in decades and we'll talk about where their story was the last time they met each other. And to think that reconciliation could actually be an opportunity here is probably something that you could not have even imagined. When you hear the story, when you think of somebody taking advantage of you and betraying you and deceiving you, you probably haven't thought about really wanting to care for them. But the brokenness of the story and then the repair that we just heard read is an amazing thing of what God has done in a person's life and then transformed through that person's life. So, as you sit here this morning, before we jump into this passage, I really want you to consider is there some relationship today that is severed in your life? Is there some relationship that is broken? See, the Bible is great about giving us information, but the Bible is not about just giving you information. It's about transformation. It's about being able to take God's word and apply it in your life. It's about knowing the truth, loving the truth and then living the truth in your life.
Speaker 1:So I want you to think is there someone that you are broken with? Maybe you are the one that is the breaker. Maybe you're the one that has caused the pain. Maybe you're the one that has caused the hurt. Maybe you are the one that has caused the trial, and you know it, and that has created a severing between your relationship with that person and you. Or maybe you're the one that has been betrayed. Maybe you're the one that's been hurt.
Speaker 1:I want you to think about a word reconciliation. So I entitled it From Enemies to Family. They were always family, but they became enemies. And the beautiful biblical gospel is this there can be reconciliation. So let's look at this passage, but before we do that, let's pray and try to break it down and see what God has for us here. So, lord, reconciliation, very honestly, is not typically something that we expect very honestly when we think of that relationship. Father, there is nothing in our minds that would ever give us the thought that relationship could be reconciled. In fact, maybe we've built up such a wall and such anger and hurt in our hearts and our lives, maybe because of something that we've done, or maybe something that they have done to us. I pray that you would let the gospel reign in our hearts today. I pray that we would see from this story from two brothers points us to a greater story of reconciliation found in your son. So do a work in us, lord, do a work through us, help us bring glory and honor to your name. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. So reconciliation is unexpected and clearly in this story it was. It's a journey. It's not things that you are normally expecting would happen.
Speaker 1:Now, if you remember the story, this story goes all the way back to Genesis, chapter 25. And in Genesis, chapter 25, we see these kids born and there's a battle that's happening in Rebecca's womb and this battle that's happening and she calls out to God I don't understand what's happening. And she says that there were. God says that there are nations, two nations, in your womb and they're fighting with one another. They were in conflict. Jacob and Esau were in conflict with one another even in the womb, and the conflict was there. And then we saw that Jacob swindled his brother In a moment.
Speaker 1:In Genesis, chapter 25, verse 29,. Esau was hungry, he's famished, and he comes out from working in the field and he sees and he smells this stew that his brother's making and he says, oh, I need to have some of that Now. What does Jacob do as a loving brother? What does he do? No, he says I'll give it to you if you do something for me. I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. And what did he say? Sell me your birthright and you can see the rivalry that is there already. The rivalry that was happening in the womb is now coming out here. Instead of just feeding his brother, what did he do? He chose to swindle his brother out of the birthright.
Speaker 1:But Esau, very honestly, is forsaking this blessing that God has given him. He looks, and you will see that in Esau's life he looks and says what is this to me? What is this birthright to me? I am starving, I need this food, and so what he does is he gives up the spiritual blessing that God had ordained for him or had applied to his leadership. He gave it up. And I wonder about me and you how often is it that we find ourselves getting so focused on the immediate gratification, the thing that we think we desperately need, that we forget about the long-term effects and hear the eternal effects?
Speaker 1:But it didn't stop there. The fighting in the womb and then the selling of the birthright. But then you saw the big story. The big story is where Jacob goes to his dad and he lies to his dad with the help of his mom and he deceives his blind dad into saying I'm Esau and he gets this blessing. So he gives up the birthright, but then he's lost this blessing. And when Esau comes back from the field and he heard that Jacob had taken his birthright not only his birthright but his blessing, and there's nothing that could be done there is such anger that Esau has that he is ready to kill him. He says I am going to wait till dad is done, and when dad dies I'm going to kill him. And so what does Esau do? Esau's bitter, he's angry, he's frustrated. And what does Jacob do? Jacob the swindler, the deceiver. He runs. He runs in fear because any of us would. If somebody's looking to kill me. I'm trying to get out of there. And that's exactly what Jacob does.
Speaker 1:Reconciliation is not something that we would expect would happen in this story, but it's exactly what happens. Reconciliation sometimes is a journey. It doesn't happen overnight, and this story of reconciliation would take decades for God to do a work in one man's heart and life to prepare him for that reconciliation. One man's heart and life to prepare him for that reconciliation. The reconciliation that we talk about here between these two men, points us to a greater reconciliation with us and God. In Romans, chapter 5, verse 10, it says for while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Much more now are we reconciled. Shall we be saved in this life?
Speaker 1:See, this was a spiritual reality for every single person in this room. Spiritual reality is this you are estranged from God. At birth, In your womb, you were estranged from God, separated from him and, whether you think it's fair or not, every single person in this room was born with a nature of sin, therefore separated from God under his wrath. But what God did, in the amazing beauty, is, he went towards each and every one of you by sending his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 2,000 years ago, jesus Christ lived a perfect life and died a substitutionary death for every single person in this room that will ever trust in him and the beauty of reconciliation. We didn't run to God, god ran to us. Keep that in mind as we think about the rest of the story and this incredible act of grace and mercy. God didn't leave us in our brokenness. He went towards us and instead he took the initiative to bring about salvation. That's exactly what happens here.
Speaker 1:So now you've got these two brothers who've got years of bitterness and estrangement. Esau had vowed to kill Jacob. Jacob was forced to flee for his life. And Jacob now we've seen over the last several chapters he has been taken advantage of by his father-in-law once and twice, and three times, and multiple times he's been taken advantage of. The deceiver has been deceived, the swindler has been swindled.
Speaker 1:What God often does is this. God looks to remove something out of your life and he brings the same pressure from other people in your life, and maybe you're experiencing that. Maybe you struggle with some particular sin in your life and then you notice somebody is doing the exact same thing to you and you don't like it very much. What God does is he works. What I so appreciate about God is that he takes his time. God created this world, I believe, in six literal days. Some people believe it's longer than that, but God could have created this world instantaneously. Whether it's six days or six million years, he could have created the world instantaneously. He chose not to. He chose to take his time, and when he saves you and me and when he transforms you and me, he looks to take his time, and that's what he does with Jacob. He took his time.
Speaker 1:Now, in the chapter we just heard last week, jacob is trying to think about the fact that he's got to go back, because God has called him to go back towards his brother and towards his family. And what Jacob is doing is now he's swindling, he's conniving again. I think he's sending animal after animal, because I think what he's trying to do is appease his brother. He thinks that if I give him all of these things, maybe he will not be as angry with me. But, as we saw last week, that's not the story, as he sends all these people and he's lining up his family, and Jacob is in the rear. He's behind the scenes, he has an encounter with God. Whether it's the angel of God or the second person in the Trinity, I'm not sure but he has an encounter and this wrestling match is there and he leaves scarred, his hip is destroyed and for the rest of his life he's going to limp. He is touched physically, but he's touched greater than that, spiritually. He walks away from that permanent limp and that permanent limp reminds him of his dependency on God. This man, who was a swindler, has now been humbled. See, he is now at a place he can go and meet his brother. Before that, when he was conniving and putting all these things to try to appease, he would never have done anything great with his brother. But now, as his heart is prepared and God has humbled him, he brings him to the story that we see here in Genesis 20 and 33. So let's look at it.
Speaker 1:Dave read it for us earlier. He said this that Jacob lifted up his eyes and he looked, lifted up his eyes and looked and behold, he saw Esau coming with 400 men with him. I can't even imagine what Jacob must be thinking. I haven't seen my brother in decades. I know the last time I left him, he said he was going to kill me decades. I know the last time I left him, he said he was going to kill me. And I see him coming and there's 400 military people coming at me. What in the world is Jacob thinking?
Speaker 1:So what did Jacob do? Jacob divided his children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. He put the servants with their children in front Leah with her children, and then Rachel and Joseph. Last of all, what I so appreciate about this chapter is this God saves us instantaneously, but his sanctifying of us is lifelong. Jacob is still showing favoritism here. This is a family issue. They show favoritism. He's showing favoritism here. This is a family issue. They show favoritism. He's showing favoritism to Rachel and Joseph. He's putting them at the back. So if people get destroyed, it will be the concubines, kids and them first, and then Leah I didn't really want her anyway. She's next and I'm going to save my prize possession for the rear. And so what does he do? Before this? Jacob had lined them up, but Jacob was going to be behind them. But that's not what Jacob does. This is where I see the transformation in Jacob's heart and life. So he divided them and he himself verse 3, went before them. He was bowing himself down to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother.
Speaker 1:I want you to see that this man who had tricked his brother, swindled him, connived, deceived, betrayed him, is now humbling himself. See, it said when Rebecca had the two kids in her womb. It said the younger will lead over the younger. I'm sorry, the older will serve the younger. And Jacob was clearly in the position of preeminence here.
Speaker 1:But he doesn't show that. He says I am humbled before you. He gets down on his face seven times, and seven times in the Bible is a number of completion. He is showing complete level of submission that I bow before you. I bow before you. I bow before you. Watch what happens.
Speaker 1:But Esau ran to meet him. I just love this. He runs to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they wept. You know, you see, esau is running at you and it's like now, 400 people and Esau's running at him and I can't imagine what was going through Jacob's heart here. And as he's seeing his brother running, he's am I ready? He's going to take, I'm going to go down, I'm going to bow, I'm going to bow, I'm going to bow. And Jacob doesn't come up there and punch him, he doesn't take a swing at him, he kisses him, he hugs him and they weep. And this relationship, the emotional toil that had been there, the physical separation, but there was an emotional toil that was there with these brothers. And Jacob has successfully deceived his brother and he was living in constant fear of Esau and Esau probably was struggling with bitterness and resentment and Esau was consumed with this relationship. But what is happening right now?
Speaker 1:The story is different. I think this is exactly where Jesus Christ got the story of the prodigal son. You remember the prodigal son story? So this prodigal son who stole what was not his, destroyed the family, hindered the family, ran away and when he had connived and lost everything, he got humbled and he came back home and he says maybe my father will treat me like one of the servants. But if you remember the story, what does the father do? Does the father just wait back with his arms folded? No, the father comes to him and is running, and in that culture, a Hebrew man is not going to be running, but he's running towards his son, he embraces his son, he kisses him, and I think that's exactly where Jesus got this story from here, the story of Jacob and Esau, this face-to-face encounter.
Speaker 1:God had commanded Jacob to come back to his father's land and Esau embraced him. It's probably nothing that he ever expected Watch what he continues but he ran to him, embraced him and fell on his neck and they wept. And Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and the children. He said who are these with you? It's Jacob. Ran away with nothing outside of a blessing and a birthright, but he ran away with nothing in his hands and he comes back with this bounty and it's well, where is this? What is this group? Who are these? And Jacob said these are the children whom God has graciously given your servant. And then the servants drew near and they and their children bowed down to him. And Leah, likewise and her children drew near and they bowed down. And last, joseph and Rachel drew near and bowed down.
Speaker 1:What I so appreciate about Joseph Jacob. Here is this Jacob is now becoming a spiritual leader in his family, his family, instead of. He's not hiding in the back any longer, he's not trying to protect himself any longer, he is putting himself out front. If they're going to kill me, if they're going to go after my family, they're going to start with me. He's going to go through me. And then he models for his family exactly what they're supposed to do Honor, honor, respect. And so, as the leader of his family, he shows honor. And what do they do? They do the exact same thing. They model it, which I so appreciate, and they bow down. Verse 8,. Esau saw this and says what do you mean by all this company that I met? So he's talking about the animals and everything.
Speaker 1:And Jacob said to find favor in your sight, o my Lord, hear how he's talking about his brother.
Speaker 1:He could say I am the one of the birthright, I'm the one with the blessing. He doesn't do that. He calls himself a servant, he calls himself a slave. He says you are my Lord, which is once again a show of humility. That is there, if I found favor in your sight, my Lord. But Esau said I have enough, my brother, keep what you have for yourself. But Jacob said no, please, if I found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand, for I've seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God.
Speaker 1:Think about the chapter before he's wrestling with the angel of God or God, and the morning's coming I can't see his face. And now I've gotten to see you. I've gotten to see that you've reconciled with me. You've shown favor to me. You have forgiven me, you have in some ways shown me the face of God, and so he says that you ways shown me the face of God, and so he says that you show me the face. It's like seeing the face of God. You've accepted me. Please accept my blessing that is brought to you because God has graciously been with me, or graciously with me, and because I have enough and that's the urge to me took it.
Speaker 1:I really appreciate the words that Jacob uses here. He says I'm giving you a blessing. He's actually trying to reverse the curse right, I stole your blessing, which I should not have done, but now I'm giving you back the blessing, one thing after another. I don't deserve any of this. I give it all to you. I humble myself to you and I give it all to you, which, oh, I humble myself to you and I give it all to you, which, oh, such an amazing thing. And so he urges him and he takes it. And there's something that jumps out at me as I was studying this passage.
Speaker 1:Jacob talks about God consistently in this chapter, in this section he talks about God has given me this, god has been gracious to me, god has been faithful. Esau doesn't mention the name of God once. And Esau very interesting he says I have enough. I almost wonder, because I don't believe Esau is a believer. I almost wonder if Esau said what was the big deal about the birthright? What was the big deal about the blessing? I've got everything. I don't need this. I've got 400 men, I don't need anything. I don't even need God. And in Romans, chapter 1, it says this. In Romans, chapter 1, verse 21,. It says Now verse 21,. It says I almost think that's Esau. Now.
Speaker 1:Esau did an incredible thing here, don't misunderstand it. Esau forgave his brother, he reconciled with him. But Esau is Now. Esau did an incredible thing here, don't misunderstand it. Esau forgave his brother, he reconciled with him. But Esau is not a believer. He has not recognized that all the blessings that he's had have come from the blessed hand of God. Jacob does, and that's where the difference is between these two brothers.
Speaker 1:Jacob knew that he didn't deserve any of this and God had given him everything.
Speaker 1:Esau believed he deserved everything that he got. I don't need anything more. It's amazing. No, you may not need any more material things. He became materially comfortable, but spiritually deprived. He lacked everything, and he failed to recognize that. I've got all of these material blessings, but these material blessings are going to die, and so am I of these material blessings, but these material blessings are going to die, and so am I. And where's eternity? He didn't see that. Jacob Saw it. He began to see. Okay.
Speaker 1:So now, in verse 12, it says this then Esau said let us journey on our way and I will go ahead of you. But Jacob said to him my Lord knows that the children are frail and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care for me. If they're driven hard for one day, all the flock will die. Let my Lord pass ahead of your servant and I will lead on slowly, at a pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my Lord and seer Now Jacob once again. As I said, we are saved.
Speaker 1:Every single one of you who know Christ as your Lord and Savior, instantaneously, at the moment of your conversion, were justified. You were declared not guilty. You were declared righteous in the sight of God. But then there's a second phase. We call it sanctification. Sanctification is where you need to grow in holiness. You may be declared holy, but you need to be actually living practically holy. And we don't do that. And what God does is now. He's taking you step by step.
Speaker 1:I still I think that this is part of his flesh. He is not being completely honest with his brother because he's not going to follow his brother. His brother's going to go one way. He's going to go another way Because God has a calling on his life that's different than the calling that is there on Esau's life. And instead of saying that I have to follow God's blessing and God has called me a different direction, he makes up a story that I'm going to follow.
Speaker 1:Some of the commentators say that they met up eventually. There's nothing in scripture that says they met up. I don't think they did. I think what they did was there was a form of reconciliation that was here, and now we can go in peace and we can go separate. So Jacob goes to Succoth and Esau goes to Seir, and so Seir is in the Canaanite area. It is not in the promised land. It is not in the promised land and Jacob is called to go to the land of Canaan, where it is the promised land. So he then, in verse 18, jacob, came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, and on his way to Patamaram he camped there and before the city, and the sons of Hamor and Shechem, the father, and brought hundreds of pieces of money, pieces of land, and he pitched a tent and there he erected an altar and called it El Yisrael. So they had this face-to-face encounter. Now they go in peace and they're going separate ways, and Jacob is now going to go to one portion of land and Esau is going to go to a different portion. But Jacob at least has come to a place where he has accepted his responsibility and sought forgiveness.
Speaker 1:Just a couple of things I want to pull out before we close today. True repentance is more than just words. There are some of us in this room that have never said I'm sorry at all in our lives because we don't think we're sorry. In fact, we got a couple of presidential candidates that don't think that they do anything wrong, so they never say that they're sorry. That's just crazy to me. I foul up all the time, and so do you.
Speaker 1:Repentance is more than just words, though, and all the gifts of humility that Jacob was giving was not really going to transform anything. He bowed down. He gave gifts, but the gifts that he gave in the beginning, I think, were trying to appease his brother, but after the wrestling match, I think he's giving these gifts as restitution, brother. But after the wrestling match, I think he's giving these gifts as restitution. I've stolen from you and I want to give it back. So true repentance is not just about feeling sorry. Plenty of us feel sorry.
Speaker 1:The question is are we really broken? Are we broken by the fact that we've hindered God or hindered our relationship with God, and then I've hindered my relationship with others? See, when you approach reconciliation, it's got to be important. You got to go vertically and then go horizontally, and so what Jacob does is he has this emotional reunion because he God had done something different in his life, and what God had done is he did something different in Esau as well. Even though Esau, I don't believe, is a believer. He is allowing for Esau's heart to soften towards Jacob. See, god has a greater plan when it comes to reconciliation, and God's greater plan is that he wants to draw people to his son. See, that's the whole thing.
Speaker 1:He gives you these stories to tell you about human brokenness, but he says you can't fix it, jacob. All of your swindling and all your conniving will not fix this. All of your behavior modification will not fix this. The only one that could fix this is the person and work of the Lord, jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, it says this. It says, it says, may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance, not about what is in the heart, for if we are beside ourself, it is for God, and if we're in our right mind, it is for you, for the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this that one has died for all.
Speaker 1:Therefore, all have died, and he died for all. That those who might live might no longer live for themselves, jacob, who've been transformed, but for him, who, for their sake, died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Here it is. Therefore, if anyone is a new Christ, he is what he's a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come. And all this is from God who, through Christ, reconciled us to himself and gave us what the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us a message of reconciliation trespasses against them and entrusting to us a message of reconciliation.
Speaker 1:The beautiful thing, what God did for you, is that, if Christ, he enlivened you, he wrestled with you and he won, because he's always going to win when he fights you, and so he wins and he draws you to himself. And then he doesn't just draw you to himself, he changes you. He doesn't just change your status, he changes you and he's changing you. And now what he's done is he's reconciled. The war that was there between you and him is gone, it's done. And then he's subduing the war that's within you, your own flesh that is battling. He's subduing that over time. And what he wants you to do is he wants you to take the message of hope to a world that is in desperate need of it, a world that is in desperate need of light in the darkness, hope in their hopelessness, life in their death. He gives that message to you, jacob. I want you to go back to your brother with a message of hope. I want you to talk about me. That may not change your brother's heart. You're not responsible about your brother's heart, but you're responsible about sharing the heart.
Speaker 1:Last section here it says this I just lost it. All this was from God, verse 18, who, through Christ, was reconciling the world to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ. God was reconciling the world to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ. God was reconciling the world to him, not counting their trespasses against them, but entrusting to them a message of reconciliation. There it is. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, god making his appeal through us. We implore you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God For our sake. God the Father, made him, jesus Christ, the Son, to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him, in Christ, we might become the righteousness of God. See, god's ultimate reconciliation plan is that people will come to faith in his Son and that's where real peace and real hope and real joy comes in. So let's close this out.
Speaker 1:Jacob creates an altar here and at the altar it's the first time he actually calls God his God, which I find interesting. All the other times that he talked about God he says it's God of my father Abraham and my God of my father Isaac, but now he says you're my God. So everyone in this room, you may have heard the name of God, but you need to make God personal in your life. It doesn't matter about a bunch of information. There has to be a transformation that has to happen, and there was a transformation that had happened here in Jacob's life. And Jacob calls God El Huli, the God of Israel, my God, the God of Israel, and he's being faithful and he knows that God has provided for him and he is looking to praise God.
Speaker 1:But that altar that is symbolized here in Genesis 33 is looking forward to a cross thousands of years later, because it's on that cross that the Lord Jesus Christ became the center of our lives. Jesus Christ bore God's wrath and where it's God's holy justice and holy mercy come together at one place and God reconciled us to himself and he gave us the model that we have here. So I guess I implore you, as Paul implored in second Corinthians five be reconciled to God. If you don't know Christ as your Lord and savior, I pray today would be the day that you not an Esau, don't be an Esau. It's great that Esau was nice to his brother, but Esau trusted in material blessings and he missed the spiritual issue. He missed his greatest reconciliation issue. It's not horizontal. His greatest reconciliation issue was vertical. Please don't be an Esau, be a Jacob. A mess still a work in progress. We're going to see next chapter.
Speaker 1:He really some of the decisions he made ultimately led to some really significant problems in his family, but he was a man who was saved but was being sanctified. He was being changed day by day because he trusted in the grace of God. Let's pray. Changed day by day because he trusted in the grace of God. Let's pray, father.
Speaker 1:It's easy to look at this story and see the brokenness that is here, the brokenness that is here in this relationship between these two brothers. Father, they were fighting in the womb and then they fought throughout their lives. Father, they were fighting in the womb and then they fought throughout their lives. Father, it's easy to see the rivalry that was there. It's easy to see the favoritism as well Isaac favored Esau and Rebecca favored Jacob. And, father, the favoritism in the family created division as well. It's easy to see the deception. It's easy to see the cheating. It's easy to see me Very honestly, lord, we're a mess, we deserve nothing.
Speaker 1:And, father, we try to swindle, we try to connive, but the reality is we can't do anything about the sin that's in our lives.
Speaker 1:We have no ability, but I thank you for the fact that the solution is found in your Son.
Speaker 1:The have no ability, but I thank you for the fact that the solution is found in your son, lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:I thank you that we can turn our eyes to him.
Speaker 1:I thank you for the fact that he will hold us fast. I thank you for the fact that he holds us in his arms by your Holy Spirit. I thank you for the fact that, even when I fall, you will never let me go and, father, I could wrestle with you all night. But I thank you for the fact that, even when I fall, you will never let me go and, father, I could wrestle with you all night, but I thank you for the fact that you're the one that holds us. I thank you for the times that you hit our hip as well, where it reminds us of the dependency that we desperately need. I thank you for giving us the opportunity to be a light to those that are in darkness, and I pray for anyone that's out there in darkness right now that you would open their eyes to see the beauty of your gospel. Father, help us to reconcile with others and then draw that reconciliation vertically to see that they desperately need reconciliation with you. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
