The Incredible Strength of Esau

Yesterday I shared how Jacob and Laban had a father-in-law/son-in-law relationship that left something to be desired. Laban had been dishonest in his dealing with Jacob and after a while Laban started to dislike Jacob. Jacob ended up fleeing with his family that led to a confrontation with Laban. The result of this confrontation was that Jacob and Laban agreed to go their separate ways. They put a pile of rocks on the ground and agreed to stay on their own side of the rocks. The agreement means that Jacob ends up in the same basic area of land as his brother Esau.

Jacob cheated and stole Esau's birthright and blessing. Esau vowed to kill Jacob which is what caused Jacob to end up with Laban in the first place.

Jacob is now left to face his brother. I am sure that Jacob could have simply avoided Esau if he really wanted to but to his credit he decided to face up to what he had done. Jacob sent some messengers to Esau to ostensibly see how Esau would react. The reaction that the messengers report doesn't seem quite what Jacob was hoping for but probably about what Jacob expected:

"And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, 'We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.' Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, thinking, 'If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.'"

It can be frightening to have to face the consequences for our actions. Especially when those consequences are impossibly big. I am sure Jacob figured that Esau coming out with 400 men meant only one thing.

Fortunately for Jacob, Esau had very different intentions than what was expected:

"And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept."

Jacob went out in front of his family in order to face Esau. Yes, Jacob had first sent gifts to Esau. But when it came right down to it Jacob faced Esau. Jacob didn't try and use his family as a shield. Jacob didn't try and run away. Jacob stood alone before Esau.

There were two acts of strength and courage in this story. The first one was Jacob standing alone before Esau. The second one is when Esau forgave Jacob. Jacob's act took an incredible amount of strength. But it is Esau's willingness to forgive Jacob that I find really impressive. Letting go of the hurt when someone has wronged me can be very difficult. One of the hardest lines for me in the Lord's Prayer is:

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

What I have found to be helpful in forgiving others is when I remember just how much forgiveness I need. I realize that my forgiving others is still a work in progress. But like anything else the more I forgive others the better and easier it becomes.

 

Repaying evil with good

King David has always fascinated me. What young boy sitting through a Sunday School lesson doesn't perk up whenever the story of David using a slingshot to defeat Goliath comes up? David is often portrayed as a mighty warrior and was very brave even when he was young. I found that inspiring. I wanted to be like David. As I grew up and started to read some of the less seemly stories of David I was further fascinated by the notion that someone with such flaws was still considered by God to be a man after God's own heart.

At our church we have been going through the Old Testament (for quite some time) in order to get a better overview of the story of Israel and how it still relates to us today. The last two sermons in the series (we did take a break for Palm Sunday and Easter) do a good job of highlighting the contrasting–and conflicting–sides of David. I covered 1 Samuel 24 a couple of weeks ago and our pastor covered 1 Samuel 25 yesterday. These two sermons covered the same basic topic with David playing opposite roles in each one. One of the lessons that we get from both stories is the importance of choosing to act properly towards other people.

In 1 Samuel 24, David is being pursued by King Saul. Saul has been chasing David with the intention of killing him for quite some time. David is hiding out in a cave in the oasis of Engedi. Saul needs to take care of some business and just happens to wander into the same cave that David and his men are in. David was faced with a decision that must have really stunk. And he decided to let Saul go. David spared Saul's life even though Saul was trying to kill David. David decided to repay Saul's evil actions with good actions.

In 1 Samuel 25, David is faced with another decision regarding how to react to someone. David and his men had shown hospitality towards the servants and shepherds of Nabal. Not only did David and his men treat the shepherds well, they went so far as to protect the shepherds and their flocks. But when it came time for Nabal to return the favor, he turned David away. It was a great insult towards David. In a stark contrast to his actions in chapter 24, David decided to repay Nabal's evil actions with some evil actions of his own:

"And David said to his men, "Every man strap on his sword!"

If it weren't for the quick thinking of Nabal's wife Abigail, David would have massacred Nabal and all of his men.

There are two verses that are a mirror of each other. In 1 Samuel 24:17, Saul tells David:

"You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil."

In other words Saul is telling David that David has returned good for evil. On the other hand, in 1 Samuel 25:21, David says the following about Nabal:

"Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good."

These back-to-back mirrored stories about David are a very good reminder to us that we can very easily get caught up in treating people poorly when we feel that we have been wronged. On the one hand David knew that had not done anything to Saul to justify Saul's desire to kill him. But on the other hand David felt that he had earned the right of Nabal's favor. It was David's perspective that had changed between the two events. I know that I often feel greatly insulted when I do not receive that which I have earned. What I need to remember is that God has decided to forgive me and to repay my evil actions with good. I need to go and do likewise and be willing to act in a God pleasing way towards others even when they wrong me.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.