We pick up the story after Jacob, urged by his mother Rebekah, has just received Isaac's blessing, a blessing meant for his brother, Esau. The text tells us, "And when Jacob heard the words of his mother which the messengers had spoken to him, he lifted up his voice and wept bitterly, and did as his mother commanded him." You can almost hear the anxiety in his voice, right? The weight of the deception, the fear of his brother's wrath… it must have been overwhelming.
So, what does Jacob do? He tries to smooth things over. He sends messengers to Esau, hoping to placate him. And the message they carry? It’s fascinating.
The messengers are instructed to say, "Thus speaketh thy servant Jacob: My lord, think not that the blessing which my father bestowed upon me profited me." In other words, "Hey, Esau, don't think this blessing has made me rich or powerful! It's not like it's done me any good."
Then comes the list of grievances. "Twenty years I served Laban, and he deceived me, and changed my hire ten times, as thou well knowest. Yet did I labor sorely in his house, and God saw my affliction, my labor, and the work of my hands, and afterward He caused me to find grace and favor in the sight of Laban." Jacob is painting a picture of hardship, of struggle. "Look at everything I've been through!" he seems to be saying.
And then, almost as an afterthought, he mentions his prosperity: "And through God's great mercy and kindness, I acquired oxen and asses and cattle and men-servants and maid servants." But immediately, he downplays it, adding, "And now I am coming to my country and to my home, to my father and mother, who are in the land of Canaan. And I have sent to let my lord know all this in order to find favor in the eyes of my lord, so that he may not imagine that I have become a man of substance, or that the blessing with which my father blessed me has benefited me."
It’s a carefully crafted message, isn’t it? A mixture of humility, self-deprecation, and a subtle reminder of God's favor. It's Jacob trying to defuse a potentially explosive situation. He's trying to convince Esau that he's not a threat, that the blessing was just words, and that he’s still the same old Jacob.
But is Esau buying it? That's the question, isn't it? Does this carefully worded message truly reflect Jacob's heart, or is it just another layer in a long history of family drama? And does it even matter? Sometimes, even the most skillfully crafted words can't undo the past. Sometimes, the past just demands to be reckoned with.