Jacob and Esau: Forgive, and Move On

Once Upon a Time... there was Rebekah. Rebekah who was married to Isaac.

And that Rebekah... was barren.

BUT. Our God, who is a God of Miracles, blessed her with children.

Genesis 25:23 - And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.


She was having twins. (Now with that in mind, read the verse again!)


And when they were born, there was Esau... the eldest son.
And then there was Jacob. His brother.

And these boys were rivals from birth.

Fast forward a few years.

One day Esau came in from the field. He was tired. Esau asked Jacob for some pottage.

And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. (see v. 31)
(Birthright: a particular right of possession or privilege one has from birth, esp. as an eldest child.)

And Esau did. He sold Jacob his birthright.
He gave up his special privelages for something that would give him temporary joy. A bowl of soup.

The story continues, and Esau gets married to Hittite wives. And this grieves his parents.

Now Isaac is dying. And he wants to bless Esau, his eldest son, before he dies. But Esau is not worthy. Rebekah helps Jacob to instead obtain this blessing. And it was taken away from Esau.

Genesis 27:41 - And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.


Now Jacob goes away to serve Laban for what ended up being fourteen years. He did this so that he could have Rachel, Laban's daughter. 


But there comes a time when Jacob must return home. He prays for protection from Esau, and sends his brother gifts in advance. Remember, Esau wants to kill him.


Jacob is told that his life will be preserved. 


That being said, I'm not sure that the end of our little story was expected by Jacob.


One of my favorite verses in the Old Testament:


Genesis 33:4 - And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

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     Well... I suppose absence makes the heart grow fonder. But the key here... is to Repent, Forgive, and Move on. 

D&C 64: 10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.

     Whether or not we forgive and move on... it is completely our choice. We have complete power over it. 


     And just think of a world where everyone forgave everyone... always.




What a beautiful story...

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