Jacob and Esau-Brothers and Fathers: Genesis 35-36; Psalm 15; Proverbs 3:21-26

God called Jacob to himself, and Jacob did what all God-honoring men do: he called his family to devote themselves to God, too: Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.

 

We don’t know whether Jacob knew by now that Rachel had stolen her father’s gods. But he was at least aware that his family was not fully devoted to the Lord yet. God’s faithfulness to Jacob called Jacob to a faithful response. As the man of the home, he had to lead his wives, children and everyone else with him to follow his faithful God.

 

And at this point in history, Esau was at least not hostile toward Jacob. They buried their father together. Esau may have respected, even served, the God of Israel. He had, after all, been taught to serve the LORD by their father Isaac. He, like Jacob, was abundantly blessed.

 

But still, it was at this time that Jacob and Esau, Israel and Edom, parted ways for good; “the land where they were staying could not support them both” (Gen. 36:7). And while we do not know the fate of Esau himself, he had plotted a terrible course for his family. By intermarrying with people who rejected the God of his fathers, and by never (apparently) calling his family to be faithful to the LORD, Esau neglected their spiritual health. And his descendants joined the Canaanites as some of the worst enemies Israel faced when the nation came up out of slavery.

 

Father, these two brothers humble me. They remind me that my leadership at home matters. I have heard Your call. You have been faithful to me. Help me to pass Your call to my family. I want everyone I am responsible for to follow You wholeheartedly and with purity. May I be faithful in response to Your faithfulness—especially in my home.