The Brother He Feared

The Story

Twenty years earlier, Jacob had tricked his brother Esau out of their father’s blessing. Esau was so furious that he vowed to kill him, and Jacob ran for his life.

Now God was telling Jacob to go home. And home meant Esau.

Jacob sent messengers ahead, hoping to make peace. They came back with frightening news: Esau was coming to meet him, with four hundred men. Jacob was terrified. He split his family into two camps, so that if one was attacked, the other might escape. He sent wave after wave of animals ahead as gifts. Then he prayed, “Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother.”

That night, alone by the river Jabbok, Jacob wrestled with a mysterious man until daybreak. Before it was over, he was limping, and God had given him a new name: Israel.

The next morning, Jacob saw Esau coming. He bowed to the ground seven times as he walked toward his brother, bracing for the worst.

But Esau ran to him. He threw his arms around Jacob’s neck and kissed him, and both brothers wept. “I have enough, my brother,” Esau said when Jacob pressed his gifts on him. Jacob answered, “I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God.”

Reflection