The Grudge

The Grudge
Words of Faith 5-19-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 27
     [41] Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
     [42] When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of killing you. [43] Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. [44] Stay with him for a while until your brother's fury subsides. [45] When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"
     [46] Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living."
     [28:1] So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. [2] Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. [3] May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. [4] May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham." [5] Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

        The damage within this family was far from over.   By the time Isaac and Rebekah had finished raising these boys, there was emotional wreckage as far as the eye could see. As a result of sin, the family was now disintegrating. Really, the fractures had been coming for a long time. The family started falling apart when Rebecca and Isaac grew distant from one another and then chose favorites. This is a time-honored recipe for disaster. What began as a beautiful romance had turned cold and manipulative because of human sin.
         Now Esau held a grudge. He had bargained away his birthright. Jacob had tricked Isaac into giving the blessing of the eldest son to him. So Esau was not going to forget Jacob's sneaky ways. He held a grudge.  
        The dictionary defines a "grudge" as a feeling of resentment or ill will, especially one lasting for a long time. That just doesn't do justice to what was happening here and that is probably why many translators used the word "hate" instead. The KJV and NRSV say that Esau "hated" Jacob. A "grudge" does not seem strong enough.  
       The Hebrew word for "grudge" also means to "lurk". Perhaps we could say Esau bore a "lurking hatred" toward Jacob. This was more than resentment. Esau was waiting for the right moment to exact his revenge. He was calculating and planning for the moment. The word on the street was that Esau was "consoling himself" himself with the thought of killing Jacob. A grudge is a painful and dangerous thing. We will have to stay tuned to see how Esau works this out.
        Rebekah knew that this was a dangerous situation. The big hairy hunter Esau could tie Jacob in knots! Esau knew how to kill, skin, and field dress animals in the wild!   Rebekah may have exaggerated her disgust for Hittite women to convince Isaac to get Jacob safely out of town. Then a strange thing resulted from Esau's grudge. Jacob actually received yet another blessing from Isaac! But Rebekah would never again see her beloved favorite Jacob.
        We do not see all the results of Jacob's sins here. As the story continues, we will see that Jacob suffered enormously throughout his life. He lost the wealth and prominence he had enjoyed up to this time. He never saw his mother again. He served another man slavishly for some twenty years, reaping the same deception he had sown toward Esau (Genesis 29:15-30). And Jacob's own sons cut his heart again and again through deception (Genesis 37:1-35).
         How do we avoid the pain of an unnecessary disaster like this? Nowhere is the fundamental lesson of this story stated more clearly in the book of Proverbs:
       Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones (Proverbs 3:5-8). This is our best hope to avert unnecessary pain and disaster.
       Are you bearing a grudge? Do you have a lurking resentment or hatred for someone? Isn't it time to take care of that?   Time to forgive? Time to do the work required to heal that situation?
       Are you trying to manipulate the matters of life so that you can do a better job than God at orchestrating the things you want? Is it time to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding? Are you ready to acknowledge Him in all your ways so He can make your paths straight? Are you wise in your own eyes? It is time to fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

        Father God I turn to You in trust for the guidance of my life. I lean upon You for the decisions of my family. I choose to acknowledge You in all my ways. Make my paths straight. I honor You above all. Give me health and nourishment. In Jesus' name.  

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.