Jacob/Israel: I Have Enough
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 11/26/2015 AM (Thanksgiving Day) |
Text: | Genesis 33:11 |
Psalters: | 402, 169, 376, 298 |
- The setting.
- God continually assured Jacob of His blessing.
- All his life Jacob thought he had to help God realize His promise to bless him with the birthright blessing.
- Forgetting all God’s assurances, he now fearfully anticipates meeting Esau.
- Jacob bows seven times seeking to impress Esau (3).
- Esau is unconsciously moved by God (God moved Laban consciously) to show kindness.
- In this unexpected kind attitude of Esau, Jacob sees God’s favor and assurance of blessing.
- Note that the brothers say “I have enough” but mean quite different things.
- Esau said, “I have enough,” i.e., “there is to me much” (8).
- Esau was softened toward Jacob, not in a godly sense.
- Esau never thought of God’s blessings, for he was only interested in the fatness of the earth (not heavenly Canaan).
- Jacob/Israel declares, “I have enough,” i.e., all or everything.
- He recognized God’s grace (undeserved love) at work to change Esau’s anger into favor (10).
- When we have God’s blessing, then we have all things working together for our good, including a lack of earthly things.
- We recognize that all things come to us from our heavenly Father, and we return them to Him in the spirit of humble thanks.
- Esau said, “I have enough,” i.e., “there is to me much” (8).
- Note the next event reveals that Israel was still spiritually weak.
- He reverted to his old schemes when he made an excuse of the children and flocks as reason not to travel together (13,14).
- This is so much like us.