Jacob & Esau: Leaders Broken Before Blessed

Esau ran to meet Jacob, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept Genesis 33:4 Remember the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis? In my earlier blogs I described how Jacob had “stolen” Esau’s birthright. Actually, Easu – being the short sighted leader that he was - foolishly gave it up, lacking vision and desiring immediate gratification. The two brothers split on very bad terms, Esau implying he would kill his brother the next time the two met. Now, in Genesis 32 & 33 we find the two of them headed on a collision course, each one unsure of the other’s intentions. It’s the night before the reunion and Jacob meets with the angel of God and the two of them wrestle – both physically and emotionally. Jacob turned a crucial corner the night he wrestled with the angel of God. He broke physically when the angel dislocated his hip, but he also broke emotionally. From that moment on, Jacob began to fulfill his God-ordained destiny. All leaders, like Jacob, must “wrestle” with God in order to receive His blessing. God blessed Jacob because: (1) Jacob was alone with God – all distractions had been removed. (2) Jacob was hungry for God – he desperately wanted to receive what God had for him. (3) Jacob was broken by God – he allowed God to break him and change him. (4) Jacob was honest with God – he stopped pretending in order to let God work in his life. The result? At the reunion of Jacob and Esau, Jacob was terrified and took precautions to save his family if he were killed. Yet much to his surprise, when Easu ran to his brother, he embraced him and wept – forgiving Jacob for everything. His commitment and love for his brother overwhelmed his thirst for revenge. Have you prevailed with God in this way? Leaders cannot do anything of significance and lasting value until they humble themselves before God and seek His face. You must be broken in order to be blessed! Please comment below or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com