Jacob And Esau

Genesis 33: 4

Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Wow! Jacob didn't know what to expect from his brother. The last he knew, 20 years earlier, Esau wanted to kill him. But God told him it was time for him to go home, and what an eventful journey that was! 

Jacob was very highly on edge with approaching Esau and hearing that Esau had 400 men with him! That must've been a very nerve-wracking night, with everyone up all night, driving the animals, and the women with their children, crossing the river, as they approached the meeting. And then Jacob was alone and wrestled with the Angel that night, resulting in a limp to remind him to rely on God.

Then his trepidation turning to relief and joy when Esau accepted him favorably, no wonder they both wept! Their emotions went from one extreme to the other.

We are not given any information at all about what happened to Esau, to change his attitude toward his brother from hatred to love. But God knew that those 400 men with him weren't an army to wipe out Jacob's whole family. God knew it was time for Jacob to return home, to the land God had promised to give his descendants. And now God has made Jacob His prince, in changing his name to Israel (a prince with God). 

O my Father, You took special care of Jacob the whole time he lived with Laban; and You also took care of Esau, changing his thinking processes so that he would welcome his brother home. 

And, Father, you are also taking care of me, teaching me what I need to know, shaping my understanding to conform to Your Truth, and molding me into a vessel suitable for Your King's Table; making me fit to be Your own child, to work with You in Your Family Business, Your Kingdom.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!