Most, if not all of you reading this know that I am a twin (identical). You may also know that I have birthed a set of twins of my own (one of each... obviously not identical). So, twins are a fascinating topic for me to muse upon. Thus, today's post about a well-known set of twins.
The most "popular" set of twins in the Bible are Jacob and Esau. As the story begins, we see a precious, God-seeking husband in Isaac praying for his dear barren wife, Rebekah. God in His infinite kindness, answers a loving man's prayer and opens the womb of his wife. As the pregnancy progresses, Rebekah senses a war of sorts going on inside of her. She seeks the Lord for an answer and is told that 2 nations are fighting in her womb. And when all is said and done, the older will serve the younger. Now, as appealing as that last part is, since I was the younger in my twindom, it must have been quite alot for a first-time mother to take in.
Eventually the twins are born looking completely different and with completely opposite personalities. Esau red and hairy (I picture him quite stout and burley) and a hunter of animals, enjoying the outdoors and the wild. Jacob, quite the opposite and said to be timid and a "homebody." He was quickly the favorite of his mother. We don't hear much of their growing up years, who walked first, who talked first, their favorite games to play. We can only imagine they had their moments of love for one another and their more frequent "sibling rivalry" but they had each other and only each other with no evidence of other siblings recorded.
What we do learn next is that Esau (with the obvious short-fuse and dramatic nature) came in one day from hunting and was famished. He begged Jacob for some food and Jacob only granted it once Esau agreed to give Jacob his birthright in exchange for the food. The next thing we know is that Isaac sees his days waning and is just about blind. He tells his eldest son to go hunt and fix a meal that his father loves that he may bless Esau his oldest and beloved son. While Esau is hunting, with the nudging of his mother, Jacob tricks Isaac and obtains the blessing reserved for Esau. Esau rages and says Jacob which means "deceiver" is fitly named. Jacob flees for his life.
Fast forward at least a decade or two, and Jacob has left the land in which he met and married his wives. He has grown rich and had his own journey wrestling with and encountering his Lord God. We haven't heard anything about Esau as these years have passed for Jacob. BUT...
We now discover that the moment Jacob has dreaded all these years, is upon him. He hears that along his journey, he must cross the path of his twin, Esau. He sends gifts followed by himself, followed by his least favorite wives and children and the furthest from his twin, his favored son and beloved wife, Rachel. Each step must have felt full of weight and dread. Jacob's heart almost fails him. What of Esau? We once again see the man who lives in the moment. He runs to meet his brother and embraces and kisses him. He asks what is meant by the gifts. From all we can see, there seems to be no recollection of the rotten things done by his brother.
In the ensuing years, we know that with the help of Jacob's gifts, Esau and Jacob each become so mighty and powerful that they cannot dwell near one another. This time out of necessity, they part ways in peace. God builds nations through both. Nations with very different purposes and destinies.
Now, I know the story of Biblical history. I know that Jacob (later named "Israel") is the one God set apart as the father of the nation of Israel, whose offspring form the 12 tribes of a great, mighty, and conquering nation. I also know what Romans 9 says about God's heart towards these twins...But, today, I cannot help but pause and reflect on the twins' relationship itself.
Jacob had every reason to believe his brother wanted nothing to do with him, or worse yet, wanted only to murder him as he did the day he stole his blessing. It can often be worse to live as the person who brought trouble on another even when you've seen great blessing from God. That was Jacob.
Esau lived his life knowing it wouldn't be blessed, at least not as greatly as his rival twin Jacob's would be. I am not saying that his days were spent nobly and seeking the God of Jacob. We know his wives brought trouble to his mother and likely turned his heart to worship any god other than the True One. But, we also have recorded in sacred writ that when the day came to see the twin who kept him from knowing the blessing he might have known and then ran away so his righteous anger could not be vented, he was soft and full of seemingly genuine affection and love. He was ready to embrace. He ran to Jacob. He ran to his twin, his womb-mate.
Jacob and Esau were the warring of nations in their mother's womb. But they also show us that there really should be nothing to keep us from embracing our nearest of kin. And when the day came to bury their father and their mother, it was Jacob and Esau who performed the duty... together.
