Yesterday we saw how Jacob humbled himself to his brother and sincerely apologized. We see that in verse 11, he pleads with Esau to accept his “blessing.” It appears that the blessing he stole from his brother was now being returned.
Briscoe observes “Reconciliation requires those who have done wrong to admit it and those who have been wronged to accept the apology. Without both parties being willing to participate appropriately nothing is achieved.”
We can all relate to this. We’ve all been wronged and we’ve all wronged others. I must admit that when someone has wronged me there’s something about my heart that wants to hold on to the bitterness. Sometimes it’s hard to forgive. Like Ogilvie says, we have “drunk so long and deeply of the waters of resentment that we find it impossible to break free from our addiction to bitterness.”
We refuse to stop drinking the wine of resentment and when we’ve emptied the cup, we find that what we’ve consumed is our selves.
“Father, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”