Jacob had a relatively mild healing in his relationship with his uncle and father-in-law, Laban. Among the hills of Gilead that found the healing balm of forgiveness of sorts and Laban hugged and kissed his children farewell and wish Jacob the best. Yes, Jeremiah, there is a balm in Gilead. But when Jacob heard that his brother was coming to meet him with 400 soldiers, Genesis 32:7 says that Jacob panicked and “was greatly afraid and disturbed.” He then divided the people who were with him , and the flocks and the herds and camels, into two camps.” How soon we forget the lessons about God’s protection of us when people intend us harm. Jacob didn’t know what to expect from his brother who had pledged to kill him for stealing Isaac’s blessing from him. Rebekah had sent Jacob away telling him that when Esau’s anger subsides, she will send for him and tell him it’s safe to come home. Jacob never heard from Rebekah, so he was taking a huge chance.
Can you imagine the joy Jacob felt at their first encounter? Genesis 33:4 tells us, “But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.” They “wept”!! Duh!! We all know what it is like to be estranged from family members. Our root connections with family are deeply ingrained and we long to be reconciled when relationships are broken. This is what it was like for Jacob. He wanted to go home. Jacob did not have to go through his brother’s territory to go home, but he chose to do so only after wrestling with God all night long. Obviously he wanted to put things right with the brother he had cheated. Barnhouse used to say “the way to up is down, and the way to down is up.” Meaning that God will humble those who exalt themselves, but will exalt those who humble themselves. Jacob humbled himself before his brother Esau by bowing down seven times before him. Ogilvie says that even though Jacob did not know Christ’s teaching about “first be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:24), “he showed sensitivity to the necessity of this kind of action.” Because of Jacob’s humble approach, God moved Esau to welcome his brother home. The joy is unmistakable as seen in verse 4 of chapter 33,”Esau ran to meet him and embraced him…and kissed him and they wept.”
I believe it took 25 years for Jacob’s relationship with Laban to sour to the point Jacob wanted to go home. He needed to go home. It was so important that he was willing to risk it all to make the reconciliation happen. Several times during his stay with Laban he thought about and even desired to go home. He even tried to do so a couple of times but things just didn’t work out for him to do so. Things had to get bad for Jacob with Laban before he was willing to make that break! I guess that’s often the case with us too. Things have to get bad before we’re willing to humble ourselves and set some broken relationships right. They say that John Lennon was trying to get things right with his estranged family when he was murdered in New York. He waited too long!