Many commentators have said that Jacob feels guilty about “stealing” Esau’s blessing, and so he offers a gift as a token of his repentance.
This entirely misses the point! This has nothing to do with guilt (after all, there is no indication in Genesis that Jacob was guilty!) rather, this has to do with Jacob’s very cautious assertion of the right to bless his brother.
He humbles himself before his brother – he will not be proud and arrogant. And in so doing, Jacob portrays the humility of Christ.
All Jacob wants is for Esau to renounce any claim on the blessing/birthright. And Esau does. Esau vacates the Promised Land and returns to Seir. In effect, Jacob gives Esau 550 animals in exchange for Esau’s renouncing the inheritance.
Jacob lives a very precarious life in the land. He is a wandering nomad in the midst of powerful tribes. But he understands that this blessing – and the presence of the living God that goes with it – is worth any sacrifice! (even humbling himself before the brother who should have bowed to him!)
Our Lord Jesus will do this when he stands before Esau’s heir, Herod. He could have asserted the right of Jacob (or, of course, his divine status!), but some things are more important than asserting your rights.
If you are obsessed with your own legacy –with your own name – your own family – then you will fade into obscurity.
But if you seek the face of God – if your quest is to know God, and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent, then as you persevere in that quest, you will receive that imperishable name that Jesus has received from his Father.
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