Rocky Road Devotions: Faith Seasoned Wisdom

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom. He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban, and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’” After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!” Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups. He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.” Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’” Genesis 32:3-12

To learn from your mistakes is the essential quality of wisdom. To apply faith to wisdom is to serve God above all. Jacob had a rocky, selfish start to life. It started in his mother’s womb, when he and his twin brother, Esau, had a daily wrestling match. As they were born, Esau was first out, but Jacob was hot on his heels, actually grabbing his brother’s foot. It was sibling rivalry with the first breath.

The story of their lives in their father Isaac’s home was contentious, to say the least. Jacob’s selfish behavior divided his mother and dad, and made an enemy of his twin brother. Esau was so angry with his brother’s treacherous ways, Jacob had to leave home and go live with their uncle Laban at a safe distance. Esau swore he’d kill his twin if ever they met again.

Fast forward twenty years…Jacob is much wiser, and is on his way home to reconcile with his family. He has no clue as to Esau’s mindset…will his brother make good on his vengeance threat? Will it end in calamity? Jacob is wise at this point, dividing his wives and children into two camps, hoping to minimize losses of life and property, if Esau is still bent on Jacob’s death. But a new dimension has foraged its’ way into Jacob’s life and thinking – faith! The night before he was to face Esau, he met face-to-face with God’s angel, and the outcome was Jacob’s commitment to serve God, and live by faith, even if it meant giving up everything he'd gained, or even his own life.

What Jacob had learned was what Jesus told Peter hundreds of years later – swords, be they steel or the treachery of human selfishness, may work for awhile, but they have little place in the heart of God. It is faith that wins.[1]

Seasoning the wisdom of learned mistakes and rocky roads, with faith God has given, is the mark of a life changed and usable in God’s Kingdom. It took Jacob decades of hard lessons to shed his clever ways in favor of God’s clear kindness…the deep faith of the unashamed!

For You Today

This world will afford you many opportunities to follow both Esau and Jacob’s early mistakes and sins…greed, treachery, revenge, and power. In the end, those things only produce pain and regret, whether you wind up in jail, or residing in a mansion. It’s all loss in Heaven’s record books. The other, wiser choice is to season whatever you have learned with faith to do what the prophet Micah wrote: do what is right, love mercy, walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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