BREAK LOOSE & BE FREE

THERE IS GRACE AND MERCY FOR YOU TO BE FREE

Have ever ever read Isaac, Jacob and Esau’s blessing story? Yeah, me too. You know, Sunday school, youth fellowship, Sunday service sermons, the whole works. Today, actually, yesterday, I read the story again and something different happened to me. I can’t tell if it’s the translation or the day or being older, or perhaps the fact that this time I was really paying attention, but it moved me deeply.

First of all, talk about family drama, how dysfunctional and broken is this family? I don’t write that as a criticism or pointing fingers, a few years ago I began making the effort to read the scriptures as they are and stop assuming that somehow the characters in these storied are not as fully human as you and I are and once I let go of that, I can get a glimpse of how truly chaotic, dark and real the history of the human story is.

If you don’t know the story, here’s a blurb. Isaac and Rebecca have twin sons, who were born about twenty years after they were married because Rebecka was barren. It seems that it was a difficult pregnancy because the boys kept “fighting” even while they were still in the womb. Esau was born first, and then Jacob, but Jacob was right behind him with his fist latched on to Esau’s heel. As they grew, Isaac decided Esau’s was his favourite son because he loved his game meat and Rebecka decided Jacob was her favourite son because he had smooth skin and lived in the tents -(no idea what that means). Before we get to this chapter of the story, Esau carelessly sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup. You read that right. He sacrificed his birthright because he was hungry.

When you break loose (from your hatred and anger) you will tear his yoke off your neck

Back to the story. By this time Isaac is old and ready to bless the oldest son, Esau but Rebecka hears about this and decides that Jacob should go and receive the blessing instead so together they came up with a plan and deceived Issac into blessing Jacob instead of Esau. When Esau find out about this, he is angry, enraged even to the point that he decided he would kill his brother. I have always seen the range and the anger and the bitterness but this time, I also see the pain, hurt and perhaps regret that fuelled his range. For example, I can imagine him realising the foolishness of selling his birthright, and that he was holding on to to this blessing of his father as something to redeem his err. And so he asks his father twice “find” a blessing for him as well. You can feel the desperation, the pain, the despair and anguish that comes with this question.

“Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

And Issac basically tells hime “what’s done is done” and it’s irrevocable. But then he spoke some strange words to him.

“You you will live by your sword and serve your brother; however when you break loose of your anger and hatred, you will tear his yoke off your neck and you will be free of him” (paraphrased)

Stun Your Readers

YOU will tear his yoke off your neck.

This deeply strange and bizarre blessing resonates deeply with me. What does it mean for Esau to break loose of his anger and hatred? What does it mean that he will tear the yoke off his neck and be free from his brother? It is interesting to observe that somehow the ball seems to be in Esau’s court. When you break loose. You will tear his yoke off your neck. I don’t know about you but this pushes me to reflect on how much power and influence I have been given over situations and circumstances. Even those cause by my hand, the consequences that come as a result of my own choices that somehow there is grace and mercy from God to break loose and be free.