Genesis 32:24–32

I read recently about a man who had passed away and what they wanted the funeral parlor to do with the body. You see this man was a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and this is how the family wanted him remembered. So they told the funeral director that instead of placing him in a coffin like you would a normal person that they wanted the man placed on a recliner, with a television playing Pittsburgh Steelers highlights. Next to him there was to be a table with an open can of beer and a package of cigarettes. This is how his family remembered him and this is how the family wanted the rest of his friends and loved ones to remember him. This was the lasting impression that was imprinted on the minds of people who knew him.

The question that I have for you today is a simple one: How do you want people to remember you? One day all of us are going to die, and how would you want people to remember you? Some of us might die soon and some of us might not die for a while, and we have all heard that statement about lasting impressions. You see you don’t have to be dead for people to have a lasting impression that imprint on their mind about you. In our text that is what concerns Jacob so much about tomorrow.

It has been 20 years since he has last seen his brother, and the last things his brother remembers about him is that Jacob took his birthright and his blessing, and those are not things so easily forgotten, are they?

We have heard that phrase that time heals all wounds, but in Jacob’s case he isn’t so sure. He knows what he has done to his brother, he knows what it is like to be cheated now because he has spent 20 years working for a man who is just as deceitful as Jacob has been, maybe even worse. Let’s give Jacob the benefit of the doubt, he isn't all to blame here circumstances have played their way into this story. Maybe you can recall with me some of the moments that have triggered this moment in Jacob's life.

You might remember that life didn’t start out on the best of notes for Jacob. Here let’s take a quick look back at some of those events. First there was the time that he spent with his brother in his mother’s womb. I don’t know if many mothers who have had twins have had the same experience that Rebecca had with Jacob and Esau, because when they were in her womb they jostled about quite a bit. As a matter of fact, maybe a better way of saying that they are jostling each other is to say that they are trying to crush one another. So from the very beginning, life is a struggle between Jacob and Esau.

To make matters worse, when they are born, because of their birth order, Isaac comes up with this wonderful idea of how to keep sibling rivalry to a minimum by picking Esau as his favorite son. But don’t worry Rebecca isn’t above such vices, because she has her favorite too.

Then there is that incident with the stew and birthright. Allow me to play the devil’s advocate, Jacob isn’t all to blame here. The writer of Hebrews has this to say about Esau and his handling of the situation, “lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.” Esau isn’t completely innocent he is just as much to blame for what transpired between the stew and the birthright.