“Having everything”
I have enough. —Genesis 33:9
Read Genesis 33:9-15
Jacob’s meeting with Esau went well. There was no trace of hatred noticeable from Esau’s side as Jacob humbly greeted his brother. They exchanged greetings and gifts, one trying to out-do the other. Esau could say, “I have enough.” He did not need his brother’s gifts because he had become a rich and mighty man who had earned the respect of his peers. Yet, he was not in favour with God. Jacob too had received many temporal blessings. But he could say, “I have everything.” The Hebrew of verse 11 expresses this. He had received wealth as well as God’s blessing of grace. And so the two brothers departed in peace. Jacob did not move to a city, but pitched his tent on a piece of land he had purchased. There he raised an altar unto the God of Israel, the mighty, covenant keeping God. Jacob’s safety lay in God’s electing love, for He had said, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Rom. 9:13).
Do you ever wonder if you are one of the elect? Let us be attentive to the voice of the Lord in His Word with the prayer that He will open our understanding. Does He say, “Oh, come, all that are elect, to the waters.” Absolutely not! That is the voice of Satan who wants people to despair, beginning precisely where the Lord does not. The Lord says, “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters” (Is. 55:1). The Lord calls and invites sinners and promises that whoever believes on Him shall not be cast out (John 7:38). The Lord requires faith, and to that end He sends His Spirit. What is impossible with man is possible with God.
Why did Jacob say, “I have everything”?
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