Good to Be Afflicted
“And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” (Genesis 33:5)
David sings, “It was good for me that I have been afflicted.” (Psalm 119:71) And what good it did Jacob! The wheeler and dealer, the deceptive and deceitful Jacob begins to sing a different tune. No longer does he has a “Frank Sinatra” faith, doing it his way. No, Jacob has a humility built upon the free grace of God. Where do we see that in our passage?
First, notice how Jacob twice refers to God’s gracious provision (33:5, 11). These aren’t mere platitudes, for Jacob says the same when alone with God earlier (32:10). His life from this point forward would be defined as one receiving from God that which he did not earn. God provided for Jacob according to His promises, not Jacob’s performance, not Jacob’s plotting, not Jacob’s planning. Jacob does not deserve the least amount of kindness, but God has been pleased to give it freely according to His Covenant of Grace. Isn’t this a far different man who stole a birth right with some stew? Who conned his father to steal his brother’s blessing? A man who lives by God’s grace is willing to wait for God’s grace, and such a man is Jacob.
Second, Jacob’s demeanor toward Esau has vastly changed. Yes, Jacob feared Esau, but we should not allow Jacob’s fear to overshadow the Spirit’s work in his life. What work are we referring to? The work of humility (Phil. 2:1-3). Consistently, Jacob refers to Esau as “lord” and himself as “servant.” He urges gifts on Esau when he had the opportunity to take them back. This is a far cry from the Jacob who entered into Laban’s service twenty years prior. Though he knew the promise that “the older would serve the younger,” he did not reign over Esau as a tyrant nor exert his authority. He humbled himself. Could it be that we have become so accustomed to Jacob as the deceiver that we overlook the work of grace in his life? I wonder how many others we have treated the same way.
Reader, what of the grace of God in your own life? Can you sing with David: “It was good for me that I was afflicted”? Have you learned through your trials and tribulations to look only to the gracious hand of our God? Has His grace humbled you before Him and before others?
