“Esau ran to meet him, he embraced him, flung himself upon his neck, and kissed him. And they wept.” [Genesis 33:4]
Running, kissing, and weeping, form dramatic moments throughout Jacob’s story. When he first met his true love Rachel, Jacob kissed her and wept, and she ran to tell her family what had happened.
The quote above shows Esau and Jacob’s reuniting after decades apart. The last time we knew about their feelings for each other Esau wanted to murder Jacob and Jacob had fled for his life.
There are some easy to read lessons here: time heals all wounds and the things that we feel about our siblings when we are young adults may change as we age and gain experience in the world.
We could also learn that problems that keep us apart for years, or decades, might best be overcome by earlier attempts at reconciliation. Esau and Jacob may be weeping for time lost – time that could have been spent taking joy in each other instead of being so divided from one another.
Wishing everyone more opportunities for connecting,