Jacob and Esau
by David Lipscomb
The treatment of Esau and Joseph was sinful. It was done in a wrong spirit and for a wicked purpose. Jacob and the brethren of Joseph all suffered intensely for the wrongs they did.
- Jacob suffered in the exile from his family and the fear and dread of meeting Esau, and the similar things he endured from Laban and his sons.
- The brothers of Joseph suffered terribly for their sins, as may be seen in the account of his being made known to them in Egypt.
It would be difficult to conceive of a greater punishment than they endured. While they sinned, God overruled their sins to work out his own purposes and ends. He brought both Jacob and the brothers of Joseph to repentance and in their repentance they found a blessing.
Both Esau and Joseph were disciplined by the wrong they endured. Joseph accepting it in a proper spirit, it brought good to him. He was without doubt unduly puffed up with his importance, and God, through His discipline, took it out of him and made him a true and humble servant of God, anxious to return good for the evil his blessing in spite of his wrong, and Joseph, through the wrong of his brothers, was schooled for his work.