After 20 years, the twins Jacob and Esau come face to face again. A lot has happened in the interim: Jacob is now "Israel," with two wives, two concubines, eleven sons, a daughter, and many servants and animals. He has indeed been blessed by God, and is the heir of the covenant promise made by God with their grandfather Abraham.
Returning to the promised land as God had directed him, Israel first has to go through Esau. He is obviously still troubled by this prospect, even after having split his possessions into two companies and sending lavish gifts ahead of him for his brother. Now, as he saw Esau, Israel bows to the ground seven times before him.
Esau, in contrast, comes at his brother in a rush. OK, that might seem scary, especially when Esau is backed by 400 men! I imagine Esau picking up his younger brother in a bear hug (the Bible says "he embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him") and crying tears of joy at this reunion (the Bible says "they wept.") Awwww. I love a happy ending!
The rest of the chapter is spent detailing the brothers' meeting. Esau, in particular, seems interested in renewing their relationship. He wants to meet his sisters-in-law and their children. After initially trying to refuse, Esau accepts the many gifts of his brother. He then invites Israel to come with him to his home in Seir, but Israel has other plans. He convinces Esau to go on ahead, and they he goes in a different direction. The brothers will apparently remain distant.
This raises the question: How reconciled, truly, were Israel and Esau? We aren't told directly, and Bible scholars have different opinions. As I already told you I love happy endings, I like to think that all was forgiven and their relationship was very cordial. However, there are some important clues in this story of thie reunion: there is no evidence of table fellowship being shared between the brothers, and Israel still seems very much on his guard. At the very least, trust seems to be missing.
P.S. Apparently Israel did not learn from his experience the dysfunction of picking a favorite among your kids. Imagine being one of his children and realizing that, in the face of danger, your father put his maids and their sons in front, followed by his less-favorite wife Leah and her seven children, with his beloved Rachel and the "favorite" Joseph bringing up the rear.
The seeds of disharmony in that family were sown long before ambitious dreams and a colorful coat.
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