The cartoon character, Charlie Brown, once said, “Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.” That statement rings true for Jacob. He lived much of his life as a swindling, con man. Nearly all of Jacob’s relationships involved conflict. No conflict was more profound than the sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau.

The cartoon character, Charlie Brown, once said, “Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.”

These brothers hated one another in differing ways. Jacob expressed his pride and rivalry against Esau with mental warfare, needling him for his birthright and scheming with his mother to steal his blessing. Esau responded to his betrayal with boisterous hatred and threats. Esau appeared to show no regard for the prophecy that he would, one day, serve his younger brother. To make matters worse, their parents, Isaac and Rebekah, fed the fire of their rivalry.

As grown men, they met in what could have resulted in the death of rivals. Both brothers, twins, desired to dominate the other. One felt entitled by birth; the other felt entitled because he bartered, swindled, and outwitted the other. Betrayal and treachery nearly collided with death because of the sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau. Nearly.

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