Was Esav’s kiss genuine?

Genesis 32:30 (31 Heb.) – 33:5

But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.

(Gen. 33:4 NIV)

Was Esav’s kiss genuine?

The Hebrew text shows a slightly different feature in this instance. The Hebrew word translated as “and kissed him” – vayishkahu וישקהו – has a small dot over each letter. The famous medieval commentator Rashi explains that when these kinds of dots are over a word it is a sign that the word must be interpreted in a special way. If there are more letters than dots, the word is interpreted as it is, but if there are more dots than letters, the letters under the dots count as a separate word from the one that is already there. In this text, the amount of dots and letter coincide and therefore, there are different interpretation opinions among the rabbis. Some say that the word must be interpreted as if it didn’t exist, that is, that Esav’s kiss was fictitious. Others think that it must be understood the other way around, that even if Esav hated Yaakov, he had compassion in that moment and that the kiss was really heartfelt.

Personally, I believe we must interpret the text according to the last opinion. Within Esav, there was both good and bad, as in anyone. In the moment of this encounter, the Eternal activated the positive emotions he had toward his brother and the miracle of that wonderful encounter between both just happened. This came as a result of the struggle that our father Yaakov had the night before. After having humbling himself and acknowledged his fault, he was lifted up and blessed. The Eternal took control of the situation and produced this divine encounter between them. Yaakov acknowledges that not only did he see the face of the Almighty in the angel that strove with him but also in the face of his brother who received him in such a wonderful way.

How great the Eternal is! He can change death into life. Certain death for Yaakov and his family was changed into life and peace. He who humbles before the Eternal will be exalted and see a radical change in his circumstances.

Yaakov’s experience is also a symbol that speaks of the death and resurrection of the Son of Man. He humbled himself to the greatest extent; he was hung and killed on the Roman execution stake. And due to that humble and obedience act, the Eternal rose him and lifted him up to the highest places, giving him a name that is above all names, so that he can now act as a governor of all creation in the Name of the Eternal.

May the Eternal help us humble ourselves before His powerful hand and experience those radical changes that we need to live a life in victory.

What happened to Yaakov in that fight?

Genesis 32:13 (14 Heb.) – 29 (30 Heb.)

And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."

(Gen. 32:24-28 ESV)

What happened to Yaakov in that fight?

At last Yaakov was left alone. That was what the Eternal wanted. He wanted to deal with him alone and He sent a heavenly messenger to wrestle with him. This is the final fight to prepare our father for the entry in the promised land. The fight with the angel is a summary of the entire struggle between Yaakov and the Eternal along his 97 years of life. Yaakov wanted to get things done his way and on his own strength, but the Eternal wanted to weaken his trust in himself so He could manifest His supernatural strength and do things His way. The Eternal wanted to take Yaakov to a breaking point in which he would acknowledge and accept that he had been an impersonator, a deceiver, as his brother Esav had said: “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times.” (27:36a NKJV)

When the angel noticed that he couldn’t fight the strength of Yaakov’s ego, he gave him a blow in the strongest part of the human body. So Yaakov was left handicapped not being able to trust his physical strength anymore. Then, in order to receive a blessing he had to say his name out loud. It was necessary that he admitted that his name was “one who supplants or replaces” which implies that there was something in him that was not good before the Eternal, because it meant that he would be able to recur to lies, tricks, deceit and theft in order to achieve material and spiritual benefits.

In that very moment Yaakov’s deceitful character was exposed to the light of that One who sees all, and Yaakov couldn’t but cry, broken, as it is written in Hosea 12:2, 3-4: “The LORD... will punish Jacob according to his ways; he will repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us” (ESV)

In that hurt the blessing and the victory were. Yaakov received a new name which implies a new way of being, a new identity. When one humbles oneself, one is also lifted up, and when our father Yaakov humbled himself as much as he could, the Eternal could finally rectify – make tikkun – of his character.

If He could do it with Yaakov at his 97 years of life, He can do it with us if we are humble and let Him mould us in liking of his great Model for men, the Son of Man.

May the Eternal take us to perfection,

Ketriel

How to do the Eternal’s will?

Genesis 30:28 – 31:16

Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, "Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth. And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you."

(Gen. 31:1-3 ESV)

How to do the Eternal’s will?

The wish of a righteous man is to do the will of the Eternal. His constant prayer is: “Not my will be done but Yours”. The righteous person doesn’t live for himself but for the Eternal’s purpose be fulfilled in his life.

The Eternal’s will has been revealed in the Torah. The patriarchs had the oral Torah together with prophetic revelation and they were guided through them, as it is written in Genesis 26:5: “because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." (ESV)

We have the written Torah, given through Moshe in Sinai and we have the books of the prophets, the Writings and the Apostolic Scriptures. We also have the oral torah and we have the Spirit of the Messiah that teaches us all things. So the Eternal has provided us with enough information and equipped us spiritually so that we can know what He wants us to do in order to please Him; and how we have to behave to live a righteous and sanctified life; and, also what we have to do so His will is done at all times.

A righteous man’s passion is to fulfill the Eternal’s purpose in his life. However, we don’t always know what the will of the Eternal is in specific situations.

The timing factor is also important regarding the fulfillment of the Eternal’s will. There are things that He wants to happen in our lives and that we do, but even if there are some things that are His will, it is not always time for them.

It is very important to do the Eternal’s dealings in His time. If we do His will but not in His time, then we are not fulfilling His will. There are many good intentions and purposes that have been delayed or aborted because of initiatives taken according to His will but not in His time. It is important that these two factors go together.

The Eternal’s will was that Yaakov went back to Kenaan. He revealed this in that dream Yaakov had when fleeing from his brother, “I will bring you back to this land” (28:15). But Yaakov didn’t know when the time for going back would be. His mother had promised to send him a message when Esav’s fury had calmed down, but that day never came. So Yaakov couldn’t make his decisions based on what his mother had told him.

When the departure time came, the Eternal created adverse situations in Lavan’s house. The text we are working with reveals that there were three signs sent to our father Yaakov to indicate him that it was time for him to go back to the land. The three signs were:

- Yaakov heard negative words from Lavan’s sons.

- Yaakov saw that Lavan didn’t have a favourable attitude toward him.

- HaShem spoke to Yaakov and told him that it was time to go back.

After twenty years in exile, the time for Yaakov to go back to his land, had come. The Eternal wanted this period of time to pass because the twenty years are a prophetic sign for the last exile of the Jews. The twenty years correspond to 2000 years, as it is also written in Hosea 6:1-2: “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.” (ESV) A day corresponds to a thousand years (Ps. 90:4; 2 Pet. 3:8). Two days correspond to 2000 years. The last Jewish exile will last 2000 years and then Yaakov will go back to his land.

Dear disciple of the Messiah, study and submit yourself to the Torah to know the general will of the Eternal for your life. Make your heart sensitive so it is guided by the Spirit of the Messiah that you received when you confessed Yeshua as your Lord. In that way you will fulfill the Eternal’s specific will for your life. Make your five spiritual senses sensitive to be guided by the Eternal in every moment, even in the most basic decisions in your day to day life. Walk in the Spirit and be guided by the Spirit,

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Rom. 8:14 ESV).

Grace and peace from the Almighty, our Father, and from Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord,

Ketriel

Were the mandrakes effective or not?

Genesis 30:14-27

Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

(Gen. 30:22 ESV)

Were the mandrakes effective or not?

Mandrakes – in Hebrew dudaim דודאים

– were considered efficient to help increase fertility. When Rachel saw Leah’s firstborn give her some mandrakes, she asked Leah to give them to her in exchange for a night with Yaakov. She believed that they might help her to be fertile and have children.

But we see that the Torah doesn’t say that the mandrakes made any effect in Rachel. Even if the Torah doesn’t show events in a successive way, it seems that in this case there was a period of time between the mandrakes episode and Rachel being healed from infertility.

Were the mandrakes effective or not?

No, they weren’t. The Torah doesn’t say that it was thanks to the mandrakes that Rachel was healed, but thanks to the Eternal who remembered her and listened to her.

But, can the Eternal forget anything so that He has to remember? No. This is an expression in the sacred Scriptures that indicates that there are moments when the Eternal, Who is outside His creation, considers, visits and intervenes in the life of an individual in a personal way.

The Eternal had remained passive regarding Rachel for years. She prayed a lot and for a long time without getting an answer. The Eternal opted to wait because He had a purpose. If the Eternal is quiet it is because He has a plan.

It is not good that a person gets what he wants immediately all the time. It is good that parents teach their children not to get all they want. It is good for the children to learn to wait for certain things because many times waiting produces positive traits in the soul. The modern culture of immediate and instant results creates characters with no patience and lacking inner strength to endure anything.

Yaakov worked hard for seven years before being able to marry the woman he loved. He didn’t suggest marrying first and working later, but he endured seven years of waiting in order to get what his heart yearned for. He is an example of an approved character who worked patiently in order to achieve long term goals. An immature person cannot wait but prefers a short term benefit even if it is smaller than a long term one. A mature person knows to deny receiving a short or mid-term benefit to achieve a bigger benefit on the long run.

HaShem wanted to produce something in Rachel’s character and that’s why He made her wait. And, eventually, He remembered her and listened to her prayers, pleads and tears that were kept in heaven until the proper time came.

Don’t think that the Eternal’s silence means He doesn’t listen to your prayers. If there is silence, there is a purpose for it. The Eternal is more interested in shaping your character than in giving you what you want. It is true that the Eternal’s plan was to give Rachel children but there were areas in Rachel’s character that needed some work and that’s why the Eternal preferred to wait with the answer so He could change her way of being before giving her children. What she was going to give of herself to her children became more valuable to the Eternal with the results from that period of silence from heaven.

May the Eternal grant you your heart’s desire in His time and His way,

Ketriel