Jacob Comes Home
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in accordance with the divine purpose concerning Jacob. Since the
brothers differed so greatly in regard to religious faith, it was better
for them to dwell apart.
Esau and Jacob both were free to walk in God’s commandments
and to receive His favor; but the two brothers had walked in different
ways, and their paths would continue to diverge more and more widely.
There was no arbitrary choice on the part of God by which Esau
was shut out from the blessings of salvation. There is no election
but one’s own by which any may perish. God has set forth in His
Word the conditions upon which every soul will be elected to eternal
life—obedience to His commandments through faith in Christ. God
has elected a character in harmony with His law, and anyone who shall
reach the standard of His requirement will have an entrance into the
kingdom of glory. As regards man’s final salvation, this is the only
election brought to view in the Word of God.
Every soul is elected who will work out his own salvation with fear
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and trembling, who will put on the armor and fight the good fight of
faith. He is elected who will watch unto prayer, search the Scriptures,
flee from temptation, have faith continually, and be obedient to every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. The provisions of
redemption are free to all; the results will be enjoyed by those who
have complied with the conditions.
Esau had despised the blessings of the covenant. By his own
deliberate choice he was separated from the people of God. Jacob had
chosen the inheritance of faith. He had endeavored to obtain it by craft,
treachery, and falsehood; but God had permitted his sin to work out its
correction. Jacob never swerved from his purpose or renounced his
choice. From that night of wrestling Jacob had come forth a different
man. Self-confidence had been uprooted. Henceforth, in place of craft
and deception, his life was marked by simplicity and truth. The baser
elements of character were consumed in the furnace fire; the true gold
was refined until the faith of Abraham and Isaac appeared undimmed
in Jacob.
The sin of Jacob and the train of events to which it led revealed its
bitter fruit in the character of his sons. These sons developed serious
faults. The results of polygamy were manifest in the household. This
terrible evil tends to dry up the springs of love, and its influence
weakens the most sacred ties. The jealousy of the several mothers had