God’s Mercy Endures Forever

Proper 12 - Year A

Thank God, “what goes around, comes around.” God demonstrates mercy by allowing us to repeat the same mistake over and over. When we fail to learn from repetition, God allows us to experience the pain we cause others by our mistakes. So, ‘what goes around, comes around’ is one of God’s methods for helping us to learn from our mistakes. God demonstrated this mercy to Jacob. God gave Jacob opportunities to learn from his mistakes (Genesis 25:19 - 33:17.)

Jacob abused his brother Esau. The abuse began in their mother’s womb and continued into their old age. The in utero struggles of these fraternal twins was so intense their mother Rebecca said during her pregnancy, "if it is going to be this way, let me die!” (Genesis 25:20) Isaac and Rebecca did the best they could to raise their warring twins. Over time they became enmeshed in the cycle of abuse. The parents separated the boys. Instead of placing both boys with the males in the tribe after they were weaned, Esau was placed with the males who herded and hunted, and Jacob was placed with the males who guarded and guided the encampment’s daily activities. The twins’ unrelenting struggles coupled with their separation, resulted in the parents choosing sides. The Bible says, “Isaac loved Esau…, but Rebekah loved Jacob”(Genesis 25:28.) Jacob was the aggressor and Esau the victim in all these struggles. When Esau returned to the encampment after a hunting trip, Jacob denied him access to food and water until Esau gave up his birthright. Esau weighed his options: death from dehydration and hunger, or surrender the right to lead the tribe allotted to first born sons. Esau chose life over power. Years later, with help from his mother, Jacob tricked their elderly and blind father into willing the tribe’s assets to him. When this betrayal was discovered, Esau begged Isaac for a portion of the tribe’s wealth, but this was impossible.  Everything (herds, wine, wives, and slaves) had been given to Jacob.  Powerless and penniless, Esau resolved to kill Jacob.

Rebecca and Isaac, to avert disaster, separated their warring twins again.  Esau was sent to the tribe of Ishmael, Isaac’s brother, to find a wife and start a family. Jacob was sent to the tribe of Laban, Rebecca’s brother, to find a wife and start a family. Since Jacob had not learned from repeating his mistakes, God used Jacob’s time with Laban to inflict the suffering he had caused others onto him. God demonstrated mercy by giving Jacob “a taste of his own medicine.” God allowed “what goes around to come around,” to teach Jacob a lesson. Laban repeatedly abused Jacob. As soon as Jacob arrived, he fell in love Rachael, Laban’s younger daughter.  Laban struck a deal with the smitten Jacob that required him to work 7 years to pay the bride price for Rachael. At the close of the 7th year, Laban held a wedding feast. On the wedding night Laban sent Leah, Rachael’s older sister into the nuptial tent. Lots of wine must have been served and consumed because Jacob did not realize he had ‘slept with' Leah until the morning. Laban tricked Jacob into consummating a marriage with the wrong sister. When Jacob confronted Laban, Laban negotiated a new deal. For a mere 7 years more work, Jacob would be permitted to marry Rachael. Jacob needed (so God mercifully granted him,) 14 years of experiencing the abuse he inflicted on others to learn his own lesson.

In Genesis chapters 32 & 33, it is clear that Jacob’s unrelenting abuse of Esau and Laban’s unrelenting abuse of Jacob had transformed Jacob.   Jacob made amends with Esau, paying reparations that far exceeded the value of what Esau would have inherited from Isaac. For the first time in their lives, the twins go their separate ways in peace.

In Psalm 105:8 we read, “God is always mindful of God’s covenant.”  God’s mercy endures forever.  God’s kingdom might, at first glance, seem insignificant, but like yeast in bread dough it can leaven a whole life. We lose sight of God’s mercy as we cope with the threats and hardships inflicted on us, but God never loses sight of us. We forget our need for God as we work to defend ourselves or dominate adversaries, but God always remembers God’s need for us. Because God’s mercy endures forever, God allows “what goes around to come around.” God gives us a “taste of our own medicine.”  God lets us repeat our mistakes, and when that fails to teach us, God allows us to endure the suffering we inflict on others. Keep this in mind when you worry about the problems in your life, your family, our country, and this world. God being a patient and compassionate teacher, might be allowing you to experience the same difficulties over and over to give you opportunities to confess your mistakes, amend your behavior, and make reparations? Like a mustard seed, God’s mercy produces great good. Like yeast in dough, God’s mercy is capable of leavening your life.  God’s mercy is great and endures forever.