Genesis 32:3-5. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: and I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
It has been judged by some that Jacob, in sending such a message to Esau, acted unworthily and unbelievingly; but I think we are not called upon to censure the servants of God in points wherein they are not condemned in Scripture. The elder brother, according to all Eastern customs, was the lord of the family, and Jacob had so grossly injured Esau that it well became him to walk very humbly and to abound in courtesy towards him. Besides, I hope we shall never imagine that the highest faith is inconsistent with the greatest prudence, and that we shall never forget that there is such a book in the Bible as the Book of Proverbs, which contains counsels of wisdom for daily life. That Book of Proverbs is placed not far from the Song of Solomon, which treats of high spiritual communion, as if to teach us that the next-door neighbour to the wisdom that cometh from above which walks with God, is that prudence which God gives to his servants for their dealings with men. He that walks with God will not be a fool, for God is the source of all wisdom, and the man who walks with him will learn wisdom from him.
Genesis 32:3-5. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: and I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
It has been judged by some that Jacob, in sending such a message to Esau, acted unworthily and unbelievingly; but I think we are not called upon to censure the servants of God in points wherein they are not condemned in Scripture. The elder brother, according to all Eastern customs, was the lord of the family, and Jacob had so grossly injured Esau that it well became him to walk very humbly and to abound in courtesy towards him. Besides, I hope we shall never imagine that the highest faith is inconsistent with the greatest prudence, and that we shall never forget that there is such a book in the Bible as the Book of Proverbs, which contains counsels of wisdom for daily life. That Book of Proverbs is placed not far from the Song of Solomon, which treats of high spiritual communion, as if to teach us that the next-door neighbour to the wisdom that cometh from above which walks with God, is that prudence which God gives to his servants for their dealings with men. He that walks with God will not be a fool, for God is the source of all wisdom, and the man who walks with him will learn wisdom from him.