Key decisions are like the juncture of a railroad track. Where it branches is a matter of inches, but at the end the two lines can be a continent apart.
The household intrigue continues in Genesis 27. Rebekah hears what Esau had said about killing his brother for taking the birthright. She warns Jacob that he will need to lay low for a while. Her advice is as follows: “Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away” (Gen 27:43-44). Do you have any idea how long those “few days” became? She should have said “a few decades” instead! It’s likely Jacob never saw his mother alive again. What a solemn reminder that we are free to make decisions in life, but we aren’t free to determine the consequences of those decisions. How important to consider this when making choices. There is a castle on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland called Culzean, home of the Scottish clan Kennedy from 1777 until 1945. My wife and I visited the beautiful grounds and the imposing castle on our honeymoon. Although the castle is a masterpiece designed by the famous architect, Robert Adam, and although the view across the Firth of Clyde is breathtaking, and the surrounding tropical gardens magnificent, I was most impressed by the words of the family motto engraved over the entry. It reads, Avise la fin. In English, it means “Consider the end.” Jacob and Esau were like two water drops landing not far apart in the Swiss Alps, with one flowing north into the placid Rhine river and ending in the cold North Sea, while the other joins the turbulent Rhone and ends in the balmy Mediterranean. Although a sovereign God was at work, the men made their own choices. Jacob is featured in Hebrews 11, the faith chapter; poor Esau doesn’t make it until the sad warning about him in chapter 12.