Please read Genesis 32
Jacob's name means "supplanter"
"trickster" or "deceiver." His early life story provides a
litany of deception episodes. He tried to pull the wool (oh my, the puns that
could follow!) over the eyes of his father, his brother, his father-in-law. But
he got his! Oh yes, he did. The trickster got tricked. The deceiver was
deceived. Now, he camps out by the river, conniving ways to squelch the wrath
of the one he supplanted. His guilt-ridden idea? Try to heal the rift and
smooth the torrent caused 20 years earlier by buying Esau's forgiveness.
Look at the cost... Jacob's appeasement
gifts to Esau - Gen 32: 14-16
(Current market values of the cattle Jacob
offered to Esau to save his neck)
220 Goats: $22,000
220 Sheep: $22,000
30 Camels: $21,000 plus $14,000 (for 20
colts)
10 Bulls: $40,000
30 Donkeys: $18,000
Total cost: $137,000
Your deception of others to gain an
advantage may not seem like a big deal at the time of the crime.
However, the resulting guilt cannot have a
price tag attached to it. And when you do try to appease those whom you have
wronged, the cost is multiplied many times more than you could ever have calculated.
It would be much better to just be fair, just, honest and
do the right thing.
