What changed from the time Jacob purchased the birthright to the time he wrestled with the "man?" He was persistent in seeking the Blessing over all. He was alone with the "man," and he was alone when he was sent away to marry a covenantally compatible wife from his mother's family. But whether it was using intelligent negotiation with his twin brother or wrestling with the "man," he had one thing on his mind - the blessing of God. Not the blessing of his father, not the blessing of Laban, not the blessing of anyone in Canaan. Certainly not the blessing of Esau.
Yet, Jacob is accused of selfishness for seeking God's blessing. So what blessing was he supposed to seek? People, family, Canaanites? You can't live without blessing, and you either live by faith in God's blessing, or you live by faith in something or someone else. There is no such thing as some perfectly pristine state of unselfishness, as if Jacob could be some sort of self-denying robot, incapable of thinking of himself. Is that what Christians think is holiness? Selfless to the point of denying that they even need the blessing and grace of God? What perversity is that?
Jacob was good because he sought God's blessing instead of man's, not because he was some automaton of a creature who is so perfect he needs not God. We would do well to follow his example.
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