Adventures in Odyssey

Bernard Walton: Right on time. Hello, Erica.

Erica: I'm ready. Tell me the rest of the Jacob and Esau story.

Bernard Walton: Are you sure? The way you ran up, I was beginning to think you lost interest. Never mind. All right, where were we?

Erica: It all started when Jacob and Esau were born.

Guest (Male): Two nations struggle in your womb. Two people shall be separated from your body. One will be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.

Jacob: That's right. You've been out all day. You must be very hungry.

Esau: Starved! Give me some stew.

Jacob: I don't think so.

Esau: What do you want?

Jacob: I want your birthright.

Erica: What was he, nuts?

Rebekah: So Esau will get the blessing of the firstborn, Jacob, unless we act quickly.

Isaac: Esau, is that you?

Jacob: Yes, father. It is Esau.

Esau: Jacob!

Erica: Oh yeah, now I remember.

Bernard Walton: So Jacob got to Haran? Yes, he did. Almost immediately, he ran into the first of God's blessings for him at a well.

Jacob: Hello.

Guest (Male): Hello.

Jacob: Those are fine-looking sheep and goats.

Guest (Male): Thank you.

Jacob: What is this place?

Guest (Male): This is the well of Haran.

Jacob: Haran! Do you know a fellow named Laban, son of Nahor?

Guest (Male): Yes, we know him.

Jacob: How is he?

Guest (Male): He is well and prosperous. Here comes one of his flocks now.

Jacob: It's still the middle of the day, not time for the sheep to be gathered in for the night.

Guest (Male): So?

Jacob: Why aren't you watering your herds?

Guest (Male): Because in this land, we don't begin watering the flocks until all the shepherds and herds are here.

Rachel: Who are you?

Jacob: I am Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebekah. Your father is my uncle. We are cousins.

Rachel: Cousins? Jacob! I must tell father.

Jacob: What about your sheep?

Rachel: I'll watch them. Go!

Bernard Walton: Rachel ran back and got her father, who ran back and greeted Jacob warmly.

Erica: People sure did a lot of running back then.

Bernard Walton: They had to. Their cars were in the shop. I'm kidding, Erica. They didn't have any cars.

Erica: I know, Mr. Walton. I'm not that dumb.

Bernard Walton: Laban introduced him to the rest of the family, including his oldest daughter, Leah, and they all accepted him right into the family.

Erica: Sounds like Jacob is going to live happily ever after.

Bernard Walton: I wouldn't be too sure about that. What goes around comes around, and Jacob was just about to find that out.

Erica: How?

Bernard Walton: After he'd been living there for about a month, Laban spoke with him.

Laban: Jacob, you're the best shepherd and herdsman I've ever seen. Since you've been here, my flocks have never looked better. I'm glad you're here.

Jacob: I'm grateful you took me in, Uncle Laban.

Laban: You're my flesh and blood, but it isn't good for you to work for nothing. You should name your wages.

Jacob: That's very generous of you, uncle, but I don't need anything.

Laban: I insist. There must be something you want.

Jacob: There is one thing.

Laban: I knew it. What do you say to every third lamb that is born and every third goat kid?

Jacob: I don't want animals.

Laban: Land is your desire? How does the range to the south strike you?

Jacob: It strikes me fine, but I don't want land either.

Laban: No animals or land? What's left? Speak up, come on.

Jacob: I'd like to have Rachel for my wife. I'm willing to work for her seven years in exchange for her hand in marriage. What do you say, uncle?

Laban: Wonderful! I'd much rather give Rachel to family than to some stranger. I agree.

Erica: Seven years? That's a long time.

Bernard Walton: Not to Jacob. He loved Rachel so much that it seemed like just a few days.

Erica: Wait a minute. Esau married four women, and now Jacob wants to marry his cousin? Isn't that kind of weird?

Bernard Walton: The customs were different back then. Those things weren't looked down on like they are now. Besides, when it came time for Jacob to marry Rachel, that's when the real trouble started.

Erica: Why?

Bernard Walton: In those days, weddings used to last a week or more. Everyone was invited, and everyone drank a lot of wine. When Jacob finally came to his senses, he discovered that instead of Rachel, he was married to Leah.

Jacob: Leah! What are you doing in my tent?

Leah: I belong here, Jacob. I am your wife.

Guest (Male): The adventure continues with The Last Chance Detectives. The book series that you've known and loved, The Last Chance Detectives, is back with new adventures to tap into the imagination of your kids. Mike, Winnie, Ben, and Spence are always up for a good adventure, not only working to solve mysteries, but teaching great values like teamwork and how a little faith goes a long way. The Last Chance Detectives, it's available now at LastChanceDetectives.com.

Erica: Okay, Erica is confused. How did Jacob end up married to Leah, and what happened to Rachel?

Bernard Walton: That's just what Jacob wanted to know.

Jacob: How did I end up married to Leah, and what happened to Rachel? Laban, why have you tricked me this way?

Laban: It is not our custom to marry off the younger daughter before the older one.

Jacob: But I don't want Leah. I want Rachel.

Laban: You can have her. Complete the full week of the marriage ceremony with Leah, and I will give you Rachel to marry also if you stay and work for another seven years.

Jacob: Another seven years?

Erica: Another seven years? Did he do it?

Bernard Walton: As a matter of fact, he did.

Erica: Why?

Bernard Walton: He loved Rachel.

Erica: Now that's what I call love. So Jacob ended up with two wives?

Bernard Walton: Yes, but he loved Rachel more than Leah.

Erica: Poor Leah.

Bernard Walton: God felt that way too because he blessed her, and she had a baby, a son they named Ruben.

Erica: That's nice.

Bernard Walton: Actually, that was only the beginning. In the years to come, Jacob's family grew and grew. After Ruben, there was Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and finally a girl, Dinah.

Erica: 11 children?

Bernard Walton: You've been counting. Yes, and none of them were Rachel's.

Erica: None?

Bernard Walton: She was very upset about it. So upset she prayed to God, and God heard her because she finally had a very special son named Joseph. But that's a whole other story. Anyway, after Joseph was born, Jacob went to talk to Laban.

Jacob: Laban, my seven years of servitude are up. I've been here 14 years now. I want to take my wives and children home to Canaan.

Laban: Jacob, please stay. An advisor told me that you were the cause of all my blessings.

Jacob: That may be.

Laban: If you stay, I'll increase your wages.

Jacob: Laban, I have served you well, and the Lord God has blessed you because of me. But now I need to be on my own and provide for my family, not yours.

Laban: Please, don't go. I'll do anything you want if you'll just stay. Please, name your price.

Jacob: I'll continue working for you if you give me all of the speckled or spotted goats and all of the black sheep. They will be my wages.

Laban: Why those goats and sheep?

Jacob: If you ever find a white sheep or goat in my flock, you'll know it was stolen, and vice versa.

Laban: Excellent.

Jacob: Also, grant that my sons can take my flock three days' distance from your camp.

Laban: Three days?

Jacob: That way there will never be a mix-up. You need not worry, Laban. I will stay here and personally tend your flock.

Laban: Shrewd, Jacob, very shrewd. Done.

Bernard Walton: So Jacob stayed on at Laban's for several more years. God gave Jacob special knowledge on how to increase his flocks, and after a few years, Jacob was very wealthy with many servants, camels, and donkeys, a fact that did not sit well with Laban or his sons.

Guest (Male): Father, Jacob has become rich off of you.

Guest (Male): His speckled flocks keep increasing and growing stronger while our pure sheep and goats decrease and get weaker.

Guest (Male): He owes everything to you.

Laban: I know, I know, but what can we do? Look, here comes young Ruben with more flocks. You, boy! What are you doing here?

Ruben: Watering my father's flocks.

Guest (Male): Who told you you could water them here?

Ruben: My father.

Guest (Male): Your father is wrong. Take these animals and get out of here.

Ruben: We've always watered them here before.

Guest (Male): Impudent child! Do as you're told or we'll do it for you.

Jacob: Hush now, Ruben. It's all right.

Ruben: Yes, father.

Jacob: You say that Laban did nothing to stop them?

Ruben: No, father.

Jacob: All right. Go to your mother and your aunt Rachel and tell them to meet me out in the field. Hurry.

Jacob: You see what has happened. Laban has turned against me, treating me badly, trying to cheat me. But the God of my fathers has still prospered me.

Leah: What should we do?

Jacob: God has spoken to me and told me to take us all back to Canaan. Will you go?

Rachel: We will go where you go.

Leah: Yes, there's nothing for us here. Our father has treated us like strangers as well. First he sold us to you, then he spent all of the money you paid for us. God has taken our father's wealth from him and now it belongs to us and our children. Do whatever God has told you to do.

Jacob: Very well. Go back to our camp and pack everything. We'll leave as soon as I can join you. And we won't tell Laban.

Erica: Did they get away?

Bernard Walton: Yes. Jacob waited until the busiest time of the year, shearing time.

Erica: That's when they cut all the wool off the sheep, right?

Bernard Walton: Right. And that's when Jacob joined his family and they took off, driving their flocks before them. Jacob thought with their three-day head start, they had a good chance of reaching safety before Laban ever knew they were going. But there was something Jacob didn't know.

Leah: Rachel?

Rachel: What?

Leah: I was just thinking about father.

Rachel: What about him?

Leah: What do you think his most prized possession is?

Rachel: Prized possession? How would I know? Take a guess. It certainly isn't us.

Leah: No. So what do you think it is?

Rachel: I suppose it would have to be the statues of his gods.

Leah: Good.

Rachel: Why good?

Leah: I just wanted to be sure I hurt him where he felt it most. Look.

Rachel: You took his gods?

Leah: Yes.

Rachel: Leah, how could you?

Leah: You said yourself that father has given us nothing. These statues are made of gold and we deserve them.

Rachel: Does Jacob know?

Leah: No, and I don't want him to. He doesn't believe in our father's gods and he'd make me return them. It's all right, Rachel. Father is so busy now, he'll never even notice they're gone.

Bernard Walton: But Leah was wrong.

Laban: Gather the men. We'll chase him down. I'll teach him to steal from me.

Bernard Walton: The chase was on and lasted for seven days, but finally Laban caught up with Jacob, and he was furious.

Laban: You have stolen my gods from me.

Jacob: No, I would not do such a thing.

Laban: Do you lie to me even now?

Jacob: I did not take them. Search the camp. If anything of yours is here, I'll give it back without question and the person who stole it shall die.

Erica: Die? Boy, Leah must have freaked.

Bernard Walton: If you mean she was scared, I'd say you're right. She got even more scared as Laban tore apart Jacob's tent, then Rachel's, then the servants', and found nothing. Finally, he came to Leah's tent.

Laban: Leah.

Leah: Father.

Laban: Is this how you greet me? Stand up.

Leah: I cannot, father. I ask your pardon. I am ill and unclean.

Laban: Search the tent.

Bernard Walton: So Laban and his men tore apart Leah's tent too and found nothing. By this time, Jacob was pretty upset.

Jacob: Well, what did you find? What is my crime? You've chased after me like I'm a dog and have searched through everything. Now put what I stole out here for all to see and decide whose it is.

Laban: I found nothing.

Jacob: Nothing. Nothing. And you wonder why I wanted to leave you.

Laban: I am sorry, Jacob. You're right. I have treated you badly. Come now, let us make an agreement.

Jacob: Agreement?

Laban: Yes. We'll set up a boundary to mark our lands so that you will stay in your territory and I will stay in mine.

Bernard Walton: They each agreed not to attack each other. Then Laban kissed his daughters and grandchildren and returned home.

Erica: Wait a minute, what about the idols? How did Leah get rid of them?

Bernard Walton: She didn't. She didn't keep sitting just because she was ill. She kept sitting because the idols were underneath her.

Erica: You're kidding. That's so obvious. Why didn't Laban just make her get up?

Bernard Walton: Ironically enough, it was against his religion to touch a woman who was sick. Also, it was Leah's way of showing disrespect for the idols.

Erica: Wow. I guess they got out of that fix.

Bernard Walton: Yeah, but as dishonest as Leah was, a worse fix was waiting for them. They were now headed into Esau's territory.

Erica: Uh-oh.

Bernard Walton: Yes, and you can be sure that right about this a certain birthright and stolen blessing were at the top of his thoughts.

Erica: Why didn't they just go around Esau's territory?

Bernard Walton: Jacob's flocks and herds were too big. He'd be noticed. So he decided to take the offensive.

Jacob: Zimran.

Zimran: Yes, master.

Jacob: Take a message to my brother Esau. Tell him, "Hello from Jacob. I have been living with Uncle Laban until recently, and now I own oxen, donkeys, sheep, and many servants. I have sent this message to inform you of my coming in hopes that you will be friendly to us and that we can live in peace."

Erica: I still think I would have tried sneaking around. That sounds pretty risky to me.

Bernard Walton: Jacob figured it was better to contact his brother and be friendly than get caught sneaking through.

Erica: Did it work?

Zimran: Master Jacob, Master Jacob!

Jacob: Zimran, did you deliver my message to Esau?

Zimran: Yes, master, just as you told me.

Jacob: What did he say?

Zimran: He is coming to meet you, and he is bringing with him an army of 400 men!

Guest (Male): In Adventures in Odyssey's 73rd album, 28 hours, Odyssey's favorite son is missing. Lives are at stake. Above all else, everyone wants to know what's going on. It's a jam-packed 28 hours in album 73 of Adventures in Odyssey, available now on the club, CD, and download. Learn more at AdventuresinOdyssey.com.

Guest (Female): Adventures in Odyssey album 72, The Long Road Home, answers important questions while creating new ones. Questions of faith lead Olivia to decide on her true friends. Family secrets set out to complicate life for the Melstners. Imaginary friends and mysterious maps are just the beginning of The Long Road Home, now on the Adventures in Odyssey club, CD, and download. Find out more at AdventuresinOdyssey.com.

Guest (Male): Want to contact us about the episodes you're hearing? Visit our website at AdventuresinOdyssey.com or talk to someone at Focus on the Family. Call 1-800-A-FAMILY, with a parent's permission of course. We always love hearing from you.

Erica: Esau was coming after Jacob with an army of 400 men?

Bernard Walton: Yeah.

Erica: What did Jacob do?

Bernard Walton: The only thing he could do. Try and protect himself.

Jacob: Zimran, divide the camp. Take the women and children back and put the flocks in front. That way if Esau attacks one camp, the other can escape.

Zimran: Yes, master.

Jacob: God of Abraham and Isaac, you told me to return to my family and my country. You said you would treat me well. I'm not worthy of the lovingkindness you have shown me again and again.

When I left home, I owned nothing but a walking stick, and now I have enough for two camps. Please save me from my brother Esau. He's coming to kill all of us, even the mothers with their children. You promised to treat me well and make my descendants like the sands on the shore, too numerous to count.

Zimran: Master, master, the camp is being divided.

Jacob: Good. Once that's done, prepare a gift for Esau. 220 goats, 220 sheep, 30 camels and their young, 50 head of cattle, and 30 donkeys. Drive them on ahead, each group separated by a distance. When you meet my brother, you say to him, "These are a present to Master Esau from your servant, Jacob."

Zimran: It shall be done, my lord.

Jacob: Help me, O God of my fathers. Help me.

Erica: So he resorted to begging and pleading?

Bernard Walton: No, Jacob was just trying to smooth things over with Esau before meeting him face to face.

Erica: Begging and pleading.

Bernard Walton: If you were Jacob, you'd beg and plead too. You'd also protect your family by moving them to a safer position across the Jordan River, which Jacob did.

Erica: Yeah, that makes sense.

Bernard Walton: Well, the next morning, the camp was awakened by what sounded like thunder, but was really the army of Esau!

Jacob: Quiet! Quiet now, all of you! We must go! Line up as I told you, quickly!

Zimran: Master, master! Esau and his men have pulled up. They're in position now to strike us and wipe us out.

Jacob: Quiet! I will go and meet him.

Rachel: No, Jacob! He'll kill you! Please don't go, my lord!

Jacob: I must. It will be all right. Zimran, stay with them. Keep them well back.

Zimran: Yes, master.

Bernard Walton: Jacob walked nervously out to meet his warrior brother, bowing low seven times as he went, and each time calling out his brother's praises.

Jacob: Esau, Lord of Edom! I bow before your greatness! Esau, Prince of Seir! I bow before your might! Esau, Champion Warrior! I bow before your skill in battle! Esau, Bold Hunter! I bow before your courage! Esau, Leader of Men! I bow before your wisdom! Esau, Loved by all! I bow before your compassion! Esau, my brother! I bow before your mercy!

Bernard Walton: He ended up right in front of Esau. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Esau slowly got down from his horse.

Jacob: Do with me as you will.

Esau: Jacob! My brother!

Jacob: Esau, Esau, my brother. I am sorry. So sorry.

Esau: No, no, Jacob. I was a fool, arrogant and rash. Let us put our past behind us, my brother, and live together in peace.

Jacob: Yes, please.

Esau: Who are all these people with you?

Jacob: My family and servants.

Esau: And the flocks I saw as I came?

Jacob: They are gifts for you.

Esau: So many. Oh brother, I have plenty. Keep what you have.

Jacob: No, please. If I have pleased you, accept them. It is so good to see your face again. It is like seeing the face of God because you have accepted me.

Esau: Oh, Jacob.

Jacob: God has blessed me, and I have more than I need. Please take them.

Esau: Very well. And now you must meet my family. Yes! Yes! And then, my brother, we will all go home.

Bernard Walton: So the lesson Esau taught Jacob was about forgiveness. And just like God promised, they became great nations. Jacob's descendants were the Israelites, God's chosen people. Esau's descendants were the Edomites, and some of them became kings of Israel. The most famous being a guy named Herod.

Erica: The one who tried to kill baby Jesus?

Bernard Walton: I'm glad you know that story at least.

Erica: I'm glad I know this one now, too. Thanks for telling it to me, Mr. Walton.

Bernard Walton: You're welcome, Erica. And I hope you and Haley end up like Esau and Jacob, friends. Just remember that God can heal even the worst of relationships between brothers and sisters. Meanwhile, you need to be patient and loving. And the next time Haley does something bad to you, short-sheet her bed.

Erica: Really?

Bernard Walton: No. She believes anything I tell her.

Chris: Romans 12, verse 10 says, "Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves." I think Jacob understood those ideas very well when he finally met up with Esau. One reason might be because Jacob's experience with Laban helped him understand just how Esau felt.

That's a good thing to remember if you're having problems with your brother or sister, or anybody for that matter. Like Jesus said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Well, that's all for now. If you ever want to write to us, we'd love to hear from you. Just send your card or letter to Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80995. Or in Canada, write to Box 9800, Vancouver, BC, V6B 4G3.

When you do, ask how you can get your own copy of today's episode. It's called "Two Brothers and Bernard." That address again is Odyssey, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80995. Adventures in Odyssey is a presentation of Focus on the Family. "Two Brothers and Bernard" was written and directed by Phil Lollar. Our production engineers were Dave Arnold and Bob Luttrell, and our executive producer was Chuck Bolte. I'm Chris, hoping you'll join us again next time for more Adventures in Odyssey.