I was listening to the September broadcasting, where David Splain talks about how Jacob met with Esau. And said:
David Splain: How did Jacob react? Did he try to go “tit for tat”? Did he try to show how important and prominent he had become? With all of the blessings he’s received? Did he re-open old wounds? Did he argue with his brother? Did he say: You know, I was right all along and you Esau, you’ve been wrong? Did he demand an apology? No. There was a lot that Jacob could have bragged about, no question about that. There was no doubt that Jacob had Jehovah’s blessing. […] Jacob settled any lingering differences not with his fists, not with a bragging tongue, not with a weapon, but humbly. Like a real man. Like a spiritual man.
Obviously, he is trying to make a point about how to settle differences between brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, the story he is portraying is not what the bible reports.
Gen 32:6 In time the messengers returned to Jacob, saying: “We met your brother Eʹsau, and he is now on his way to meet you, and there are 400 men with him.” 7 And Jacob became very frightened and anxious. So he divided the people who were with him, as well as the flocks, the cattle, and the camels, into two camps. 8 He said: “If Eʹsau attacks the one camp, then the other camp will be able to escape.”
Jacob was scared. His brother was back with a small army and his camp would not have been able to hold its ground. He was so scared that he broke his camp in two, and moved them by priority: His servants at the front, so, if they died, well, he still would've had Le’ah and her kids! And if they died as well? then... he had Rachel and Joseph way at the back.
Are these the actions of a holy man who was convinced he had the blessing of Jehovah? Really?
These brothers read the bible and make it say things like they want to hear it. For example, at about 5 minutes in, he said about Jacob that he had 11 sons:
11 sons in 7 years? How is that possible? Easy when you remember that Jacob has 2 wives and 2 concubines, or secondary wives.
Really? Secondary wives? He had two
wives already. As he had married Leah first, Rachel was the Secondary wife (even if she was first in Jacob's heart). As for the concubines, they were nothing more than mistresses that were living
in house.
Of course, to admit that the man of old were not satisfied sexually with just one woman didn't sound too good, so they say: Secondary Wives.
Did not Abraham get rid of Hagar (a concubine) by sending her out into the wilderness with her son Ishmael? She obviously didn’t get the “secondary wife” treatment!