Genesis 35:22-29

Now there were twelve sons of Jacob– 23 the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun; 24 the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; 25 and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali; 26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.

28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. 29 Isaac breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, an old man of ripe age; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

For all their differences, Jacob and Esau had one thing in common. They loved their father. No matter what had happened, they put all their differences aside for their father. Jacob finally came back to his father after all those years. At some point (could have been years more) Isaac died, and his sons gathered to him, and they buried him. There was no strife there. We can’t say for sure that they go along perfectly afterwards, but sometimes it takes a tragedy to make people come together and put aside their differences. And hopefully it stays that way. It doesn’t always stay that way, but it has that potential.

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