We come to the end of our passage and we see Esau’s reaction to everything that is going on. He witnessed the blessing of Jacob. He heard the commands of Isaac that Jacob was to go to Paddan-aram and to take a wife from there. He also heard his father say that Jacob should not marry a Canaanite woman. Esau also saw that Jacob obeyed his father, packed up his goods for the trip, and left. What does Esau do? a. Esau’s Righteousness? First, he recognizes that Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father. He is just now realizing this? He already has two Canaanite wives. And we know that those two women made the lives of Isaac and Rebekah bitter. Rebekah says that she hated her life because of Esau’s wives. And you’re just now figuring this out, Esau? Come on man! It’s a little too late, don’t you think? But Esau sees this and he tries to make amends. He tries to do what pleases his father. And so he decides to…marry an Ishmaelite. What? That’s your answer, Esau. You marry a third wife? That’s already a bad idea. And sure, you didn’t marry a Canaanite, but you married an Ishmaelite. Do you remember who Ishmael was? The one that mocked your father. The one who was banned from the family. The one who is half the line of Shem and half the line of Ham. Is this really a better choice? What makes you think this is going to please your father? b. Our Righteousness? Interestingly, Esau would try to win his father’s favor by doing the “good” thing. It is almost embarrassing when you think about it, but that is exactly what we as humans think when we try to use our righteousness with God. We think that God will see our righteous deeds and just overlook that they are all tainted by sin. Isaiah talks about our righteousness is like filthy rags or polluted garments. We come before the holy God with a few good deeds next to a mountain of evil and say, “God you must accept me because of these few things.” How silly that is. How low a view of God’s love do we have if we think we can win his love by doing a few good things? How many hours of Bible study over a lifetime is equal to the love of God? How many hours of community service? How many prayers? Does walking to the front of a church and praying win the perfect and infinite love of God? No, nothing can gain the love of God. God is free to give or not to give his love to anyone because no one has earned it.