There’s the Lannisters, the Bluths, the Sopranos, the Simpsons, the Bundys, and of course, the Ewings…what do they all have in common? TV FAMILY DYSFUNCTION!! Each one could easy be described as a family where traits or behaviors permeate and twist the dynamics of their relationships into a tangled web of unhealthy interactions. In other words, these families are a mess! And oh, how we love to watch them struggle and muddle through all their problems!

Family dysfunction is not something new. It’s been going on since the very start of time. Even a short time after Adam and Eve took the bite out of the fruit, family dysfunction soon followed.

But what happens when family dysfunction gets in the way of God’s promise? Is that even possible? Such is the question we’re going to raise as we look at the story of twin brothers Esau and Jacob whose family is indeed messy! It’s divided with all kinds of rivalries, competition, deceptions, and lies. For a while it looks as though their family dysfunction will roadblock any of God’s promise to their ancestor Abraham from being fulfilled.

This begs the question of whether or not the same thing happens in our own lives. Can our brokenness and dysfunction block God’s promise of forgiveness and abundant life he wants to bring? Or, can we trust that God can overcome any hindrance and roadblock in life to bring about new life and possibilities? That is the question, isn’t it?