Jacob and Esau. Joseph and his brothers. Brothers. Friendship and feuds.

Quickly, even a game gone awry can erupt into a family war! What wouldn’t cause a flicker of an eyelid with another person can erupt into war because of one dynamic. Family history.

Family Feuds and Family History

I’ve worked hard to affirm and solidify each of my sons in their distinct personhood with their own tastes and personality as separate from their brothers. As hard as I’ve worked and as much as I’ve poured, I’ve missed the mark many times in helping them learn and respect the boundary and territory lines of their brother.

A few years ago, my husband found a great deal on a family vehicle and asked me to meet him at the car dealership. There, we spoke with the salesman who drew our attention to a pair of impressive, large statues of bulls locking horns and head-butting each other! Stationed at the entrance of the dealership, these bulls commemorated the owner and his brother, and their struggle through the years. They both ended up owning car dealerships on top of their family history! The salesman smiled about it, and it seemed that they had reconciled their boundary and territory differences while commemorating the struggle.

God-given DNA

The Father has imprinted in the hearts of men a God-given, eternal drive to rule. In the Garden, the mandate came. This side of Eden the struggle for boundaries and territory leadership is real. And those can well erupt into family war which surface during the growing up years. Father’s imprint of territory expansion in the hearts of men starts at the beginning of their earth existence–in the womb. Therefore, the struggle for territory and boundaries starts as babies and little boys. Jacob and Esau started their power-play for their God-given territory rights in the womb (Genesis 25:21-26).

However, for parents, recognizing that the drive for boundaries and territory (and expanding them) is part of boys’ God-given DNA helps with the adjustment. If “family wars” are addressed in the growing up years, then they grow into men who respect and regard their own and others’ boundaries and territories. A very satisfactory side-effect for parents who stay present through these feuds, helping them learn respect and honor in the midst as the parents protect their boundaries, is their teen and young adult (and beyond) sons have a good relationship with each other.

After a family war eruption, I asked my son who wasn’t in the fray to pray for his brothers and me. The very evening he prayed, reconciliation happened. I had to facilitate it, but it flowed.

Feud Led to Extinction or Solidification

There’s enough room, really, for everyone. Father takes it personally when brother-family-feuds turn into roots of bitterness. Esau and his sons were not able to move past the root of bitterness that blinded them to the God-sanctioned boundary and territory that Father deeded to his brother Jacob. Father even protected Esau’s boundaries and territory (as well as cousins’ Moab and Ammon) by forbidding Israel to go through Esau’s territory as a travel route on the way to Canaan (or to pay for food and water) as He was helping Jacob get into his.

Families on the earth don’t have all the resources, and sometimes brothers do get shorted, so to speak. However, Father has ALL the resources as well as the commitment and desire to help each one become solidified in the gifts and area–with boundaries and territory intact and respected–that He has given them and that He wants them to have.

Esau’s family just could not get past their root of bitterness and perceived downgrade. As a result, their family was wiped off the face of the earth. That’s a big exclamation point from the Father who causes families to have perpetual memory and inheritance on the earth when they honor Him.

Joseph walked in the prophetic foreshadow of the Lord Jesus Christ as he released his anger and bitterness and forgave his brothers.That act solidified the brothers into the framework of a nation.

Microcosm of Family to Macrocosm of Nation

The microcosm of the family through the generations does impact the macrocosm of our nations.

Father revealed to me that many uprisings we are seeing in our nations are a result of roots of bitterness and nurtured anger, together with jealousy and pride, over the real or perceived disadvantages they’ve received from their brothers over boundaries and territories. What we need is reconciliation and honor.

Heaven Comes Down!

However, there’s great news! Agreeing in prayer with our Lord Jesus Christ, the older brother of whom Joseph is prophetic, releases brothers to reconcile.

When brothers work together, respecting each others’ boundaries and territories, the priestly anointing and blessings flow from Heaven. As the Father’s house is taken care of by the priestly anointing, those blessings from Heaven impact nations. This is no small thing.

As the Father created men and women in the Lord Jesus Christ with the position of firstborn sons, women can also feel this struggle, and women can also be a major part of the solution (Galatians 3:26-29).

It’s time to clean out some roots so the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the blessings of Heaven have room to flow. May the amazing healing be commemorated!

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” Psalm 133

Would you pray with me?

Cleaning Our House First

Father, thank You that You are the One who’ve imprinted the leadership drive in the hearts of men (and women). You are the One who blessed and tasked men (and women) to rule and to expand.

Father, I confess that I’ve carried anger, unforgiveness, fear, jealousy and pride, offense and bitterness (from unreleased anger all the way through the final stage of murder) against “brothers” in my family and in Your Family, personally and generationally. I ask Your forgiveness and release it from my core to You at the Cross. Please separate me from the sin and destroy it at the Cross. Wash me with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to the core to Adam. Sprinkle Your blood on my conscience to the core to Adam. I shut every door and gate I opened to the enemy to the core to Adam.

I dedicate every door and gate in me to You, Father, Son and Spirit to the core to Adam. Please saturate them with Your Blood to the core to Adam. Lift up and open up, come in King of Glory, Lord strong and mighty, mighty in battle! Lift up and open up, come in King of Glory, Lord strong and mighty, mighty in battle! Come in and saturate all the wounds and memories with Your glory and light to the core to Adam. Wash me with the water of Your Word to the core to Adam. Separate me from everything that’s not from You, Father, and deal with it.

I consecrate all these places in me to You, Father, Son and Spirit, to the core to Adam. Rule and reign, Lord Jesus Christ. Restore and do much more! Cause me to live at peace and at one in myself and bring this wholeness to the table in relating to brothers. Grace me to carry unity with You in myself and have power to relate to my brothers in peace and respect. Release Your precious oil and restore the priestly anointing in me together with Your blessings from Heaven. Please seal this within me to the core to Adam with the power of Your Holy Spirit in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Stepping into our Priestly Office

It’s forbidden for any warfare to cross the blood line of the Lord Jesus Christ around me and my family. Blind the eyes of the enemy and deafen their ears, and hide us in the secret place. I come to You, Father, in the name and covered with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

On behalf of my family and Your Family, I confess that we’ve carried anger, unforgiveness, fear, jealousy and pride, offense and bitterness (from unreleased anger all the way through the final stage of murder) against our “brothers” in our family and Your Family, personally and generationally. I ask Your forgiveness and command it released from our core to You at the Cross. Please separate us from the sin and destroy it at the Cross. Wash us with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to the core to Adam. Sprinkle Your blood on our conscience to the core to Adam. We shut every door and gate that were opened to the enemy to the core to Adam.

We dedicate every door and gate in those places to You, Father, Son and Spirit to the core to Adam. Please saturate them with Your Blood to the core to Adam. Lift up and open up, come in King of Glory, Lord strong and mighty, mighty in battle! Lift up and open up, come in King of Glory, Lord strong and mighty, mighty in battle! Come in and saturate all the wounds and memories with Your glory and light to the core to Adam. Wash us with the water of Your Word to the core to Adam. Separate us from everything that’s not from You, Father, and deal with it.

We consecrate all these places in us to You, Father, Son and Spirit, to the core to Adam. Rule and reign, Lord Jesus Christ. Restore and do much more! Cause us to live at peace and at one in ourselves and bring this wholeness to the table in relating to brothers. Grace us to carry unity with You in ourselves and have power to relate to our brothers in peace and respect. Release Your precious oil and restore the priestly anointing in our family and Your Family, together with Your blessings from Heaven. Please seal this within us by the power of Your Holy Spirit.

I lay this burden down at Your feet. Please take it off me, and resupply my strength, energy, virtue and peace in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

by Crystal Wade, copyright 2019