In addition to this, the rivalry also involved a number of other factors and began even before they were born. As God explained to Rebekah when the twins were still in her womb, "the two children inside you will become the fathers of two nations. Just like the two are fighting with each other now, the two nations will struggle with each other. One will be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger." (Genesis 33).
As noted briefly above, the rivalry was heightened even more because their father Isaac liked Esau better than Jacob for the wild game Esau brought home from hunting, while their mother Rebekah liked Jacob better because he learned to cook and to do other things to help her around their home. .
The simmering rivalry came to a head when Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright, and then tricked Isaac into giving him the blessing he"d intended to give Esau. Enraged, Esau vowed to kill Jacob. When they finally met again Jacob was ready to completely submit to Esau, but when they saw each other, "Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." (Genesis 33:4).
Essentially, the story of the rivalry between Jacob and Esau is one in which the Scriptures show the importance of forgiveness. Esau forgave his brother, and they were reconciled. This relates to many families today, for children are often competitive, especially brothers, and should heed the example set by Esau.
The sibling rivalry of Joseph and his brothers is interesting; for Jacob makes the same mistake his own parents did by favoring his youngest son Joseph over his brothers. Just as Isaac favoring Esau and Rebekah favoring Jacob led to a terrible rivalry between the brothers to such a degree that Esau vowed to kill Jacob, the same treatment angered Joseph's brothers so much they sold him into slavery.
But there is more involved than just envy of Joseph because he was Jacob's favorite.
