God Tells the Sun to Shine: An Amazing Story of Love and Forgiveness

By FEMI BOLAJI

God tells the Sun to Shine is a short story about ambition, love, intrigue and forgiveness. The main character is the second-born of twin boys Esau and Jacob. Jacob struggles to come to terms with the privileges that the natural birth order accords the first-born twin Esau. He becomes so obsessed with the desire to become the alpha male in the family enterprise that he plots with their mum to upstage Esau. Although his plan succeeds, he is forced to flee the homeland after Esau plots to kill him in retaliation. For two decades, his life in exile is marked by turmoil in love, marriage and work. When a business arrangement goes pear shaped and he is faced with bankruptcy and the loss of his family, he decides instead to return to his country and face his nemesis - Esau. How will Jacob manoeuvre his way through the ordeal?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Africa
• Release date: Aug 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781482802139

FEMI BOLAJI

Femi Bolaji tells this Bible-based story about twin-brothers Esau and Jacob, in contemporary language and style that would appeal to all, yet with profound insight and application to the pressures of modern day living. He is a seasoned writer on topical Christian themes. He lives in London, United Kingdom.

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Copyright © 2014 by Femi Bolaji.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV)®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used with permission from Zondervan. All rights reserved [Biblica].

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used with permission from NavPress Publishing Group. Website.

www.partridgepublishing.com/africa

Contents

Acknowledgments

Before Sunset

Scheming And Conniving

Starting All Over

A Husband Of Many

It Takes One To Know One

The Flight

The Fight

When A Man’s Ways Please God

To

Kolawole Olaniyan Bolaji,

who taught me to read

And to the loving memory of

Rachael Funmilayo Bolaji,

who was by his side

Acknowledgments

My special thanks go to

Prof Ike Nwachukwu,

mentor, brother and friend, who

encouraged me to write this book

My thanks also go to

Philip John, April Ross, Syrah Mayell M. Denura,

Myradine S. Sedigo and the production team at Partridge

BEFORE SUNSET

T here is a story in Genesis chapter 32 of the Bible. Jacob, the third in line of the patriarchs after Abraham and Isaac, wrestled with an angel on the bank of a brook called Jabbok. It beggars belief that a man would dare to wrestle with an angel of God. From other accounts, men and women were usually in awe if they so much as sighted one of those heavenly beings. So what gave this man the audacity that he had? What about the angel? Did he not have the powers to snuff out this impudent mortal in one fell swoop?

Jacob was a man for whom the birds had come home to roost, and the sins of his past had caught up with him. As a child, although he was the second-born of twin boys, he pined for the privileges that would come to his brother Esau, who was the firstborn. Esau was the heir apparent to their father, Isaac, and he would get double the inheritance that his siblings would get when Isaac died. Jacob, however, became so obsessed with his brother’s privileges even when the boys were still in their teens. He began to plot how to take Esau’s position.

Perhaps if Esau were to die young, Jacob thought, then I will become the heir!

But Esau was fit as a fiddle! The dude bristled with