Genesis 33

Genesis 33

When Jacob finally encounters Esau we see his favoritism play through once again. He puts his family in a line of defense, ordering them in what seems the way he cares about them. He puts the least favorite kids, those of the servants in front. He then puts Leah with her kids next, and Rachel and Joseph in the back. Now Joseph was obviously his favorite son, and even before Joseph’s dreams, a lot of emphasis was being placed on him. Jacob was rightfully scared, fearing that Esau would come at him with a vengeance. So he immediately knelt in submission to Esau from the start, showing his humility in the presence of his brother.

Yet Esau shows that he may have more character than Jacob once he speaks. Jacob is the one who did all the tricking. Even if Esau did not handle the situations correctly, he was never the one trying to harm Jacob. Since their hard days as children, Esau has also left Jacob alone, never trying to find him or harm him. Now that these two brothers have met once again, Esau shows that he has forgotten about their past incidents and is willing to move on. Jacob had sent ahead many groups of servants and gifts for Esau to try to appease him, but Esau wants none of it. It seems that Esau is blessed enough just to be with his brother again.

The next part of the passage shows where both brothers have grown significantly. Jacob is quick to let Esau know that the only reason he has any of these possessions (and even his family) is all because of the Lord. He explains how he has been blessed by the Lord, and also tells Esau that he has been given more than he needs. Therefore, Jacob desires that Esau take the gifts as gifts rather than the bribe that he had initially intended them to be used for. We see a change of heart in Jacob’s actions as their encounter continues. Whereas he was first scared of Esau and tried to soften him before they met, Jacob now sees the love between the two of them and wants to help Esau out with the excess he has in his life. Esau might not have been in great need, but Jacob knew that he had extra that he did not really need, and he was willing to sacrifice it to his brother. So many times we have excess in our lives, and instead of giving it away to those in need, we horde it for ourselves. Now there is nothing wrong with being prepared for unknown circumstances that might come in your future, and it is wise to have money set back for those emergencies. But there are also many times when we could sacrifice something out of our life in order to help those who are less fortunate. We must learn to give out of the excess that God has given us.

This is one of the lessons that Jacob learned in his time away from Canaan, and one of the lessons that he took back with him. After his brief stay with Esau, Jacob continued to travel back to the Promised Land, and he eventually made it to a new city, which he purchased and settled in. It was there that he built an altar, and the beginnings of the nation of Israel can be seen. Remember that his name had just been changed to Israel, and now he had built an altar that was named as “God, the God of Israel.” With Jacob’s 11 sons and 4 wives with him in the Promised Land, God’s promise of Abraham’s descendants being quite numerous was beginning to fall into place.

Matt