Genesis 33:1-20 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Genesis 33:1-20. Let’s go!
Genesis 33:1-4 (NIV)
1 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants.
2 He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear.
3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.
On verses 1-4: With his wives and children walking behind him, Jacob goes on ahead to meet Esau. He humbles himself before Esau, bowing down seven times while approaching him. Esau also responds with passion and humility. The way Esau responds – how Esau “ran to meet Jacob…threw his arms around his neck and kissed him” – is so similar to Jesus’ parable of the lost son where the father, seeing his son a long way off, “ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). It’s an emotional reunion between two estranged brothers who seemingly decide to put their difficult past behind them.
What can we learn from this? Whereas our pride keeps the conflict going, humility allows us to put aside our differences and to reconcile.
Genesis 33:5-11 (NIV)
5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.”
6 Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down.
7 Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
8 Esau asked, “What do you mean by all these droves I met?” “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said.
9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”
10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.
11 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.
On verses 5-11: All the herds that Jacob brought to Esau were presented as a gift, but both of them probably knew that this was more than a gift. It was Jacob’s way of saying, “I’m sorry for stealing your birthright and your blessing”. It was a token of Jacob’s love and his contrition for the ways he hurt Esau in the past and let him to get the short end of the stick financially.
That’s a good lesson for us. When we hurt others, the right thing to do is to apologize and ask for forgiveness. Sometimes that is all the other person would expect or want. But in some cases you may want to consider going beyond that: don’t just apologize, but do something to make up for the past mistake and give them something that represents your heart for them.
To make amends for how Jacob wronged Esau, Jacob gives a lavish gift to Esau. Even more amazing is that when we were the ones who wronged God, God was the one who made amends and gave us a lavish gift – the gift of His Son Jesus Christ – so that we could be peacefully reconciled to Him. When does the offended give a peace offering to the offender? Yet that’s what God did for us.
Genesis 33:12-17 (NIV)
12 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die.
14 So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”
15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” “But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”
16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.
17 Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth.
On verses 12-17: Esau offers to accompany Jacob and his camp and head together to Seir where Esau lived. However, Jacob insists that Esau goes on ahead. As his reason Jacob says that his camp would be going at slower pace because of how young his children and some of his livestock are. Jacob seems to suggest that he will join Esau in Seir eventually but when Esau goes on ahead southward to Seir, Jacob does not follow him there but instead goes in the opposite direction northward to Succoth. Was Jacob intentionally deceiving Esau again? It might seem so, although some scholars argue that Jacob had no ill intention of deceiving Esau again, but rather it was more how circumstances unfolded or that verses 14-15 were Jacob’s polite way of turning his brother down.
Genesis 33:18-20 (NIV)
18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city.
19 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent.
20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.
On verses 18-20: Jacob arrives safely in Canaan, buys a plot of ground in the city of Shechem and sets up an altar. Remember that in Genesis 28:20-21 Jacob makes a vow saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God”. God had lived up to His side of the bargain. God was faithful to Jacob, never left Jacob, watched over Jacob, provided far more than food and clothes for Jacob, and brought him back safely to his homeland. Now Jacob responds by building an altar and calling it “El Elohe Israel”, which can mean “God, the God of Israel” or “Mighty is the God of Israel”. He was not only the God of his grandfather Abraham or the Fear of his father Isaac. The Lord had become the God of Jacob, whose new name was Israel.
Something powerful happens when we start to worship God as “my God”, not just the God our parents worshiped, but the God I worship. “Oh God you are my God” David wrote (Psalm 63:1). That’s the place God wants to be in with you, that you would be able to say, “God, I am Yours and You are mine.”
God, You are my God and I worship You. Thank You for all the ways You have been faithful to me, never left me, watched over me, provided far me more than I could imagine, and brought me to where I am today. Most of all, thank You for the lavish gift of Your Son Jesus, how when I wronged You, You gave Your most precious gift to me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
