{"id":16448,"date":"2021-06-27T22:00:02","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T05:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_32_13-32-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-06-27T00:02:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-27T07:02:07","slug":"genesis_33_1-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_33_1-20\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gift That Reunites"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 33:1-20 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 33:1-20.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 33:1-4 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0With his wives and children walking behind him, Jacob goes on ahead to meet Esau.\u00a0\u00a0He humbles himself before Esau, bowing down seven times while approaching him.\u00a0\u00a0Esau also responds with passion and humility.\u00a0\u00a0The way Esau responds \u2013 how Esau \u201cran to meet Jacob\u2026threw his arms around his neck and kissed him\u201d \u2013 is so similar to Jesus\u2019 parable of the lost son where the father, seeing his son a long way off, \u201cran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him\u201d (Luke 15:20).\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s an emotional reunion between two estranged brothers who seemingly decide to put their difficult past behind them.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Whereas our pride keeps the conflict going,\u00a0humility allows us to put aside our differences and to reconcile<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Genesis 33:5-11 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then 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.”
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Esau asked, “What do you mean by all these droves I met?” “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“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.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Please 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0It was Jacob\u2019s way of saying, \u201cI\u2019m sorry for stealing your birthright and your blessing\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0It was a token of Jacob\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a good lesson for us.\u00a0\u00a0When we hurt others, the right thing to do is to apologize and ask for forgiveness.\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes that is all the other person would expect or want.\u00a0\u00a0But in some cases you may want to consider going beyond that:\u00a0\u00a0don\u2019t just apologize, but do something to make up for the past mistake and give them something that represents your heart for them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To make amends for how Jacob wronged Esau, Jacob gives a lavish gift to Esau.\u00a0\u00a0Even 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 \u2013 the gift of His Son Jesus Christ \u2013 so that we could be peacefully reconciled to Him.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0When does the offended give a peace offering to the offender?\u00a0\u00a0Yet that\u2019s what God did for us.<\/p>\n

Genesis 33:12-17 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But 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.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So 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.”
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Esau 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.”
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jacob, 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-17:\u00a0\u00a0Esau offers to accompany Jacob and his camp and head together to Seir where Esau lived.\u00a0\u00a0However, Jacob insists that Esau goes on ahead.\u00a0\u00a0As 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.\u00a0\u00a0Jacob 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.\u00a0\u00a0Was Jacob intentionally deceiving Esau again?\u00a0\u00a0It 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\u2019s polite way of turning his brother down.<\/p>\n

Genesis 33:18-20 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For 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.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-20:\u00a0\u00a0Jacob arrives safely in Canaan, buys a plot of ground in the city of Shechem and sets up an altar.\u00a0\u00a0Remember that in Genesis 28:20-21 Jacob makes a vow saying,\u00a0“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,\u00a0then the\u00a0LORD\u00a0will be<\/em>\u00a0my God<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0God had lived up to His side of the bargain.\u00a0\u00a0God 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.\u00a0\u00a0Now Jacob responds by building an altar and calling it\u00a0\u201cEl Elohe Israel\u201d, which can mean \u201cGod, the God\u00a0of Israel<\/em>\u201d or \u201cMighty is the God\u00a0of Israel<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0He was not only the God of his grandfather Abraham or the Fear of his father Isaac.\u00a0\u00a0The Lord had become the God of Jacob, whose new name was Israel.<\/p>\n

Something powerful happens when we start to worship God as\u00a0\u201cmy\u00a0<\/em>God\u201d, not just the God our parents worshiped, but the God\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0worship.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOh God you are\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0God\u201d David wrote (Psalm 63:1). That\u2019s the place God wants to be in with you, that you would be able to say, \u201cGod, I am Yours and You are mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

God, You are my God and I worship You.\u00a0\u00a0Thank 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.\u00a0\u00a0Most 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.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 33:1-20.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 33:1-4 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0With his wives and children walking behind him, Jacob goes on ahead to meet Esau.\u00a0\u00a0He humbles himself before Esau, bowing down seven times while approaching him.\u00a0\u00a0Esau also responds with passion and humility.\u00a0\u00a0The way Esau responds \u2013 how Esau \u201cran to meet Jacob\u2026threw his arms around his neck and kissed him\u201d \u2013 is so similar to Jesus\u2019 parable of the lost son where the father, seeing his son a long way off, \u201cran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him\u201d (Luke 15:20).\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s an emotional reunion between two estranged brothers who seemingly decide to put their difficult past behind them.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Whereas our pride keeps the conflict going,\u00a0humility allows us to put aside our differences and to reconcile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16448"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16467,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16448\/revisions\/16467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}