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GENESIS 33
Brotherly reconciliation and a detour -- (DATE: Prior to 1685 before Christ)
DISCOVER Genesis 33: When Jacob caught up with his caravan, he saw that his twin brother Esau with his four hundred men was already close at hand. (Perhaps in the hope to appeal to Esau’s humanity) Jacob had his four wives walk out in front of the caravan with their respective children at their side, with the servant women Zilpah and Bilhah in front, followed by Leah and lastly Rachel with her son Joseph. Jacob himself went ahead of them all, bowing down seven times to his brother, as he crossed the distance between them. When he had finally drawn near Esau and his company, the vastly bigger man ran towards him and caught him up in an affectionate embrace, happy to meet his younger brother again after his long absence. -- Also all Jacob’s children with their mothers bowed down to Esau, (as they were introduced to him one after the other). -- Esau then wanted to know from his brother what all this company of livestock was about, to which Jacob answered that they were meant as gifts to his brother. Esau declined, saying he had more than enough himself. However, Jacob, (still feeling guilty for what he had stolen from his brother in their youth and just glad that his brother had forgiven him), insisted that his possessions were a result of God’s grace, and thus it was only right that he passed some of it on to his brother. So Esau accepted his brother’s blessing. -- (With introductions and presentations over) Esau invited Jacob and his people to his home further south in Seir. Jacob declined his offer, however, pointing out that his large group, consisting of children and young animals couldn’t travel at the speed of Esau and his men. Jacob also succeeded in putting down his brother’s offer for some of Esau’s men to accompany Jacob’s caravan to Seir. So Esau and his men parted from Jacob and headed to their home. -- Instead of following his brother’s group slowly to Seir, Jacob took his caravan first to Succoth, where he built booths, and then to Canaan, where he set up camp near Shechem. From the sons of Hamor he purchased land to settle there permanently, building an altar to his God on it. This altar he called El-Elohe-Israel (meaning “God is the God of Israel” in Hebrew).
PRAYER: We worship you, God of Jacob, because you fulfilled your promise to this chosen son of Isaac that he would get back safely to his point of departure in Canaan, after his long sojourn in Mesopotamia. Thank you for making Esau embrace Jacob affectionately, even though Esau had every reason to hate and fight against his tricky twin brother. You did not only bless Jacob, but also the other son of Isaac, Esau. Without your blessing the outcome could have been different. Please allow us to forgive those who do evil to us, just like Esau forgave his treacherous younger brother Jacob. Amen.
QUESTION 33: How did Jacob succeed in submitting to his brother Esau but at the same time manage to remain independent of him?