Gen. 31-33: “Jacob Flees With
Family And Livestock From Laban / Jacob Wrestles With Angel / Jacob Meets Up
With Esau”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study
we looked at chapters 29-30 of Genesis.
1.1.1. We saw how that Jacob traveled from Canaan and met up
with the family of his mother Rebekah in
1.1.2. Jacob was accepted by Laban as family and stayed with
Laban’s family for a month. Jacob told
Laban that he would work for 7 years for him if he could marry Laban’s daughter
Rachel.
1.1.3. At the end of the 7 years when Jacob asked for Rachel
to be his wife, Laban arranged the marriage.
However, Laban proved to be a bigger conniver than Jacob and tricked
him. Instead of giving Rachel to Jacob
as a wife he instead gave him Leah as his bride and because of her veil and the
darkness of night, Jacob didn’t realize that he had been duped until the
morning and he had consummated his marriage.
1.1.4. When Jacob confronted Laban about deceiving him, Laban
agreed to give him Rachel after the week of marriage celebration if Jacob
should work for him another 7 years.
Jacob agreed.
1.1.5. We saw in that study how that polygamy caused much
problem and strife in Jacob’s family.
All in all, Jacob had 11 sons and a daughter through Leah and Rachel and
the concubines that each provided for him to bear children with.
1.1.6. These 11 sons and one yet to come will become the 12
tribes of
1.1.7. After seven years of working for Rachel, Jacob wanted
to take his family of 11 sons and a daughter and leave for the land of promise,
but Laban talked him into working for cattle, goats, and sheep in a unique
business arrangement conceived by Jacob.
Jacob’s herds increased under this arrangement and he grew a huge herd
of cattle, goats, and sheep such that he had to hire lots of help.
1.2.
In our study
today, we are going to look at Genesis chapters 31-33.
1.2.1. We will see that when Jacob realizes that Laban is
unhappy with him and possibly plotting his demise, he gathers his family
together and they take their herds and servants and flee back to the
1.2.2. When they get close to Seir in the country of
1.2.2.1.This story speaks to us of how that we too can and
should prevail with the Lord in prayer as we are seeking to do His will and
fulfill the things He has called us to do.
1.2.2.2.The Lord knocking Jacob’s hip out of socket reminds us
of the fact that the Lord seeks to cause us to learn to depend completely upon
Him and be strong not in our own strength but in the power of His might.
1.2.3. The next day when Esau and his party approach Jacob
and his party, Jacob sends 5 groups of animals as presents to Esau in hopes that
he might incur Esau’s favor when he comes.
1.2.4. Esau and Jacob meet and Esau harbors no thoughts of
revenge but hugs his brother, and Jacob feels as though he has met the Lord
Himself in seeing Esau in this meeting.
1.2.4.1.We will observe the faithfulness of God in the lives
of His people as demonstrated in God blessing Jacob in all that He did, and in
answering Jacob’s prayer to change his brother’s heart from wanting to kill
him.
2.
VS 31:1-13 - “1
Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away
all that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has made all
this wealth.” 2 Jacob saw the attitude of
Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly. 3 Then the Lord
said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I
will be with you.” 4 So Jacob sent and called
Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, 5 and said to them, “I see your father’s attitude,
that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father
has been with me. 6 “You know that I have
served your father with all my strength. 7 “Yet your father has cheated me and changed my
wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me. 8 “If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your
wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The
striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth striped. 9 “Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock
and given them to me. 10
“And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up
my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were
striped, speckled, and mottled. 11 “Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’
and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 “He said, ‘Lift up now
your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped,
speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 ‘I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed
a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to
the land of your birth.’”” - Jacob heard
Laban’s sons speaking ill of him and then he saw that Laban’s attitude was not
friendly towards him now, and when the Lord spoke to him and told him to return
to the land of his fathers and relatives, he called Rachel and Leah to him in
the field and told them how that their father Laban had cheated him so many
times and how that he now feared for his life and that the Lord had told him to
flee and return back to the land of Canaan
2.1.
We saw in our
previous study that Jacob’s herds (those born of solid color parents yet who
had stripes or rings in their color) increased, yet Laban’s (the solid color
animals) decreased. This had brought out
the angst that is expressed between Laban and his sons and Jacob.
2.2.
We have to wonder
if Laban had ever intended for Jacob to leave with any animals at all, after
all Laban was so deceptive and self-serving.
2.3.
After Jacob heard
Laban’s sons saying in effect that Jacob had stolen all that their father had
and then seeing Laban’s attitude towards him as no longer being friendly, Jacob
decided he needed to get his family together and get out of there. He then calls Leah and Rachel out into the field
so that he can talk to them without anyone hearing.
2.4.
Jacob realizes
that Rachel and Leah may not really know all that has gone on between him and
Laban, so he explains the many ways in which Laban had deceived him and
profited from his hard and sacrificial labor.
He then tells them that the Lord had spoken to him and told him that he
needed to leave.
3.
VS 31:14-16 - “14
Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance
in our father’s house? 15 “Are we not reckoned by
him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our
purchase price. 16 “Surely all the wealth
which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now
then, do whatever God has said to you.”” - Rachel and
Leah tell Jacob that they have no inheritance with their father and further
that he sold them to Jacob and consumed the purchase price, and the wealth
which God has allowed Jacob to have now belongs to them and their children,
therefore they tell him to do whatever God has told him to do
3.1.
Rachel and Leah
surely realized that their father was a scoundrel and a conniver. This news of Jacob about how that Laban had
deceived Jacob did not come as a surprise to them.
3.2.
Rachel and Leah
also realize that the family inheritance always went to the sons, and so apart
from Jacob there was never going to be anything for them and their children’s
future. They knew that they had been
sold as property by their father in the first place so they were better off
being with Jacob.
3.3.
Rachel and Leah
tell Jacob to do whatever it was that the Lord was telling him to do.
3.3.1. When wives allow their husbands to follow God’s
calling and leading this is a blessing to their husband and frees them to know
and serve the Lord.
4.
VS 31:17-21 - “17
Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels; 18 and he drove away all his livestock and all his
property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in
Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19 When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then
Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s. 20 And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not
telling him that he was fleeing. 21 So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed
the
4.1.
Jacob knew that
the timing was perfect for him and his family to escape and get a good head
start on Laban for Laban had just begun to shear all of his flock. Jacob also knew they needed to go right away
and so he marshaled everyone together to leave.
4.2.
It is hard to
know exactly what was going through Rachel’s mind as she was preparing to leave
her family and home for
4.3.
The children of
5.
VS 31:22-30 - “22
When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23 then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a
distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of
Gilead. 24 God came to Laban the
Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, “Be careful that you do not
speak to Jacob either good or bad.” 25 Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his
tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country
of
5.1.
Three days after
Jacob and his family had fled, Laban was told that they had left. He was enraged and most likely wanted to kill
Jacob and return all of the livestock which Jacob had taken with him as well as
his daughters and grandchildren.
5.2.
We’re not told
the number of men that Laban took with him in pursuit of Jacob but it was
probably not a small number. Laban was
planning to be do battle against Jacob and his servants and he wasn’t going to
be denied getting back his livestock which he felt that Jacob had somehow
tricked him out of.
5.3.
The Lord however
showed Himself strong on Jacob’s behalf and the night before Laban was to
overtake and attack Jacob and his servants the Lord appeared to him in a dream
and warned him that he was to say nothing good or bad to Jacob, indicating that
Laban was not to do anything to dissuade Jacob from leaving with his family and
possessions. Laban now was afraid for
his life should he carry out his plan against Jacob.
5.3.1. We Christians need to realize that the Lord is our
defender and protector. The scriptures
promise us that the Lord watches over our lives as His people and that each one
of us even has a guardian angel always watching over our lives. We ought to be thankful for all the many
times and ways in which He has defended and protected us.
5.4.
Everything that
comes out of Laban’s mouth in his discussions here with Jacob reveal his
arrogance and hypocrisy. Laban implies
that he would have allowed Jacob to leave peacefully all along and that it is
Jacob who has done him wrong because he has not allowed Laban to plan a festive
celebration for all so he could celebrate and hug and say goodbye to his
daughters and grandchildren.
5.5.
Finally, Laban
accuses Jacob of wronging him by stealing his household gods before he
left. Being the hypocrite, Laban says
this as if it was worth his trouble in coming all of this way in order to
retrieve these household gods that could be replaced for a relatively small
amount of money.
6.
VS 31:31-35 - “31
Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you
would take your daughters from me by force. 32 “The one with whom you find your gods shall not
live; in the presence of our kinsmen point out what is yours among my
belongings and take it for yourself.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel
had stolen them. 33 So Laban went into
Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two maids, but he
did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s
tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the
household idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and she sat on them. And
Laban felt through all the tent but did not find them. 35 She said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry
that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me.” So he
searched but did not find the household idols.” - Jacob tells Laban that he fled because he was
afraid that Laban would take his daughters away by force, then he tells him
that if anyone in his party has taken away his household idols that that person
shall be put to death, however a search is made and the idols are not found
because Rachel sat on them and asked that she not have to get up because she
was having her menstrual period
6.1.
Jacob tells Laban
the honest truth about why he had left stealthily. It was because he had feared Laban, feared that he would
come and take away his flocks and even his daughters by force.
6.2.
Jacob is sure that
either Laban has made up this story about someone stealing his household gods,
or that someone outside of his own family has stolen Laban’s gods. Because he believes this so strongly he makes
a very foolish vow, one that is similar to the vow that Jephthah
made in Judges chapter 11 when he told the Lord that if the Lord gave the sons
of Ammon into his hands that when he returned from victory he would sacrifice
whatever came out of his tent. Sadly for
Jephthah his young daughter came out of his tent when he returned from his
victory and because he had made this oath he followed through with it putting
his daughter to death. Not knowing that
Rachel has stolen these household idols Jacob tells Laban that the one who is
found with the household idols ‘shall not live.’
6.3.
Upon hearing Jacob’s oath, Rachel determined
that because she was sitting on them at this time in her tent that when the
search was carried out for the idols that she would say that she could not get
up because she was in her menstrual period and bleeding. Laban did not make her get up and thus the
idols were not discovered and her life was spared.
7.
VS 31:36-42 - “36
Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, “What
is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? 37 “Though you have felt through all my goods, what
have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my
kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. 38 “These twenty years I have been with you;
your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams
of your flocks. 39 “That which was torn of
beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required
it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 “Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me
and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 “These twenty years I have been in your house; I
served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock,
and you changed my wages ten times. 42 “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the
fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away
empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered
judgment last night.”” - Jacob
confronts Laban with how he has cheated him so many times all of these years,
beginning with switching brides on him, and yet how Jacob has always taken the
high road and bore any of Laban’s flock’s losses himself, then he tells him
that if God had not intervened Laban would have taken back all of Jacob’s
livestock even now
7.1.
After an
unsuccessful search is made for Laban’s household idols, Jacob now becomes
angry and confronts Laban finally about how he had treated him all of these
years that he had lived in
7.1.1. He reminds Laban of how he had taken such good care of
his flock that non had miscarried.
7.1.2. Plus, if any of Laban’s animals were torn by predators
Jacob had replaced the animal with his own stock, in fact that Laban had
required that he replace the animal.
7.1.3. Jacob reminds Laban that he had labored in the heat of
the day and the frost of the night, and that he had lost much sleep over
tending Laban’s flocks.
7.1.4. Jacob reminds Laban also that he had been deceived in
his wages ten times, first for laboring for 14 years to wed his daughters, then
with the business arrangement for the animals born that would belong to Jacob.
7.2.
Finally, Jacob
tells Laban that if it were not for the Lord that Laban would even now have
sent him away to the
8.
VS 31:43-55 - “43
Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the
children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is
mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children
whom they have borne? 44 “So now come, let us make
a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.” 45 Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a
pillar. 46 Jacob said to his
kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate
there by the heap. 47 Now Laban called it
Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you
and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed, 49 and Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we
are absent one from the other. 50
“If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although
no man is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.” 51 Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold
the pillar which I have set between you and me. 52 “This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a
witness, that I will not pass by this heap to you for harm, and you will not
pass by this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53 “The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God
of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the fear of his father
Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered a
sacrifice on the mountain, and called his kinsmen to the meal; and they ate the
meal and spent the night on the mountain. 55 Early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his
sons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to
his place.” - Laban looks
around and states that the daughters, children, and livestock are all his, but
he cannot do anything to his daughters or their children, and then Laban
suggests they make a covenant together, and Jacob sets up a pillar and Laban
and Jacob both swear to no do harm to the other, then they offer a sacrifice
and eat a meal together before retiring for the evening
8.1.
Continuing his
hypocritical and arrogant tirade, Laban tells Jacob now that as he looks around
that everything he sees belongs to him (which was not true). Then, by suggesting that he and Jacob make
this preace treaty he is implying that in not demanding the animals and
daughters and grandchildren from Jacob that he is being generous and liberal
towards Jacob.
8.2.
When Laban
suggest the making of a covenant it is Jacob who took a stone and set it up as
a pillar and then told his kinsmen to also go and gather stones for this
memorial pillar.
8.3.
Laban continues
on his hypocritical and arrogant rant as he speaks the words of the covenant
which are chosen to show distrust of Jacob and to keep Jacob from doing things
that were not of his nature nor he had ever showed any indication of doing: To not pass by the heap for harm.
8.4.
Jacob offered a
sacrifice to the Lord on the mountain that night and called upon everyone to
eat a meal, and they ate the meal and slept on the mountain that night.
9.
VS 32:1-8 - “1
Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him. 2 Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s camp.”
So he named that place Mahanaim. 3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the
9.1.
Now Jacob has to
face a fear that is even greater than what he faced when Laban and his kinsmen
approached him. He has to meet up with
his brother Esau who the last time that he had heard about him had vowed to
kill Jacob. Jacob worried that because
his mother had never sent for him that Esau may still be resolute in his desire
to exact revenge.
9.2.
As Jacob is going
forth here we see that ‘the angels of God met him.’ It is interesting that it no where indicates
that anyone but him saw or recognized these angels. We also are not told about anything that
these angels said to Jacob at this time.
9.3.
Jacob decides to
send messengers to Esau to tell them about what Jacob has been doing with Laban
over in Haran and that he has returned with ‘donkeys and flocks and male and female servants,’ and also that he ‘may
find favor in your sight.’
9.4.
Instead of
sending a message back to Jacob through his messengers, Esau decides instead to
go and meet him with 400 men in company.
It could be the fact that with Jacob being as deceptive as he was, and
Jacob knowing that Esau had wanted to kill him, and Esau knowing that Jacob
knew that the land belonged to him, that Esau feared that Jacob might be coming
to try and do battle with him and eradicate him from the land eliminating any
competition in the process. For this
reason he may have come with the 400 men and having sent no message in return.
9.5.
Jacob decides to
implement a strategy that has used many times in warfare. He decides to divide up into two different
companies. By doing this, if Esau
attacked one group then the other could possibly flee and escape.
10.
VS 32:9-12 - “9
Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your
country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all
the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only
I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. 11 “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother,
from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the
mothers with the children. 12
“For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the
sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’ ”” - Jacob calls upon the Lord to protect him from
his brother Esau reminding the Lord of the covenant promises which He had made
with him
10.1. Jacob is wise and realizes the resource that he has in
prayer. He prays to the Lord for
deliverance from the hand of his brother, as he now admits that he is fearing
him.
10.2. Jacob tells the lord of his unworthiness to receive
anything from the Lord in prayer as he says, “I am unworthy of all the
lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant.’
10.3. Jacob uses scriptural promises to pray reminding the
Lord of His promise: ‘I will surely prosper you
and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be
numbered.’
10.3.1.When we pray we should all use God’s promises in our
prayers for thus we will know that we are praying according to God’s will.
11.
VS 32:13-21 - “13
So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a
present for his brother Esau: 14
two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty
rams, 15 thirty milking camels and
their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male
donkeys. 16 He delivered them into
the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants,
“Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.” 17 He commanded the one in front, saying, “When my
brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where
are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘These belong to your
servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is
behind us.’ ” 19 Then he commanded also
the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, “After
this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; 20 and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob
also is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that
goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”
21 So the present passed on before
him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.” - Jacob sent on before him 5 groups of animals
for presents to his brother Esau consisting of goats, ewes, rams, camels, cows,
and donkeys, hoping to appease his brother’s wrath against him, and Jacob spent
the night in the camp
11.1. Jacob decides to give to his brother Esau a very
generous gift so that he might have favor with his brother. Jacob decides to give Esau 5 different herds
of animals for a total of 500 animals!
That shows how greatly God had blessed Jacob in those 6 years after he
entered into the business agreement with Laban to have for his own only those
spotted or speckled animals born of solid colored parents. Jacob gives cows, sheep, goats, camels, and
donkeys.
11.2. So, Jacob sent his servants ahead to Esau with the 5
different herds of animals to be given as gifts, and yet he stayed behind in
order to spend the night alone in the camp.
12.
VS 32:22-32 - “22
Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and
his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream. And
he sent across whatever he had. 24
Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him,
he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was
dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is
breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he
said, “Jacob.” 28 He said, “Your name shall
no longer be Jacob, but
12.1. Jacob arose that evening and took his two wives and
two maids and his 11 children, and he sent them across the ford of the Jabbok.
Yet, he himself stayed behind on the other side of the river.
12.2. Jacob seemed to sense that God was there and that He
wanted to appear to him. Sure enough, a
man appeared to him and wrestled with him.
Hosea 12:3-5 has a commentary on this verse and tells us that Jacob
wrestled with an ‘angel’: “3
In
the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his maturity he contended with
God. 4 Yes, he wrestled with the
angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at
12.3. As we have seen studying
through the book of Revelation, if a angel speaks in the first person as only
God could then the angel is an appearance in human form of the pre-incarnate
Son of God, Jesus Christ. That is the
case in this passage as we see with His dialogue with Jacob telling him, “Your
name shall no longer be Jacob, but
12.4. Jacob is unwilling to let
go of the angel of God until he has received a blessing from him, and thus
Jacob’s wrestling here directly parallels the wrestling that each of us have in
prayer with the Lord.
12.5. Finally, the angel
dislocates Jacob’s hip which must have caused him much pain and
discomfort. Then, the angel tells Jacob
that his name shall no longer be Jacob but shall be ‘
12.6. This story is an
illustration for us as Christians today to learn to prevail with the Lord in
prayer. God calls us and sends us out
but the battles that will be won will be won as we are persevering in prayer
before the Lord.
12.6.1.Not too many months after
we had moved from Seattle to Montana to plant the CC church in that city I
realized that moving to a city and starting from scratch to plant a church was
going to be next to impossible if the Lord didn’t provide people who could
partner and serve with us in that work.
We needed God to lead some potential leaders to us. One day as I spent a good part of the day
wrestling in prayer with the Lord for Him to do this, a thunderstorm came up
between
12.7. Jacob asks the man his
name, but the man asks him in reply why he would ask that question. This reveals that Jacob should have known
that this man must in fact be the Lord Himself in human form.
13.
VS 33:1-7 - “1
Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and
four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and
the two maids. 2 He put the maids and
their children in front, and Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph
last. 3 But he himself passed on
ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to
his brother. 4 Then Esau ran to meet him
and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the
children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom
God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the maids came near with their children, and
they bowed down. 7 Leah likewise came near
with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with
Rachel, and they bowed down.” - When Jacob
saw Esau and the 400 men with him coming towards him he divided the children
among their mothers and then had the maids and their children come first and meet
Esau, followed by Leah and her children, followed last by Rachel and her son,
then Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed
him
13.1. Jacob now is with his family traveling towards Seir
and he sees Esau coming towards him with the 400 men. I don’t know what they had done with the
animals that they had been given as gifts by Jacob but possibly they were
herding them back towards Jacob as they came.
13.2. Jacob decides to send out to Esau his family in order
of their importance to him. Maybe he
thought that if Esau chose to fight that he would perhaps only lose of his
family those of least importance to him.
So, he sent out to Esau the two maids, Bilhah and Zilpah, and their four
children, and then he sent out Leak and her five children, followed by Rachel
and her one son.
13.3. Esau though immediately ran to Jacob and ‘embraced
him and fell on his neck and kissed him.’
The incredible answer to Jacob’s prayers was that Esau now harbored no
ill will towards him. Esau had now prospered
greatly on his own and he knew that because of God’s grace and mercy that he
was lacking in nothing in his own life.
In fact, it may have been the case at this time that Esau had more
wealth than Jacob.
13.4. Esau’s heart may have softened towards the Lord.
13.5. As the two brothers wept and Esau saw Jacob’s wives
and children, he asked Jacob who these ones were. Jacob tells him, “The children whom God
has graciously given your servant.”
13.6. The faithfulness of God to His servants is illustrated
so clearly in this story and how the Lord answered Jacob’s fervent prayer and
changed his brother’s heart from wanting to kill him.
14.
VS 33:8-11 - “8
And he said, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” And
he said, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother; let
what you have be your own.” 10
Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take
my present from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and
you have received me favorably. 11
“Please take my gift which has been brought to you, because God has dealt
graciously with me and because I have plenty.” Thus he urged him and he took it.” - Esau asks Jacob why he had sent him the gifts
of the animals and tries to get Jacob to take the gifts back, but Jacob tells
him that he gave them in order that he might be able to find favor with his
brother, and then Jacob convinces Esau to take the gifts
14.1. Esau tries to talk Jacob out of giving him such a
generous gift as these 500 animals. But
to Jacob this is a small price to pay in order to have peace and reconciliation
with his brother Esau.
14.2. Jacob however insists that Esau receive this gift from
him.
14.3. Notice that Jacob tells Esau that he saw the face of
Esau as the face of God. The Lord meets
His people in the middle of their struggles and reveals that He has everything
that they need if they will just trust Him and keep their eyes focused on Him.
15.
VS 33:12-16 - “12
Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you.”
13 But he said to him, “My
lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are
nursing are a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks
will die. 14 “Please let my lord pass
on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace
of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children,
until I come to my lord at Seir.” 15 Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the
people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in
the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day
on his way to Seir.” - Esau tells
Jacob that they should travel together but Jacob convinces Esau to go on ahead
with his men because his party needs to proceed much more slowly
15.1. Esau wanted to travel along with Jacob and his family
but Jacob knew that the herds as well as his family were already wearied from
fleeing from Laban and then preparing to meet up with Esau. Jacob knew that they needed time to rest and
delay would just make Esau and his men impatient to return home. Jacob talks Esau into returning with his men
and promises to meet up with Esau later in Seir.
15.2. Jacob likely also knew that he needed some separation
from his brother since his brother had other priorities and concerns in his
life. Jacob knew that God’s plans for
him required him to act autonomously as a patriarch and servant of God also and
close fellowship with Esau would hinder that.
16.
VS 33:17-20 - “17
Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths
for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth. 18 Now Jacob came safely to the city of
16.1. Jacob chooses to make a home for his family and herds
in ‘Shechem,’ which means “back or shoulder.”
16.2. Jacob is the first of the patriarchs to build a house
for himself and his family.
16.3. Jacob erects an altar of worship for the Lord called
it ‘El-Elohe-Israel,’ which means “the mighty God of
17.
CONCLUSIONS:
17.1. Remember that God is the defender and protector of His
people.
17.2. Learn to wrestle and prevail with the Lord in prayer
as you fulfill your calling and the ministries God has for you.
17.3. Realize that all spiritual victories are won first in
prayer.
17.4. The Lord meets us in the middle of our struggles, look
to Him for your resource.
17.5. Observe and thank God for His faithfulness in your
life.