(Genesis 33:1)
And Jacob lifted up his eyes
, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
- Total faith now in God...no escape, way too close to run
- Right where God wants him, and wants to surprise him
- All of those years, all of the "uncertainty", anticipation
(Genesis 33:2)
And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
- Seems strange. but his own wives and kids behind to shelter them from four hundred soldiers?
- Perhaps he thought they could escape, outrun them?
- Nevertheless, he was fearful enough to do that, fearless enough to continue on
(Genesis 33:3)
And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
- The epitome of 1 Peter 5:5-6
- Absolute submission to his brother, in humility
- This is how God works
- Submitted to the elder as the younger
- Subjecting himself to Esau and his army
- Clothed with humility
- Asked for Grace to flow, now accepting it
- About to be exalted....in His time, which is coming.
(1 Peter 5:5-6 )
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
(Genesis 33:4)
And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
- The big answer to prayer and surprise, all rolled into one
- Sometimes we fear an imaginary something that has not happened, never can happen, will not happen, because we are dust, flesh.
- Fear or not, when God has our back, no one can touch us
(Isaiah 54:17)
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
(Proverbs 16:7)
When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
(Genesis 33:5)
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
- While Esau may have suspected or even heard about Jacob's family, this would still be a normal reaction to seeing them.
lifted up his eyes
:
Except for the passage in Ezekiel 38:12, every time the Bible says "he lifted up his eyes", it was to see something good, something expectant.
(Genesis 13:10)
And Lot lifted up his eyes
, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
(Genesis 22:4)
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
(Genesis 22:13)
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
(Genesis 24:63)
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.
(Genesis 33:1)
And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
Genesis 33:5)
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who arethose with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
(Genesis 43:29)
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
(Numbers 24:2)
And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
(Joshua 5:13)
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
(Judges 19:17)
And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
(2 Samuel 13:34)
But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came much people by the way of the hill side behind him.
(2 Samuel 18:24)
And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.
(1 Chronicles 21:16)
And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
(Ezekiel 18:6)
Andhath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
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(Ezekiel 18:12)
Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
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(Ezekiel 18:15)
That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife,
(Luke 6:20)
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
(John 6:5)
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
(John 11:41)
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
(John 17:1)
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
(Genesis 33:6-7)
Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
- Humble family members, and probably also still tired and frightened
- In the order front to back that they were marching towards Esau they came
(Genesis 33:8)
And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
- Here Jacob seems to give up his fears about the threat of Esau and tells him he was trying to appease him
- Esau is referring to the animals that preceded this whole meeting, sent before
(Genesis 33:9)
And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.
- Even more grace than Jacob imagined-Esau does not want or need the appeasement
- This is a lot of wealth to turn down
(Genesis 33:10)
And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
- Jacob needs more or full confirmation at this point of the grace he seeks
- When someone is supposed to kill you in your mind, from your own extreme paranoia, and they do not, they probably do seem like looking into the face of God at that point
(Genesis 33:11)
Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.
- Truly God has given favor in the eyes of Esau enough that Jacob can even talk him into receiving this gift he does not even need
- Take my blessing..........I took yours.
(Genesis 33:12)
And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
- Esau wanting to lead again
- Our journey meaning he may think they are on the same path to the same destination
(Genesis 33:13)
And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children aretender, and the flocks and herds with young arewith me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
- After traveling this far, Jacob knows that overdriving them is fatal not only to the animals, but to himself and his family, servants
- The animals and those with him also are unable to go at the pace of Esau, who is much fresher.
- Jacob is a good shepherd. No doubt about it.
(Genesis 33:14)
Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.
- Jacob's kids are still young, Esau's army of men would be slowed down by them and the cattle
- As good as an idea this would seem on the surface, in order to reconnect , it would be impractical to just torture everyone, after having left the danger of Laban.
- Time to relax
(Genesis 33:15)
And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.
- As a gesture of perhaps remuneration, Esau offers up some troops to Jacob for the journey
- Jacob knows that they still would have to go slowly so, soldiers or not, the pace would not be any faster.
- Besides that, they have no common destination
(Genesis 33:16-17)
So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
(Genesis 33:18)
And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which isin the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
- His grandfather and father also pitched tents
- We should take the attitude that this life, this place, is not our home
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(Hebrews 11:8-10)
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
ABRAHAM
(Genesis 12:8)
And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
(Genesis 13:12)
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
ISAAC
(Genesis 26:17)
And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.
(Genesis 26:25)
And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well.
(Genesis 31:25)
Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.
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(Genesis 33:19-20)
And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.
- Even buying the land was solely for the purpose of having a place for the altar of worship
- There was no law given as of yet