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8 Esau said, "I saw many herds as I was coming here. Why did you bring them?" Jacob answered, "They were to please you, my master." 9 But Esau said, "I already have enough, my brother. Keep what you have." 10 Jacob said, "No! Please! If I have pleased you, then accept the gift I give you. I am very happy to see your face again. It is like seeing the face of God, because you have accepted me. 11 So I beg you to accept the gift I give you. God has been very good to me, and I have more than I need." And because Jacob begged, Esau accepted the gift. 12 Then Esau said, "Let us be going. I will travel with you." 13 But Jacob said to him, "My master, you know that the children are weak. And I must be careful with my flocks and their young ones. If I force them to go too far in one day, all the animals will die. 14 So, my master, you go on ahead of me, your servant. I will follow you slowly and let the animals and the children set the speed at which we travel. I will meet you, my master, in Edom." 15 So Esau said, "Then let me leave some of my people with you." "No, thank you," said Jacob. "I only want to please you, my master." ~ Genesis 33:8-15
Today, we continue our study of Genesis 33 where we have been witnessing the sanctification of Jacob whose name had just been changed to Israel. In tandem with Jacob's name change, God gave him a limp that would remind him of his utter dependency upon Him for the remainder of his years on this earth. In addition to Jacob's sanctification, we have also witnessed the reunion of two brothers who were once enemies and now they have been reunited after being apart for twenty years. This is where God is leading us all, to be reconciled to Him and to one another.
In v.8-11 of today's passage we read, "8 Esau said, 'I saw many herds as I was coming here. Why did you bring them?' Jacob answered, 'They were to please you, my master.' 9 But Esau said, 'I already have enough, my brother. Keep what you have.' 10 Jacob said, 'No! Please! If I have pleased you, then accept the gift I give you. I am very happy to see your face again. It is like seeing the face of God, because you have accepted me. 11 So I beg you to accept the gift I give you. God has been very good to me, and I have more than I need.' And because Jacob begged, Esau accepted the gift."
The herds that Esau referenced here were the five droves of goats, rams, camels, cows and donkeys that Jacob was giving to him. Esau already knew that these groups of animals were gifts being given to him by Jacob because Jacob's servants had told him. However, he asked Jacob this question directly so that he could have an opportunity to refuse them. As Esau graciously refused the gifts, Jacob knew that he had found favor with Esau. People who have found the favor of God desire the favor of others, whereas those who seem to seek out conflict are themselves struggling with their own inner conflict. Hurt people hurt people.
Esau responded to the graciousness of his brother with the words, "I already have enough." The fact that Esau had more than enough to satisfy himself and his people proves he was not beyond the blessing of God. No one is beyond God's blessing. In Matthew 5:45 we read, "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Oh, the selfless love of God known as grace. Everyone is a recipient of God's grace while on this earth. The question is: Will God's grace lead them into a personal relationship with Him?
Sadly, it appears that the kindness of God did not lead Esau to repentance before Him for in Hebrews 12:16 we read, "Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin or is like Esau and never thinks about God. As the oldest son, Esau would have received everything from his father, but he sold all that for a single meal."
In v.10 of today's passage, Jacob used an idiom found elsewhere in the Bible. Someone’s face being compared to seeing the face of God is to say that just as God favors them when His face shines on them, so it is when a person favors another. The high priestly blessing of Israel included, "The Lord make His face shine upon you." Jacob saw God’s favor to him in Esau’s favor extended to him. Jacob was learning to see the world through God's eyes as God continued to define him.
In this interaction between Jacob and Esau, we are reminded that when we repented from trying to be our own savior and we invited the Lord Jesus to be our only Savior, we demonstrated our understanding of the Father's acceptance of us through the Lord Jesus death on the cross. It was Adrian Rogers who once said, "Grace is God’s acceptance of us. Faith is our acceptance of God accepting us."
In v.12-14 of today's passage we read, "12 Then Esau said, 'Let us be going. I will travel with you.' 13 But Jacob said to him, 'My master, you know that the children are weak. And I must be careful with my flocks and their young ones. If I force them to go too far in one day, all the animals will die. 14 So, my master, you go on ahead of me, your servant. I will follow you slowly and let the animals and the children set the speed at which we travel. I will meet you, my master, in Edom.'"
In a sign of both acceptance of the gift and of a happy relationship restored, Esau offered to travel with Jacob, leading the way and helping him as they traveled. Despite Esau's offer, Jacob turned him down due to the fact that Esau would be slowed down by the needs of Jacob's family to not travel at a brisk pace. Jacob was a changed man who once was quite selfish but now was becoming more selfless. When we serve more, we take less. When we give more, we need less. When we are more grateful, we will want less. When there’s more of God in our lives, we tend to be more selfless. This is the point of our sanctification.
In v.15 of today's passage we read, "So Esau said, 'Then let me leave some of my people with you.' 'No, thank you,' said Jacob. 'I only want to please you, my master."
When Jacob declined Esau's first offer, Esau offered to leave some of his men with Jacob. This was a gesture of protection and help on his journey, but Jacob declined again. Jacob had all the help and servants he needed. A subtle picture that we are being given here is that as we tend to God's flocks on this earth, his people, we don’t need secular man’s help in the process. The people of God are God's flock, and His responsibility. If a church cannot sustain itself, it needs to close. If the mission isn’t productive, it needs to be ended. There is no reason that we should have to rely on the secular world to have God's business accomplished.
Jacob was learning that it was the Lord who was His protector. This is what happens when we are being defined by the Lord. We begin to see life through His eyes. I'm reminded of that scene at the end of the movie, Bruce Almighty, when God played by Morgan Freeman asks Bruce the question, "What do you want?" Bruce surprised God when he answered, "Grace! I want her to be happy, no matter what that means. I want her to find someone who will treat her with all the love she deserved from me. I want her to meet someone who will see her always as I do now, through Your eyes."
