This week’s reading: Genesis 33:1-20
Hi Friends,
After preparing to meet this next challenge, Jacob bravely moves forward to meet his brother Esau and the army he is bringing with him. I say “bravely” not because he was not afraid anymore, but because he was trusting God to be with him throughout the entire ordeal. Right there, are two lessons you and I can learn so that we too can have courage to face “come what may” with peace. We will talk about these below, as well as looking further into the most beautiful character trait anyone can display. Do you know what that is? We are never more like Jesus than when we have this heart attitude and God always grants blessings when we freely display it. We are in Genesis chapter 33, reading it all, verses 1 through 20. Listen to Jacob’s changed heart and God’s answer to his prayers:
“Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Then 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.” Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.” Gen 33:1-9 NIV
Be prepared. After wrestling with God all night, which granted him the reassurance he desperately needed that God was with him and would protect him from Esau, Jacob leaves the matter with God and moves forward. As Christians, to describe what Jacob has done, we would use the term, “leaving it at the foot of the Cross.” Can we see the freedom in this heart attitude? Trusting God to do what is best and simply doing what we know we should be doing, instead of trying to control it all? Unfortunately, I think too many of us misunderstand that term. We tend to “lay” things at the foot of the Cross instead of “leaving” them there. See the difference? I know, through Beckie’s trials, I struggled with that for quite a long time. I would place the issue in God’s hands, but then because I did not have deep enough Faith, I would end up taking it back from Him. This way I was always trying to control the situation and the outcome, instead of trusting that God had things under control and would do whatever was best for all involved. Again, instead of leaving it at the Cross, I would lay it down but then pick it back up again when things did not seem to be going fast enough or the way I wanted them to go. But trusting God means not knowing for sure what will happen, but believing that, whatever happens, God has seen it beforehand and has made provisions for it. Trusting without knowing. This is Faith. If we already knew, than that would be fact. But the Bible teaches us to walk by Faith. (see 2Co 5:7) This is what Jacob is doing here because this is the point where God has brought Jacob to on his journey of transformation. Instead of trying to control things, as he attempted to do with his deception of Esau, Jacob was now willing to trust God with his next obstacle, no matter how it turned out. It took him all night to finally let go of this need to be the god of his own life and to believe that the only true God would make the way for him and his family. If this is not a valuable lesson, I don’t know what is! We children of God still continue to think we must control every aspect of life, along with every person in it, if we are to have the peace and joy we crave. Nothing could be further from the truth. We must learn from Jacob that, when challenges come, because they will, we should run to God with all our concerns and questions, but then leave the matter to Him, trusting God to guide our steps as we choose to move forward in Faith anyway. You see, we do not need to know every detail of what will happen…Jacob still had no idea if Esau was getting ready to attack him and his people…all we do need is to place our Faith in God, knowing that, whatever happens, God has already made The Way for us. Whether we have things work out smoothly the way we desire OR whether they are rocky and do not end up anything like we wanted, it is all part of God’s Holy Plan for our lives, so we can remain content either way. (see 1Thess 5:18) This doesn’t mean we will ignore or deny any heartache. It just means we will continue to leave it all at the foot of the Cross, receiving God’s comfort and strength to carry on. This has certainly been, and continues to be, my journey. The week before Beckie passed away was horrific for me. Deep inside, I knew she was coming to the end of her life here, but outside I refused to accept it. Talk about wrestling with God! When she was pronounced dead, a part of me died with her, yet God had prepared me beforehand to return to Him, time and time again, and leave it at the Cross. So even now as I write this, and the tears fall from my eyes, I can take a breath, remember how much God loves her and me, and surrender all the pain to Him, so I can pick up all the joy which gives me the strength to keep moving forward. I go through this process so much quicker these days, and my Faith is not only restored, it is made stronger than before. This is one of the ways God prepares us for whatever comes down the road. It is almost like when women go into labor. Many of us have been blessed by attending some type of birthing class before we actually are ready to bring that blessing into the world. Learning how to breathe, as well as what the process normally entails prepares us for the struggle and pain that may come our way. But since we are prepared, we are able to endure it all because we know God is with us. Because we know He would never allow anything that would destroy our Faith in Him. Because we know God loves us. In a sense, that is what Jacob did as he wrestled with his fears and doubts when he brought them all to God. He then left it all at the feet of the God that blessed him. We must do the same, especially when, like Jacob, we know something is approaching. But here’s a wonderful thing that helps enormously when everything seems fine: like with birthing classes, we can take fortifying “classes” with God even before any challenge comes our way. We do not need to wait until there is a problem. Instead, we can choose to ground ourselves in God’s Love and Grace daily, so that when the problem comes, we will be ready to meet it face to face. This is a huge part of the blessing of Sanctification. It does not mean we will never have situations hit us out of nowhere, but it hopefully does mean we will run to God that much quicker and trust Him in it, instead of trying to control it all ourselves… all by ourselves. This is one of the purposes of Sanctification, so we need not live a moment alone, nor face any obstacle by ourselves. The more we grow in Christ, the more we will lean on the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, emotions, desires, words and actions, and the more, like Jacob, we can face come what may in Faith, knowing God will work it all together for our good. Abiding in God, that is, living with the sure knowledge of His real Presence, moment by moment, in our lives, so we can sense His guidance and Grace, is what the Abundant Life is all about. And we can have a deeper experience of it as we seek to live prepared.
Be humble. Now that Jacob is prepared to face Esau, he automatically displays one of the most beautiful virtues anyone can live by. What is that? Well, it is the very opposite of the worst one, which is Pride. I have often said that Pride is the root of all evil. It is what causes all the problems we have in this world, including all the problems we have within our own heart too. It makes us think we are always right, which causes strife, divisions and wars. It makes us feel like we should get our way all the time, which causes disappointment, anxiety and despair. It makes us want to focus on MMI, which causes us to either act in arrogance and vanity, or act depressed and pitiful. Both of those center on MMI because all our thoughts, emotions and will is turned inward. Whether we are being conceited or have this false inferiority complex, we are being full of ourselves, and that is the exact problem with Pride. We were created first for Upward, then for outward, so anything that causes us to go inward, and focus on MMI, will lead to trouble sooner or later. Here we see Jacob display the cure to this Pride. Where he used to be all about “what is best for Jacob,” now he is thinking about his family. He is concerned about following God’s lead. He is more willing to let his brother have the upper hand. And one more thing? He is ready to place himself in the line of fire and receive whatever God will allow. We see this in the reading I quoted above. (see Gen 33:3) While Jacob does separate his family into groups, placing his beloved Rachel and their treasured son, Joseph, in the last and safest place, he goes out in front of all of them, hoping that, if Esau is still angry and really desires to kill him, either he will leave the rest of his family alone, or they will have the opportunity to flee for their lives. Jacob is prepared for either thing, but humbly places himself in harm’s way, hoping to spare the others. Jacob is not putting on a show as he bows down to Esau seven times. He is sincerely repentant. He really desires to reconcile with Esau. He truly is a changed man. This humility is the change this fallen world craves to see in us, Church. Humble people who realize that, we should all be doomed to an eternity of darkness and suffering. Yet because of God the Father’s Grace, because of God the Son’s Sacrifice, because of God the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, we get to go to Heaven when our time is done. Moreover, we get to live a life that displays our humble gratitude. How are we doing with this, my Friends? I know I am still learning how to live this way, how about you? This seems to be what Jacob has learned though, and will continue to learn, because the way he acts is completely opposite of that fallen, corrupted MMI nature. He is reflecting the New Life. This is a life lived by placing God and others before ourselves. This is a life lived by seeking what God’s Will is, instead of asking ourselves what we want. This is a life lived with overflowing peace and joy because we have chosen to place our trust in God since we know He loves us. Humility and Pride are as different as day and night, light and darkness, holiness and sinfulness. One will open the doors to Heaven for us. The other is a never ending struggle to try and obtain something that we simply cannot on our own…and if we do not learn the lesson Jacob has submitted to, we will continue that struggle for all Eternity. My Friends, Eternity is a very, very long time. Like Jacob, let’s learn to be the opposite of who we used to be. Let’s learn to leave Pride behind and live by humility.
God answers prayers. As Jacob bravely comes near Esau, he will see that God has indeed answered his deepest prayers: to be reconciled with his brother. To have the forgiveness of the one he offended. To have the past wiped away and a new beginning start. Which one of us doesn’t need that somewhere in our lives? There is great power in reconciliation. Ultimately, this was the mission of our Jesus, to bring us back into relationship with our God Creator. Esau shows Jacob grace as God moves his heart to forgive his brother. God shows you and me His Amazing Grace as He moves our hearts to simply accept as truth what Jesus has done on our behalf. He has taken away our sin, do we believe that? Not only our sin nature, but Jesus has paid the penalty for every sinful thought, feeling, desire, word and deed too. By His Blood we are healed. (see Isa 53:5 & 1Pe 2:24) We can have a deep and intimate friendship with our Creator. He is our Maker and Father who will protect and provide for all our needs. He is our Savior and Closest Friend who will listen and empathize with all our struggles. He is our Teacher and Holy Spirit who will comfort and encourage and guide all our steps. Oh this relationship is like none other, and Jacob has received a deeper filling of this miracle. As he introduces his family to Esau, he freely proclaims that it is all a gift from God’s Grace over his life. (see Gen 33:5) Jacob knows he doesn’t deserve it. Jacob knows he has done nothing to earn it. Jacob also knows that God, because God is Good, has chosen to bless him, and so he points to some of the tangible results of God’s Grace: his wives and children who are the furthering of God’s promise to his grandfather Abraham. My Friends, let’s stop trying to deserve or earn God’s blessings. Instead let’s simply begin to humbly run to Him and trust whatever God brings into your lives is a blessing. I hope we can begin to understand what Jacob knows here, being with God is the greatest blessing any human can have. It leads to the enjoyment of life. It leads to the peacefulness that helps us love Him and others. It leads to contentment where we can display, automatically, our humility and gratitude towards God’s Grace. Jacob’s gratitude was not lip service. We know this because, even after Esau and he part ways, Jacob builds an altar to God displaying his gratitude. Listen to these two commentaries. First from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary: “Where we have a tent, God must have an altar. Jacob dedicated this altar to the honour of El-elohe-Israel, God, the God of Israel; to the honour of God, the only living and true God; and to the honour of the God of Israel, as a God in covenant with him.” Second from Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible: “the blessed communion which now existed between the Almighty and himself. This was the very spot where Abraham, about one hundred and eighty-five years ago, built the first altar he erected in the promised land Genesis 12:6-7. It is now consecrated anew to the God of promise.” Now, God was Jacob’s God. God was not only the God of Abraham and Isaac, but of Jacob as well. This is the intimate, personal relationship God desires with each of His children. Once we have surrendered our life to Jesus as Lord and Savior, we cannot live life by someone else’s Faith. We must have our own. This means coming to God, staying with Him and abiding in Him. We come to God with all our woes and wonders. We stay with God so we may learn to leave things we cannot change at the foot of the Cross and/or work with God to make the necessary changes we can control. Then we simply remain in Him, leaning on His moment-by-mount wisdom, strength, guidance, insight and so on and so on. This should be the most pressing prayer of our hearts, to become one with God, like it should have always been. And this is a prayer God will always answer.
Be reconciled. These two brothers embrace each other and weep showing their remorse over past offenses that are now forgiven. Jacob insists that Esau accept the gifts he has sent ahead of him, no longer out of fear but now out of a heart of generosity and gratitude. Esau accepts. Then Esau invites Jacob to live with him in his land, but Jacob points to his own family and possessions, and basically tells Esau that it is best to go their own separate ways. I am sure Jacob is thinking about Esau’s flawed character here and most likely knows it is a bad idea to try to mesh the two families who worship differently together, especially given their rocky history. This was not just a matter of daily life, but a spiritual factor that Jacob must have in mind also. Listen once again to Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary to see how he explains the potential problem: “It is not desirable to be too intimate with superior ungodly relations, who will expect us to join in their vanities, or at least to wink at them, though they blame, and perhaps mock at, our religion. Such will either be a snare to us, or offended with us.” There seems to be no difference in Esau’s attitude towards God and Jacob senses this. Rather than become yoked to an unbeliever, and rather than open the door to the temptation for him or his family to dismiss God as well, Jacob instead promises to visit Esau when he can, and the two part in peace. Some think that Jacob was being purposely deceptive once again to his brother in these verses, but that dismisses the change of heart that God has transformed within Jacob. Instead this idea that they both agreed to live apart, but remain on friendly terms, is more consistent with the reconciliation we see between these two brothers. You see, we can be friendly with others, loving them and blessing them as God leads, but this does not mean we must live in unison with them. In other words, we can love others without joining them in any sinful attitudes and/or acts. We can choose to live at peace with those who are still fighting against God, but of course, never join them in the fight. Never forget, loving does not mean condoning. Yet we can be gentle so long as they choose to be at peace with us. Esau has chosen to forgive…sadly, later generations are not that gracious, and this feud will rise back up to the surface in Israel’s later history. But for these two brothers at least, there appears to be no animosity between them, as we will witness when they later get together to bury their father Isaac. (see Gen 35:28-29) St Paul sums this up perfectly: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Ro 12:18) This begins by placing our Faith in God and trusting in the work of Jesus our Savior. Salvation grants us the great blessing of being reconciled to God. Then it continues as we grow in Christ through Sanctification, so that we may point others to this great gift in Christ, that they may be reconciled also. But whether they choose to surrender or not, we can choose to be reconciled with them anyway, loving God by loving them. This is what Jacob does with Esau, and it is what we must seek to do also.
The ministry of reconciliation. (see 2Co 5:18) Reconciliation is vital, and this is one of the many lessons Jacob has learned from God and we too must learn. Sharing the Gospel is the privilege of every believer, not just for Pastors, Elders or Bible teachers. We can, and should, find ways to speak about Jesus. We can, and should, invite others to our church services or activities. Yet there is nothing more powerful than displaying the saved life by living it out before others. Being a Christian does not mean we are perfect, but it does mean we have the Perfect One living within us. And with His help, we can become more and more like Him, able to love and live in harmony with everyone, regardless of their personal choices. Sometimes this means walking away from an aggressive argument. Sometimes it means sharing our heart with those who disagree. Sometimes this even means letting others reap what they have been sowing. Whatever way God leads us to show that we are His, reconciled with Him forevermore, we are to follow His lead, just like Jacob does in our reading. I hope we will all meditate on this great blessing this week because to be reconciled with God means we have access to all His Goodness. It also means we can share that goodness with those around us too. This is the Abundant Life. I want that, how about you? Then won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
