[And He Walks With Me] Genesis 33
1-3 Jacob further divided his household and then placed himself between Esau and his four hundred men. He then bowed to the ground seven times to represent complete submission and respect. This posture is reminiscent of the manner in which “a vassal greets his patron in the ceremony of a royal court, with the deference appropriate to a superior.”[73]
4-5 After all Jacob’s worry, Esau ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. It could be that Esau initially started out to harm Jacob, and Jacob’s gifts assuaged his anger. Yet, the brother who was formerly angry gave Jacob the warm welcome of a brother. Sometimes, worry is legitimate, but there are many times when worry leads us to exaggerate the situation in our own minds. It then becomes a vicious cycle, where we worry about something, which makes it seem worse than it is, which causes us to worry more, which makes it seem even worse, and so on. A far better response to worry is found in Matthew 6:25-34 and Philippians 4:4-7.
10 Esau’s face was, to Jacob, like seeing God’s face in that it was commonly believed that anyone who saw the face of God would die, but when Jacob saw God face-to-face in 32:24-32, God graciously did not kill him.[74]
11 Jacob recognized that God [had] been gracious to [him] despite his previous ungodly character and actions. Grace is defined as an unmerited favor, something that we do not – and cannot – deserve. Jacob did not deserve all that God had done for him, and neither do we.
14 There are two possible explanations the way Jacob said he would come to my lord at Seir but then went to Succoth (17). He may have been trying to deceive Esau and get lost in Canaan, but that would have been inconsistent with the character transformation demonstrated over the last few chapters. Alternatively, he may have been politely declining Esau’s invitation. After all, given the fact Esau just said he had enough (9), plus Jacob’s own considerable flocks and herds, their combined flocks were likely too much for Seir, which is the arid, mountainous region located between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba (see map below). Indeed, this was the same region where Lot went after separating from Abraham because their combined flocks were too large for the area to sustain them (13:1-12). It would seem that Esau is still impetuous, inviting his brother to come home with him without first thinking about whether such an arrangement was even feasible. Fortunately, Jacob now used his skills to discern a different course that would save both him and Esau a lot of trouble in the long run.
17-20 Succoth and Shechem are located north of the Dead Sea in the hill country just west of the Jordan River. The area receives much more rain than Seir, where Esau was living, and was therefore much more suitable for Jacob’s large flocks and herds. It was here that Jacob purchased a section of the field (19) and built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock (17). This marked a significant moment in the life of Israel: the nascent nation was transitioning from nomadic, temporary residents of the land to established, permanent residents of the land.
[73] Sproul 2016, Genesis 33:3-4; Keener and Walton 2016, Genesis 33:3; NIV Study Bible 2011, Genesis 33:3
[74] Sproul 2016, Genesis 33:10