Jacob could see Esau coming with his four hundred men, so he divided up his family. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind them and Rachel and Joseph last. It appears that he put them in the order of the least important to him being first, just in case Esau came to inflict harm, to the most important being last.  Then Jacob got in front of them all. He bowed down seven times as he approached Esau in respectful honor. Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced and kissed him. They both cried. Who said, “A man is not supposed to cry?” Real men do express their emotions. This was a reconciliation 20 years in the making. If you recall, Esau was ready to kill Jacob, which is why Rebekah sent him to her side of the family in the first place. Obviously, Esau had forgiven Jacob. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive and with whom you need to reconcile?  Esau saw the women and children and inquired as to who they were. Jacob said that these were the children that God graciously gave him. Each of the women and their children came and bowed down in honor before Esau, first the maidservants, then Leah, and then Rachel and Joseph. Then Esau asked what was up with all of the gifts. Jacob said that he hoped that they would be accepted to find favor in Esau’s sight. Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” I wonder that if Esau had not sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew (Genesis 25), if the Bible would have followed his life story more so than Jacob’s life story.  We would then know how Esau got his “wealth”. After all, the man was traveling with four hundred men. Jacob insisted that Esau take the gifts from him if he now found favor in his sight. In The Message Bible it says that Jacob stated that when he saw Esau’s face, it was as the face of God smiling on him. Have you ever felt like the face of God was smiling on you?  Like He was rejoicing over you with gladness and singing (Zephaniah 3:17)?  Jacob tells Esau that God has been really good to him. In the 11th verse, the New King James Version, quotes Jacob as saying, “Please, take my blessing that is brought to you….” I think that is ironic, considering Jacob stole Esau’s blessing. Esau eventually agrees to accept the presents. 

Esau tells Jacob to come along with him and that he will lead the way. However, realizing that the children were weak and the livestock was nursing, Jacob knew that they wouldn’t make it if the herdsmen drove them hard even for a day. All of the flock would die. So, Jacob told Esau to go on ahead of him and he would travel at a pace that his family and the livestock could endure. Then he would meet him in Seir. Esau offered to leave some of his men with Jacob, but he refused. Jacob was just glad to have received a generous welcome from Esau. So, Esau left and went back to Seir. Jacob didn’t go to Seir, because he went to Succoth and built a house and made booths for his livestock. A Google source indicates that Succoth (which means shed, booth, hut, etc.) was in the opposite direction of Seir. If this is the case, I wonder why Jacob chose to do that. Afterwards, Jacob goes to the city of Shechem, located in the land of Canaan.  So, from Padan Aram, Jacob goes to Succoth and then to Shechem (just outside of the city).  He purchased land from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money and pitched his tent. Jacob built an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel, which means God of Israel.

The next stop is Genesis 34.

To God Be The Glory!