Daily Devotions
Genesis
"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." Psalm 118:1
Text: Genesis 33:1-20
FIGHTING FEAR WITH FAITH
The morning saw Jacob employing his faith against the fear that sought to overwhelm him. He would meet up with Esau with faith in his heart! Had not the Lord met with him? Had he not been given the name Israel? He would face Esau and let him know that the despicable Jacob was no more. A new person had arisen, and his name was Israel, prince with God.
“Now Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and there,
Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men.
So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and
the two maidservants. And he put the maidservants
and their children in front,
Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.
Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself
to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.”
GENESIS 33:1-31. The noticeable absence of servants
Jacob had not factored in his servants at all. He had sent them ahead of him with the present for Esau. This meeting was between two brothers. Servants might just complicate the process of reconciliation.
2. Still very human
The way Jacob divided up his family showed that though he had undergone further transformation in his faith and life, he was still very human. The two maidservants and their children were put in front. Leah followed after, and his beloved Rachel was placed last. The reasoning behind this order was obvious. If Esau were to attack, there was the possibility that Rachel and Joseph might be able to escape the slaughter! Till the end, Jacob loved Rachel best!
3. The redeeming factor
However, we are surely able to forgive Jacob for being so typically human! The redeeming feature was that he rode out in front to meet Esau. He did not lag behind with Rachel. Was there danger? Would there be a slaughter? Then he would be the first casualty. He would be the first to die if necessary! Thus he rode out in front to meet Esau.
4. Abject humility
Whatever Esau expected, he probably could not imagine that his younger twin brother could prostrate himself, seven times! How was he to make Jacob out? Was he a different person from the one he hated with all his heart?
IT’S FOR REAL THIS TIME
How should we understand Jacob’s prostration of himself before his brother? Surely this was not a mere performance he dreamt up to deceive his brother!