Daily Devotions
Genesis
"The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly." Psalm 118:15
Text: Genesis 33:1-20
WISE AND STEADY
It was time to move on into the Promised Land. Esau offered to go with Jacob into Canaan, out of brotherly love and concern.
“Then Esau said, ‘Let us take our journey; let us go,
and I will go before you.’
But Jacob said to him, ‘My lord knows that the children are weak,
and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if
the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die.
Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on
slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the
children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.'”
GENESIS 33:12-14
Jacob appreciated his brother’s offer to ride alongside. But wisely and gently he turned down his offer.
1. Consideration for his children
Jacob must have realized that Esau and his four hundred were used to swift movements. They certainly would not move at the pace he had set for his family. How fast could children travel? They would not be able to keep up with Esau and his men. Conversely, Esau might find it tiresome to move at a snail’s pace.
2. Consideration of the flock
Jacob must have been an excellent shepherd. He knew the pace at which his flocks and herds could move. If there were nursing animals, too fast a pace might well kill them. Esau was more famed for hunting than shepherding and thus might not have appreciated what Jacob saw.
3. Consideration of Esau
Jacob promised that he would look up Esau once he had settled down in Canaan. Esau had chosen to live in Seir, in the land of Edom. Perhaps he had accepted that he could not but accept things as they turned out. He would not inherit the Promised Land, and he might as well find another location to settle down. He had chosen Seir to live in.
A TRULY CHANGED PERSON
Jacob continued to display the fact that he had been touched by the Lord. His deeds matched his thoughts. He carried himself with great dignity now. The fear of his brother was gone. The Fear of his father Isaac was in his heart now. Every action of Jacob seemed to reflect that he had undergone a truly profound life-changing experience. His faith in God was no longer a theoretical concept in his mind. The Lord had become very real in his every day life!