The Book of
Genesis 33
20 verses≈ 4 min3 peopleBSB
Images are artistic interpretations.
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In this chapter
Where we are
- 1–11BeginningsCreation, fall, flood, Babel
- 12–24AbrahamThe call and the promise
- 25–36Isaac and JacobThe promise passed onChapter 33
- 37–50JosephGod meant it for good
Jacob Meets Esau
Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with four hundred men.
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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 at the rear.
But Jacob himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?” Jacob answered, “These are the children God has graciously given your servant.”
Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down. Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.
These are the children God has graciously given your servant.
Genesis 33:5
Reflect
Twenty years of dread
Jacob had dreaded this morning for twenty years. He “bowed to the ground seven times,” and instead of a sword he met open arms. Esau “ran to him and embraced him.” “And they both wept.” Is there someone you have been avoiding because of something you did, or something they did to you? Write down their name, and what one honest step toward them might look like.
Esau
“What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?” asked Esau.
Jacob
“To find favor in your sight, my lord,” Jacob answered.
Esau
“I already have plenty, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what belongs to you.”
Jacob
But Jacob insisted, “No, please! If I have found favor in your sight, then receive this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me favorably. Please accept my gift that was brought to you, because God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.”
So Jacob pressed him until he accepted.
Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way, and I will go ahead of you.”
Stylised map · locations approximate
On the map
Peniel to Shechem
From Peniel above the Jabbok, Jacob comes down to Succoth near the Jordan and builds “shelters for his livestock.” Later he crosses the river and climbs into the hill country to Shechem, “in the land of Canaan.” Esau goes home to Seir, far to the south. Peniel’s and Succoth’s sites are probable, not certain.
Pray
I have all I need
Jacob had spent his life grabbing: a birthright, a blessing, the best of Laban’s flocks. Now he says, “God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” Thank God for His grace to you, name the things you keep grasping for, and ask Him for a heart that is content and glad to give.
Jacob Settles in Shechem
After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city. And the plot of ground where he pitched his tent, he purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver.
0:17
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
There he set up an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
El-Elohe-Israel
Genesis 33:20
Face to face
Whiteboard
Jacob hoped gifts would buy him a welcome before he saw Esau’s face. That night at Peniel, in his own words, he saw God face to face and lived. In the morning his brother’s welcome felt like God’s own favor, and at Shechem he named the altar for the God of Israel, using his new name.
Question
Quick question
Jacob met his brother the way a servant meets a great lord.
How many times did Jacob bow to the ground as he approached Esau?
You’ve experienced
Genesis 33
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A verse to carry with you
These are the children God has graciously given your servant.
Genesis 33:5
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