Reunited (33:1-20)
Neal Pollard
Have you ever dreaded something so entirely that you couldn’t eat, sleep, or concentrate? Some looming and fearful prospect, a dreaded conversation, some bill or taxes, an anticipated diagnosis, is all-consuming and prevents you from functioning like normal? That surely describes the emotion of Jacob in anticipation of seeing a brother from whose presence he had fled decades earlier. He sees Esau and his 400 men coming (1), so he braces for the confrontation by dividing his wives, maids, and their children presumably in favored order with Rachel and Joseph at the very rear (2). He goes to the head of the line and humbles himself by bowing seven times to the ground before he reaches his brother (3). Can you imagine? Perhaps he feels that these are his last moments on earth.
Esau comes running toward him, but imagine Jacob’s surprise when he’s met with a hearty hug and kiss instead of a sword or fist (4). Both of them weep (4). Esau looks at the caravan of children along with their mothers and he inquires about them. Jacob introduces the eleven sons and his daughter, with Zilpah, Bilhah, Leah, and Rachel (5-7). After meeting them, Esau’s next concern is why Jacob had met him with such an extravagant gift (8-11; cf. 32:13-16). Jacob explains that God has blessed him tremendously and he wishes to share that with his cheated brother (10-11). After some persuasion, Esau reluctantly accepts it (11).
Then, Esau extends hospitality to his brother (12-16). Jacob politely declines both overtures, explaining that his company could not keep pace (13-14) and that Esau leaving men in their company is too much and not necessary (15). Jacob is relieved to experience Esau’s mercy and is content to move on with his life assured in the knowledge of their reconciliation. We assume that they parted on good terms, but the text is silent.
Both brothers are transformed. Jacob has both gotten a generous taste of his own medicine with Laban and received revelation and blessings from God. It has changed him, a thoroughly penitent, sacrificial, courageous man who faces his brother. Esau is no longer bitter or resentful, but even generous and certainly magnanimous. What a beautiful picture of two men who were once at odds but who could see the bigger picture. The fact that they were brothers was more important than what once divided them. What a lesson for God’s people today!
The chapter ends by charting Jacob’s resumption of his journey toward Canaan. He had fled 700 miles from Beersheba northeast to Haran, but had now traversed most of that distance back toward the southwest. Leaving his brother in modern-day Jordan, he crosses into the land of Canaan going from Succoth to Paddan-aram to Shechem (16-19). He bought a piece of land there and, just like his father and grandfather, he prioritizes worship by building an altar and called it “God, God of Israel” (20). From deceiver to devotee, schemer to supplicant, and conniver to committed, Jacob is no longer the man who conspired with his mother to steal from his brother and lie to his father. He is “Israel,” the one who not only strove with God but was permanently changed by his encounter with Him.
Think back to your “old man.” If you reflect honestly, those times were not as enjoyable and fulfilling as you might have told yourself at the time. There is no happiness minus commitment to God. But look at how God shaped and transformed you through His Word, His providence, His blessings, and His goodness. As you’ve grown in trust and commitment, think of how much better life is as you’ve striven to become the “new man.” It’s truly fulfilling (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23; Titus 3:5-6). Jacob appears to have experienced such a process and was blessed for it!
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