Jacob's Reconciliation with Esau: A Story of Grace

Genesis chapter 33. I think I said last week, or maybe it's a few weeks ago, that chapters 32 and 33 really go together, but we've been breaking it up, and I'm going to break it up again this evening, so we're not going to deal with the whole of chapter 33. We're just going to deal with the first 11 verses. So Genesis chapter 33 verses 1 to 11.

Jacob looked up, but there was Esau coming with his 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants.

He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him.

He threw his arms around his neck and kissed him, and they wept. Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. Who are these with you? He asked. Jacob answered, They are the children God has graciously given your servant. Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. Next Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.

Esau asked, What's the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met? To find favour in your eyes, my lord, he said. But Esau said, I already have plenty, my brother.

Keep what you have for yourself. No, please, said Jacob. If I have found favour in your eyes, accept this gift from me, for to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me, and I have all I need. And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted. I think I've told some of you before that many years ago my father-in-law found himself on the border between Zimbabwe and what was then called Rhodesia. I'm not quite sure how this happened, but somehow he found himself sort of caught between the two countries and without a passport. So he found himself in trouble.

I don't know to this day, you know, how it worked out, but I think it must have caused him quite a lot of stress before it was sorted out. I think we all know what it is to find ourselves in trouble, don't we? Sometimes we cause our own trouble, and other times trouble comes our way, but we all know what it is to experience it.

And as we look at these verses tonight, Jacob is in trouble. At least he thinks he's in trouble. You may remember that Jacob sent out his servants to see what was going on, and they came back with a report that Esau was coming in Jacob's direction with 400 men, what we might call a small army. And Jacob thought, understandably so, that his older brother was still angry with him because years prior to this he had stolen his birthright and his blessing, and he was certain to be killed. Jacob is in trouble as he looks up. Look at verse 1.

At least he thinks he's in trouble. Jacob looks up, and there was Esau coming with 400 men. What's he going to do? I wonder what we would have done if we'd been in Jacob's shoes. Well, before we get into verses 1 to 11, let's just remind ourselves, and this is important, of two things that Jacob has done.

The first is that he has cried out to God in prayer, laying hold of the promise of God. Look at verses 11 and 12 of chapter 32.

Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand on the sea, which cannot be counted.

So firstly, Jacob has already prayed to God to save him, to keep him safe. Look at verses 11 and 12 of chapter 32.

Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand on the sea, which cannot be counted.

So firstly, Jacob has already prayed to God to save him, to keep him safe along with his family. But secondly, in his weakness, he has sought the blessing or the help of God.

Verse 24 and following, So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, Let me go, for it is daybreak. But Jacob replied, I will not let you go unless you bless me.

And Jacob, of course, overcame, and he received the blessing he sought. Look at verse 28, Then the man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.

So before we look at these 11 verses, just two things to impress upon us or to remind us of. Jacob has prayed to God for his safekeeping. He's also prayed or asked for the blessing, the help of God. As I've already said, verse 1, Jacob looked up and there was Esau coming with his 400 men. So what did he do?

He quickly arranged his wives and his children in order of importance, which meant, of course, that Rachel was put at the back because Rachel, as we've seen, was the true love of Jacob, or at least the one he loved the most, and he wanted to give her, presumably, the best chance of escape should things turn nasty. And having arranged his family in this way, he then went out to meet Esau, putting himself between Esau and his 400 men and his family. And I want to say well done to Jacob. This is the sort of thing we should do, isn't it, men? If someone comes against our wives or against our family, we should put ourselves between them and the attacker. That's part and parcel of what it means to be a man or a husband. Jacob clearly thinks that he is in trouble, but the unexpected happens. Esau, verse 4, runs to meet Jacob and embraces him.

He also throws his arms around his neck and kisses him, and together they weep. How can we explain this other than to say this is a wonderful time of reconciliation? It seems that all is forgiven. But I think we must say that this is an answer to prayer.

I think we must say that this is the result of Jacob wrestling with God and seeking his blessing. God has surely been at work in Esau to soften his heart and make him favorable towards his little brother. And you know, God can do this sort of thing, can't he? He has the power to turn the hearts of the most powerful men. Listen to what we read in Proverbs chapter 21 and verse 1. In the Lord's hand, the king's heart is a stream of water that he channels towards all who please him. What a wonderful proverb that is. In the Lord's hand, the king's heart is a stream of water that he channels towards all who please him.

Well, Esau then looks up and he sees the women and the children and asks the obvious question, Who are these? And Jacob answers, They are the children God has graciously given your servant. And the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel and they too bowed down. So we've got reconciliation.

We've got family introductions. Next, we might say, as we look at verses 8 to 11, are the acceptance of the gifts. Verse 8, Esau asks, What's the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?

You may remember. Rachel and they too bowed down. So we've got reconciliation.

We've got family introductions. Next, we might say, as we look at verses 8 to 11, are the acceptance of the gifts. Verse 8, Esau asks, what's the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?

You may remember that Jacob decided when he knew that his brother Esau was on his way to sort of send his servants before him with gifts to present to his brother Esau. Gifts that were fit for a king, costly gifts. I think these gifts were intended to soften Esau up and make him favorably disposed towards him. But when they meet Jacob, it's very honest, isn't he, about what these gifts were for?

Look at verse 8, to find favour or to find grace in your eyes, my Lord. And interestingly, Esau doesn't simply say, oh, thank you very much. He says, verse 9, I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself. And this seems to imply that the gifts didn't really have their desired effect. They don't seem to have made any difference whatsoever. Esau is happy, you see, for his brother Jacob to keep everything. It wasn't the gifts that made a difference.

It wasn't Jacob's cleverness that made the difference. It was seeking the help of God that made the difference. Well, we see Jacob insisting that his brother keep the gifts.

No, please, said Jacob, if I have found favour in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God now that you have received me favorably. Please accept the present that was brought to you for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need. And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. Now, what does Jacob mean when he says in verse 11, for to see your face is like seeing the face of God now that you have received me favorably?

Well, I don't think it can have anything to do with the physical appearance. Because God's face, whatever it looked like, would have been different from Esau's. I think what Jacob means is this, that when he saw the face of God, I think it's important to note that it would have been in the dark, so he wouldn't have got a good look, we might say, at God's face. When he saw God's face, he probably thought that he was going to die, that he was going to be killed, because who can see the face of God and live? Yet God was gracious to him and accepted him. Well, the same was true, wasn't it, when Jacob saw the face of his brother Esau.

He thought he was going to be killed, but he found favour with his brother. He accepted him. That's why I think we read what we read here in verse 11. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God. And what comes next is really the key to understanding this. Now that you have received me favorably.

He saw God's face and God received him favorably. He saw the face of Esau and Esau received him favorably. I said at the beginning how we sometimes find ourselves in trouble or difficulty. What are we to do when difficulties or troubles come our way? Are we supposed to trust in our own resourcefulness to see our way through them? I don't think so. I think we are to do what Jacob did. I think we are to do what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane.

We are to pray, we're to seek God's help. Listen to the instruction of the Apostle Peter. He writes in 1 Peter 5, verses 6 and 7, Humble yourselves therefore under God's mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety or all your care on him because he cares for you. Sometimes when we find ourselves in trouble, we do trust in our own resourcefulness, don't we?

I know that I sometimes do. If I'm in a muddle, I think... In 1 Peter chapter 5, verses 6 and 7, humble yourselves therefore under God's mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time.

Cast all your anxiety or all your care on him because he cares for you. Sometimes when we find ourselves in trouble, we do trust in our own resourcefulness, don't we?

I know that I sometimes do. If I'm in a muddle, I think, now what have I got to do to get myself out of this muddle? And perhaps in our pride, we put out our chest and we send our gifts, so to speak, on ahead of us. But the best thing that we can do is to humble ourselves before God, who can change hearts and move mountains, and cast all our care, all our anxiety, all our troubles on him.

Why does Peter say that we can do this? Because he cares for us. Sir George Adam Smith tells how he and his guide were climbing a Swiss mountain. And I do have the name of the Swiss mountain written down, but I can't pronounce it, so I won't try. It was stormy, and they were making their climb on the sheltered side of the peak. When they reached the summit, they were filled with exhilaration. Sir George forgot about the fierce winds, leapt up, and was nearly blown over the edge to the glacier below. The guide quickly grabbed hold of him and exclaimed, On your knees, sir.

You are safe here only on your knees. And you know, when we are in trouble, the same is true, isn't it, for us as Christians. When the wind is blowing, the best place to be, the safest place to be, is on our knees before God in prayer. Well, let's pray and then we'll sing.

Our loving God and Heavenly Father, we thank you for the way in which we are seeing Jacob growing in his faith. At the beginning of his life, he seemed to be a young man full of lies and deceit. Lord, you began to work in his life, and we've seen as we've read these chapters how that you began a work in him to mould and to make him into the person that you would have him be. And even as we read these verses this evening, we've seen Jacob making reference to your grace. Perhaps at the beginning that would not have happened. And as we've looked at these two chapters, we've seen him crying out to you in prayer and wrestling with you in order that he might seek your blessing. Please be at work in us so that we too might grow and become more like your son, the Lord Jesus. When trials and difficulties arise, and they do, we pray that our first port of call, as it were, would be to come before you and to pray rather than sorting out all the problems, all the difficulties in our own strength.

So often we do that. Forgive us, Lord. And we thank you that as we come to you in prayer that we do so to one who is able to change hearts and is able to move mountains. You are the God of miracles. And we thank you, Lord, that we can indeed turn to you in prayer when things are difficult, when we're finding life a real struggle. We can turn to the one who loves us and cares for us and is able to answer our prayers in ways that far surpass our expectations. What a great God you are. We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.