{"id":147,"date":"2012-09-29T19:32:02","date_gmt":"2012-09-30T00:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/?p=147"},"modified":"2012-09-29T19:32:02","modified_gmt":"2012-09-30T00:32:02","slug":"an-encounter-with-esau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/?p=147","title":{"rendered":"An Encounter with Esau"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\">Lesson 32<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">An Encounter with Esau<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">Genesis 33<\/p>\n<p>Me-<\/p>\n<p>There have only been a few times in my life when I have been genuinely afraid.\u00a0 Thankfully, I have not found myself in a situation that could have resulted in possible bodily harm.\u00a0 Once when I was a child my mother had sent me up the street to a small grocery store after dark.\u00a0 As I was walking along I thought I heard footsteps behind me. Afraid to look behind me, I began to run as fast as I could to the store.\u00a0 Someone there went out and looked down the street and saw no one.\u00a0 You can imagine my trip home just waiting for someone to pounce on me.\u00a0 To this day I do not know if I was being followed or it was just the echo of my shoes hitting the road as I ran.\u00a0 The one thing I do know is that the trip back home was a scary time.<\/p>\n<p>We-<\/p>\n<p>Even though most of our fears are personal in nature, the church has fears as shown by the decisions it makes and the culture that exists in the body.\u00a0 We have listened to the world so long that we have come to believe its lie that our Christian faith and virtues are not to be expressed in the public arena but are to be private.\u00a0 We have allowed ourselves to be marginalized and cast aside as the world marches to the drumbeat of the humanistic worldview. The gospel has been compromised if believed at all with the fear that we might offend someone if we claim the promises of the Scriptures to be valid.\u00a0 When are we going to have the courage to face the enemy of the faith head on in the same way that Jacob did by conquering the fear of what lay ahead for us.<\/p>\n<p>God-<\/p>\n<p>Genesis 33:1-2<\/p>\n<p>No sooner had Jacob finished his wrestling match with God and crossed over to his family he looked up and saw Esau and the four hundred men with him coming toward him. Once again he attempted to minimize the lost of his family if Esau meant to do him harm.\u00a0 The order indicated the preference he had for each of his wives and their children. He put Bilhah and Zilpah with their children first, making them the most vulnerable to an attack by Esau.\u00a0 Leah with her children were next.\u00a0 Last to come were Rachel and Joseph. What was done had to have an effect on Jacob\u2019s sons as they understood that he loved Rachel and Joseph more than he loved them.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What took place almost immediately after the encounter with God?<\/li>\n<li>How did he hope to minimize the loss of family members?<\/li>\n<li>Why did he put the maids, Bilhah and Zilpah in front of the other family members?<\/li>\n<li>Why did he then put Rachel and Joseph behind Leah and her children?<\/li>\n<li>What do you think of that kind of favoritism?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Genesis 33:3<\/p>\n<p>After lining up his family Jacob went ahead of them to meet Esau.\u00a0 He did not hide behind the wives and children but approach of Esau bowing to the ground seven times in homage to his brother. By doing so he would try to approach Esau as a servant and not one who wanted to do battle.\u00a0 It was his way of saying I want to put all that had happened between the two behind them.\u00a0 He had to be hoping that such a display of humility would have a calming influence on Esau and possibly averting an armed conflict.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What does the fact that Jacob went ahead of his family say about him?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0How had the encounter with God changed him?<\/li>\n<li>Why did he need that time alone with God after dealing with Laban?<\/li>\n<li>What did he mean to show by bowing down before his brother seven times?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Genesis 33:4-7<\/p>\n<p>Much to his surprise and relief Esau did not display any animosity towards Jacob.\u00a0 He ran up to him and gave him a hug and kiss.\u00a0 Both men then wept at seeing each other after twenty years. After their greeting Esau then looked at Jacob\u2019s family and wanted to know who they were.\u00a0 Jacob gave credit to God for each of them. One by one each of the wives passed by in the order that Jacob had placed them.\u00a0 The maids, then Leah and finally Rachel all came and bowed down before Jacob\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What do you think was the initial reaction of each of the two men upon seeing each other?<\/li>\n<li>Why would it be surprising that Esau initiated what occurred at the reunion?<\/li>\n<li>What does the admission that God gave him the children say about what had happened to Jacob as a result of the last two events?<\/li>\n<li>Why did the whole family bow before Esau?<\/li>\n<li>What had they expected because of Jacob\u2019s actions?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Genesis 33:8-11<\/p>\n<p>Once the initial greetings and introductions were over Esau inquired why Jacob had sent the droves of animals to him.\u00a0 Jacob\u2019s response would indicate a man who was repentant of his past deeds.\u00a0 He was seeking Esau\u2019s forgiveness and hoped the gift would compensate for the wrong he had done many years earlier.\u00a0 At first Esau rejected the gift, not out of anger or holding Jacob accountable.\u00a0 His reason was that his possessions were sufficient and he did not need the animals that Jacob was offering to him. Obviously, Jacob was hurt by his brother\u2019s answer.\u00a0 To accept the gift was a sign of bonding as friends.\u00a0 Now, Jacob saw it as a way to express his thanksgiving for the reception he had received from his brother. Then for a second time Jacob begged his brother to take the animals.\u00a0 Although Esau had indicated that he had achieved his wealth on his own, Jacob acknowledged that what he had came from God.\u00a0 To him God had more than met his needs and had given him property in abundance. When Esau saw that his brother was hurt by his refusal he accepted the gift.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Why did Esau inquire about the droves of animals that had been sent to him?<\/li>\n<li>Why did Jacob send the gift in the first place?<\/li>\n<li>What new meaning did it take on after the reception he had received from Esau?<\/li>\n<li>What does it say about Esau\u2019s spiritual condition that he took credit gaining what he had?<\/li>\n<li>How did that differ from Jacob?<\/li>\n<li>Why did Esau finally take the gift from Jacob?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Genesis 33:12-14<\/p>\n<p>Esau offered to go along with Jacob.\u00a0 With all grace Jacob refused the offer.\u00a0 His reasoning was that he could not drive his family and animals at a rapid pace.\u00a0 To do so would be harmful to both the weaker members of his family and to the flocks who had little ones.\u00a0 Esau recognized the validity of Jacob\u2019s statement. The decision would allow each of the men to travel at their own pace.\u00a0 One statement that has caused some confusion is the promise that Jacob seemed to make that he would join his brother in Seir.\u00a0 The Scriptures are silent whether this ever happened.\u00a0 One passage in Genesis 36:6-8 seems to indicate that the two did meet up at some point in Canaan but then separated like Abraham and Lot because the land could not sustain them both.<\/p>\n<p>The underlying reason that Jacob did not want to go along with Esau may have been Jacob\u2019s new found relationship with God.\u00a0 As has been shared before Esau was definitely a man of the world.\u00a0 He did not seem to have any interest in spiritual matters.\u00a0 Jacob on the other hand had encountered God and had been the recipient of the promises given to Abraham and Isaac.\u00a0 They were of two different worlds that were incompatible.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Why did Esau offer to go along with Jacob?<\/li>\n<li>How did Jacob answer him?<\/li>\n<li>What do you think of his reasoning?<\/li>\n<li>Why do you think that Esau so readily accepted what Jacob said?<\/li>\n<li>Why did Jacob promise to meet Esau at Seir?<\/li>\n<li>What was the real reason that Jacob did not go along with his brother?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Genesis 33:15<\/p>\n<p>Esau made one more offer to indicate his good will toward his brother.\u00a0 He suggested that he leave some men to accompany Jacob on his journey.\u00a0 Once again Jacob explained in a very courteous way that there was no need.\u00a0 To look back a moment, Laban, the true threat to Jacob\u2019s well being had gone back home to Syria.\u00a0 With the size of his company there would be little danger of him being attacked by the locals. He appreciated Esau\u2019s offer but assured his brother that it was enough just to know that they could be friends and that would be no future conflict between them.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Why did Esau continue to press the issue of providing some kind of protection for Jacob?<\/li>\n<li>How did Jacob handle the situation?<\/li>\n<li>With his words what was he saying to his brother?<\/li>\n<li>What help would a few additional men from Esua\u2019s entourage, who probably did want to be there in the first place provide?<\/li>\n<li>How well do you think that Jacob handled the situation?<\/li>\n<li>What does the fact that Esau accepted Jacob\u2019s words show about their relationship?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Genesis 33:16-17<\/p>\n<p>From that point on the men took to different routes to their destination.\u00a0 Esau left for his journey back to Seir.\u00a0 Jacob, true to his word, traveled toward his home in a more leisurely fashion.\u00a0 He spent some time at Succoth where he built temporary housing for himself, family and all of his possessions.\u00a0 In Succoth he would be able to relax from the tense situations he had experience.\u00a0 It would have also allowed for his flocks and herds to get stronger after having been on a constant move for some time.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What does it say to us when we see that the men went their separate ways?<\/li>\n<li>How did Jacob validate his words to Esau?<\/li>\n<li>What did the time in Succoth allow Jacob to do?<\/li>\n<li>Why was it good for him and all that he owned?<\/li>\n<li>What does it say to us about our need for rest from the stressful lives we lead?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Genesis 33:18-20<\/p>\n<p>From there he went on to Shechem.\u00a0 After all that had occurred in his life Jacob would have felt truly blessed to have arrived in Shechem in the land of Canaan.\u00a0 His decision to take up residence would begin a sad chapter in his life and of his family. The very fact that he purchased some land and pitched his tents indicated his intentions to remain there for some time.<\/p>\n<p>Since God had promised all of the land of Canaan to his family as an inheritance, Jacob could have felt justified to purchase a little of what was going to be his in the future.\u00a0 The difference however between what Jacob did and what God had promised were miles apart.\u00a0 God said that He would give the land to Abraham\u2019s family as a gift, an inheritance.\u00a0 Nowhere does He say that they are to buy even one square foot of it.<\/p>\n<p>The land was bought from Hamor the father of Shechem. Shechem and his father would soon play important roles in the events that would involve Jacob, his daughter Dinah and most of his sons.\u00a0 Also impacted would be all of the citizens of the town.<\/p>\n<p>One almost has to wonder if Jacob moved to Shechem because he was not ready to face Isaac who he had deceived twenty years earlier. Once again out of unfounded concern he avoided making the trip to where his father was living in Beersheba.\u00a0 He might have wondered if his father had been able to forgive him because of what he had done.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Why did Jacob stop at Shechem instead of proceeding further as he had told Esau?<\/li>\n<li>What proof do we have that he intended to stay there?<\/li>\n<li>What would be his justification for purchasing the land?<\/li>\n<li>How did his decision differ from what God had promised?<\/li>\n<li>Why might Jacob avoid going to Beersheba where his father lived?<\/li>\n<li>Why do we avoid those individuals we may have harmed or have harmed us?<\/li>\n<li>What is the godly thing to do?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>You-<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Never let any decision you make put others in jeopardy.<\/li>\n<li>Before making any major decision make sure you spend as much time with God as necessary to get a clear answer.<\/li>\n<li>Remember that it is in those times of struggle that our faith grows.<\/li>\n<li>Do not take actions to avoid others with whom you might have a problem but deal with the issue head on.<\/li>\n<li>Never supersede God\u2019s promises and take actions that might bring problems into your life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We-<\/p>\n<p>As we face challenges in the life of the church we need to remember that God has given us the resource we need.\u00a0 The Bible should be the focal point of all that we do.\u00a0 As we wrestle with understand the meaning within its pages, we will be led in the direction that God desires for the church to take.\u00a0 In the life of Jacob we see a violation of the words given to him as he not only stopped short of his final destination but tried to buy for himself that which God had promised to give him and his descendants.\u00a0 Let us not stop short in our seeking out for God\u2019s purpose for us.<\/p>\n<p>We are to meet each new chapter before us with the confidence that we serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords and He has promised not to forsake or leave us.\u00a0 He has given us all of His promises and a important task to do.\u00a0 The only thing that can defeat us is to fear the one who has no power over us.\u00a0 There is only One that we are to fear and His word tells us that perfect love (<em>for Him<\/em>) casts out all fear.\u00a0 With Him walking beside us let us continue on to the final destination to which we have been called and are being prepared.<\/p>\n<p>Additional Notes:<\/p>\n<p>C-Esau had done an about face from the angry man who planned to kill his brother to one who forgave him for all that had taken place in the past.\u00a0 He truly fulfilled the prophecy of Isaac which said of about Esau, \u201cYou shall break his yoke from your neck.\u201d\u00a0 What characteristics did Esau display? (Gen. 32:40; 33:4, 9-11)<\/p>\n<p>RT- Jacob\u2019s fear of his brother shows how true the statement about worry is.\u00a0 It is that 80% of all the things about which we worry never come to pass.\u00a0 When Jacob and Esau met it was a reunion not a confrontation.\u00a0 Esau had made peace with all that had occurred while Jacob continued to let his deception haunt him.\u00a0 Guilt has a way of hanging around the neck of the perpetrator of the act. (Gen. 32-33)<\/p>\n<p>BL-In Genesis 33, we looked at Esau&#8217;s reception of his brother, Jacob.\u00a0 Jacob, fearing the worst, arranged his party by favorites&#8211;the maids and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.\u00a0 His fears were never realized, however&#8211;Esau ran to meet his long-lost brother, embraced him, and wept.\u00a0 Esau even offered to accompany his brother to his camp in Seir, but Jacob begged him to go on ahead and promised they would meet up with him later.\u00a0 It is apparent, however, that Jacob had no such plans, and at the end of chapter 33, we find him setting up camp in Shechem.\u00a0 There he erects an altar to the Lord, boastfully calling it &#8220;El Elohe Israel,&#8221; meaning &#8220;a mighty God is the God of Israel.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>TM-Jacob took his place in front of his family to bear the brunt of whatever Esau had in mind to do.\u00a0 He was ready to fully accept the consequences for his earlier treatment of Esau. (Gen. 33:3<\/p>\n<p>RT-Jacob \u2018s failure to follow through on his words to Esau brought about the events that occurred in Shechem.\u00a0 Dinah was raped and all of the men of Shechem were killed by Levi and Simeon out of revenge.\u00a0 Finally eight of the brothers, except Joseph and Benjamin, came to the city and looted it.\u00a0 All of this was brought on by one lie.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Gen. 33:15; 34:2, 25-28)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0C-Jacob travelled until he came to Succoth where he built a house. (Gen. 33:17)<\/p>\n<p>C- He moved from Succoth to Shechem. (Gen. 33:18-19)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lesson 32 An Encounter with Esau Genesis 33 Me- There have only been a few times in my life when I have been genuinely afraid.\u00a0 Thankfully, I have not found myself in a situation that could have resulted in possible bodily harm.\u00a0 Once when I was a child my mother had sent me up the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=147"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions\/148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblicalmastery.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}