Verses 1–3: Jacob prepares for the most difficult part of his journey home: facing the brother whose trust he betrayed, the one who determined to kill him twenty-plus years ago. As Esau approaches with 400 armed men, Jacob fears for his life and the lives of his family. He divides them into camps, leading the caravan. His two female servants follow immediately behind with their children, and after them, Leah with her children, and finally Rachel with her son, Joseph. As they draw nearer, Jacob bows to the ground seven times to honor Esau, hoping to appease any lingering anger.
4–7: Esau runs to Jacob and embraces him with a kiss. They weep together over the sorrow of the past and the joy in being united again. Looking up, Esau asks Jacob about the enormous caravan accom- panying him. Jacob introduces Esau to his family, acknowledging God’s goodness providing so richly for him. Each of his wives with their children approach Esau, bowing down in respect. God, the ultimate restorer of all things good, has made a way in his kindness to remove the hatred between these two brothers.
8–11: Esau asks about the succession of servants with gifts that Jacob had sent ahead of his caravan. He explains that he wanted to find favor with Esau, but Esau politely declines the livestock; he is already a wealthy man who has more than he needs. Jacob urges him to accept—clearly remorseful over his past wrongs toward Esau. God has blessed him abundantly, and now he wants to bless Esau. Esau graciously accepts Jacob’s gesture.
12–14: Ready to return home, Esau encourages them to travel on together. Jacob knows, though, that he needs to pace his children and livestock, especially the young, nursing animals. They could die if driven too hard.
It's possible that Jacob was also trying to protect his family. Although his first meeting with Esau went far better than expected, he may have wanted to see if his favor and goodwill would continue into the future. Jacob encourages Esau to return to Seir ahead of him.
15–16: Esau presses a bit more, offering to leave some of his men to escort Jacob. While this would offer an extra level of protection, Jacob doesn't need it. God has seen him safely through more than two decades of difficulty in a foreign land—he'll surely see him safely the rest of the way home. It’s enough for him to have Esau's favor.* With the matter settled, Esau returns home.
17–20: While it’s unclear if Jacob genuinely intended to follow Esau immediately or visit him at a later date, he decides to head north to Succoth instead of south toward Seir.** Here, he builds a house and shelters for his livestock. In time, Jacob finally completes his journey to the land of promise: Canaan. He purchases a parcel of land just outside Shechem, the place where Abraham a century earlier built an altar to worship and honor God for his goodness and blessing. Now Jacob does the same, committing himself and the land to God (“El Elohe Israel” means “To the God of Israel”). Jacob recognizes that this is the one, true God—the one who kept his promise of Genesis 28:13–15 to bring Jacob safely back to Canaan and bless him and his descendants in it.*** He is forever faithful!
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