HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 402
G EN ES IS 3 3
possessions to present to his brother, Esau:
14 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes,
20 rams, 15 30 female camels with their young,
40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and
10 male donkeys. 16 He divided these animals
into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of
me with the animals, but keep some distance
between the herds.”
17 He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau,
meets you, he will ask, ‘Whose servants are
you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’ 18 You must reply, ‘They belong to your
servant Jacob, but they are a gift for his master
Esau. Look, he is coming right behind us.’”
19 Jacob gave the same instructions to the
second and third herdsmen and to all who
followed behind the herds: “You must say the
same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And
be sure to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right
behind us.’”
Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by
sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in
person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.” 21 So
• Healing
G E NE S IS 3 3 :4
When Jacob stole Esau’s blessing,
Esau wanted to kill him (Genesis 27:41),
and Jacob ran for his life. Now, after
years apart with no communication,
the two brothers warmly embrace.
What happened over the years to warm
Esau’s bitter heart? Time helps to heal
many wounds because it gives us an
opportunity to reflect on what’s really
important.
Time isn’t all that’s needed for healing.
We don’t know what went on in Esau’s
heart and mind during those years apart
from his brother, but we do know that
when he met Jacob, he was willing to
forgive. After someone has wronged
us, time will either harden our heart,
making us bitter and unyielding, or it will
soften it, giving us a desire to restore
the relationship. Has someone wronged
or betrayed you recently? Is your heart
growing hard, or are you willing to yield
for the sake of peace? When Jesus was
asked how many times we should forgive
others, he said, “seventy times seven”
(Matthew 18:22). Perhaps he was saying
that a constant willingness to forgive
is the only way to achieve healing and
restoration.
page 32
the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 During the night Jacob got up and took his
two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven
sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them.
23 After taking them to the other side, he sent
over all his possessions.
24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and
a man came and wrestled with him until the
dawn began to break. 25 When the man saw that
he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s
hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26 Then the
man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless
you bless me.”
27 “What is your name?” the man asked.
He replied, “Jacob.”
28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the
man told him. “From now on you will be called
Israel,* because you have fought with God and
with men and have won.”
29 “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.
“Why do you want to know my name?” the
man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means
“face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face
to face, yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun
was rising as Jacob left Peniel,* and he was
limping because of the injury to his hip. 32 (Even
today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon
near the hip socket because of what happened
that night when the man strained the tendon of
Jacob’s hip.)
Jacob and Esau Make Peace
Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau
coming with his 400 men. So he divided
the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two
servant wives. 2 He put the servant wives and
their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then
Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his
brother, he bowed to the ground seven times
before him. 4 Then Esau ran to meet him and
embraced him, threw his arms around his neck,
and kissed him. And they both wept.
5 Then Esau looked at the women and children
and asked, “Who are these people with you?”
“These are the children God has graciously
given to me, your servant,” Jacob replied. 6 Then
the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. 7 Next came Leah
with her children, and they bowed before him.
Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and
bowed before him.
8 “And what were all the flocks and herds I
met as I came?” Esau asked.
33
32:28 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and
“deceiver.” Israel means “God fights.” 32:31 Hebrew Penuel,
a variant spelling of Peniel.