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LESSON FOR AUGUST 26 Jacob Adjusts Personal Relationships LESSON MATERIAL: Genesis 33:1-11, 17-20. GOLDEN T E X T : “ Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace” (Rom. 14:19). Outline and Exposition I. J acob ' s F ear of E sau (G en . 33:1-11) O N HIS way home from Haran, Jacob learned that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. He concluded that he must at last face his brother’s wrath (cf. Gen. 27:41). He knew that he could not avoid meeting him so he began planning to s o f t e n Esau’s anger with gifts. Also he determined to take the place of a servant, rather than to maintain his place at the head of the family (vs. 1-5). But when they met, Esau gave evidence that his anger was passed and that he was ready to forget the past; he “ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (v. 4). God had promised to protect Jacob from danger wherever he went (cf. Gen. 28:15), but Jacob was not ready to wholly trust the Lord; he had to resort to his own schemes to escape the threatened danger. Hence, when Esau inquired about the droves of cattle, Jacob said, “These are to find grace in the sight of my Lord” (v. 8). But Esau refused to accept the gift saying, “ I have enough, my brother” (v. 9). He wanted Jacob to keep his possessions but finally was prevailed upon to accept when Jacob insisted. It is interesting to note that when Esau used the word “enough” it meant “much” ; when Jacob used it, it meant “all.” Esau had “much” by his own efforts; Jacob had “ all” by the grace of God. Esau then proposed that they go on together, but Jacob was still afraid of him and pleaded that if the chil dren and the young cattle went as fast as Esau could travel, all of the flock would die (v. 13). So Jacob suggested that Esau precede him; he would then follow slowly until he reached Seir (v. 14). Jacob refused the men Esau volunteered to leave with him; he wanted to get rid of Esau whom he still feared. Instead of relying upon God, Jacob became servile, addressing his own brother five times as “my lord.” Jacob was trying to avoid reminding Esau that the birthright blessing was still his.
The European Evangelistic
If Your King’s Business Is Late Due to wartime conditions whicl result in delays on the part of stationers, p r i n t e r s , book-binders and all services where the employment problem is a major one, we as k you to be patient if y o u r magazine does not reach you as promptly as it did in the past. II. J acob ' s M istake W ith E sau (vs. 17-20) As soon as Esau was out of sight on his journey to Seir, Jacob turned in the opposite direction and “journeyed to Succoth, and built him a house” (vs. 16, 17). So instead of following Esau as he had declared he would do, he deliberately lied. That he never intended to go that way is shown by the fact that when “he came to Shalem, a city of S h e c h e m . . .he bought a parcel of ground, where {le spread his tent.” Driven by his fear of Esau’s anger, he got away as far as possible. But Shechem was not only a great distance from Esau, it was also far from the place of his nativity to which God had told him to return (cf. Gen. 31:13). He was neither in Esau’s land of Edom where he had promised to go, nor in the land where God had directed him to be. Again, it was his trust in his own schemes, his unnecessary f e a r of Esau, and his lack of reliance upon God that brought him to this strange place. However, there he built an altar, c a l l i n g it “El-elohe-Israel” (God, the God of Israel). This was prophetic because the day was to come when his n a m e would be changed and then God would indeed be "the God of Israel.” We cannot be lieve that Jacob was always as cow ardly and craven as this story sug gests; he was bold enough in his parting with his father-in-law (cf. Gen. 31:36-42). The fearful result of Jacob’s mis take in fleeing from Esau and dwell ing at Shechem comes to light in the next chapter, which, humanly speak ing, would never have been recorded except for Jacob’s lying to Esau. There is ever present the danger of making such mistakes when God’s Word is only partially a c c e p t e d—mistakes that lead to bitter sin and sorrow as in Jacob’s case (cf. Gen. 34:30).
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