Genesis 33 Devotional Bible Study

Genesis 33 Chapter Summary

When he saw Esau and his 400 men approaching, Jacob put the two servant women and their children in front, then Leah and her children, and finally Rachel and Joseph, with himself behind them. 

He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.

- Genesis 33:3

 

But Esau ran forward and embraced Jacob. Esau said he didn't need all the gifts Jacob had sent, but Jacob insisted he keep them.

 

"If I have found favor 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."

- Genesis 33:10

 

Then Esau returned to Seir, and Jacob bought some land from Hamor, the father of Shechem, and camped near the city of Shechem in Canaan.

 

Can We Be More Like Esau?

Genesis 33:1, 3-4

Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men…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. 

We’ve already looked at how Jacob humbled himself and apologized to Esau. Now we see how readily Esau forgave Jacob. Here, Esau reminds me of the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

Did Jesus have Esau in mind when He told this story?

Esau and the Father show us the soft, forgiving heart we are to have toward other people when they humble themselves and repent. Is there someone in your life who has humbled themselves before you, but you haven’t fully forgiven them? Ask the Lord to soften your heart. Ask the Lord to make you like the Father. Ask Him to make you like Esau.