Gen. 33:1 “And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. 2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. 3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.”

While Jacob probably loved all of his family, yet in the above we see that he should his order of esteem toward the members of his family. Jacob was not yet sure what Esau’s reaction would be toward him and his family, so he placed those he had less esteem towards first and those he had the most esteem for last. Thus, if Esau’s reaction was not favorable, then the ones Jacob had favored the most would have the better chance to escape.

Jacob continued his two-fold effort to win favor with his brother. He had already sent many gifts unto Esau and now he was going to show Esau the utmost respect. Jacob bowed himself to the ground seven times to show complete respect unto his brother. Before Jacob had left Canaan, he had greatly disrespected Esau, his elder brother. After the Lord had appeared unto Jacob on the road to Padanaram and after the Lord had manifest himself in many ways unto Jacob, Jacob manifest his new nature by properly showing respect to his elder brother.

Gen. 33:4 “And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. 5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. 6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. 7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.”

Obviously, Esau had been won over by both the gifts and the respect shown toward him by his brother Jacob. He had embraced Jacob, kissed him, and wept. This left no doubt that Esau’s anger had been pacified.

Next, Esau looked upon the family of Jacob and asked about them. We see also that the family of Jacob showed the same respect unto Esau and each bowed down before him.

Gen. 33:8 “And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. 9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. 10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. 11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.”

Next, Esau inquired about the gifts of the livestock and Jacob answered that they were given so that he might find grace in Esau’s sight. Esau responded that he had enough and for Jacob to keep what he had unto himself. To this, Jacob responded, “Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.” Jacob was not going to give a gift then take it back. Jacob knew that the Lord had blessed him and he had seen Esau’s face as though he had seen the face of God and God was pleased with him. Likewise, it would be just as wrong for us to give a gift in the service of God and then to take it back.

Gen. 33:12 “he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. 13 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. 14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. 15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. 16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.”

Esau volunteered to travel with Jacob and also offered to have some of his men help Jacob, yet Jacob declined by pointing out that the children were tender and that the flocks and herds with young would die if they were overdriven. He said that he would lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure. What Jacob said was true, but I suspect that Jacob really did not want to continue in the company of Esau. Jacob knew that Esau was a wicked man, and he did not want to have companionship with a wicked man.

Gen. 33:17 “And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. 18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. 19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. 20 And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.”

There are at least two great lessons in the above. First, Jacob erected an altar to praise God for his blessings of deliverance. Certainly, we should remember to give praise to God for his many deliverances in our lives. The second thing was that Jacob did not seek direction from the Lord when he bought a parcel of a field in Shalem. Some of the worst mistakes of my life have come during times when I made decisions without inquiring of the Lord. As we will see, Jacob will regret having bought a parcel of a field in Shalem.