QT 11/14/2025 Genesis 32:13–21, Clearing the slate

Genesis 32:13–21 (ESV) —

13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” 17 He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’ ” 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20 and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

 

NOTE: Jacob's story is a story about the line of the Messiah. There is another story, not told, of Esau. God has been working in Esau's life as well. He is not the angry person he was as we will see in the next chapter. But Jacob does not know that at this point in the story. God has blessed both man. Esau essentially inherited his father's business, despite "trading it away." He will attempt to turn away the gift, that Jacob gives, saying that he has "enough." The idea of sending gifts to pacify is not new and not wrong. If a person has been hurt by your actions, a gift is good, but an apology is even better. Jacob sends five groups, although they are more likely ten groups since he would separate the males from the females. Those ten gifts communicate his sorrow toward Esau, as well as his bowing to the ground seven times as Esau approached. Jacob has grown up. He is not scheming. He is paying his debts. He is restoring relationships. He has learned that he does not control life, but rather God controls our life.

 

PONDER:

1. Where do I need to make amends?
2. With whom do I need to make amends?

 

PRAYER: Father, I feel like I have reached out in the only situation that I can think of and the person has not responded. I can't control his response, only mine. I pray for your leading and guiding