Day 23

Jacob tried to appease Esau even before he met him. After his servants delivered his message, Esau decided to meet Jacob with 400 men! That was enough to scare anyone. Jacob then prayed to God and reminded Him that He was the one who asked him to go back to his relatives. It applies to us today because there are times we are to take steps, or in our journey, we meet with circumstances that appear to negate what we are to do and begin to question our conviction or try to make sense of the situation. At this point, what God said to Jacob about returning home didn’t seem to make sense, particularly if Esau was meeting him with that many men. But we have to trust the process.

Jacob was transformed to Israel in Chapter 32. I find the ‘wrestle with God’ quite confusing. How was Jacob able to fight with a ‘whole’ God? This part of the story says he wrestled with a man, at day break, the man asked Jacob to let him go, and Jacob asked for a blessing. In 32:28, the man says he would no longer be Jacob but Israel, because Jacob had struggled with God and man and had overcome. Jacob further asks about his name, and the man asked why Jacob wanted to know. Jacob then concludes that he saw God face to face and name the place Peniel. It seems Jacob that came to that conclusion himself. I don't know if it’s because of the interpretation of the new name he was given. Prior to now, there was no record that Jacob struggled with God, so maybe he simply assumed, giving the meaning of Israel, that it must have been God that wrestled against him. I don’t know. 🤔

Chapter 33 tells us how Esau and Jacob reconciled. A couple of things struck me:

• Jacob’s arrangement of his family — it was in the order of how much they meant to him.
• Jacob tried to restitute by offering Esau a lot, which the latter initially rejected, but the former insisted. It appears Jacob is doing a lot to right his wrong. But how much can someone do for the gravity of his wrong? Mt thought is this is subjective, and you may keep trying; the offended may seem to be the one who knows exactly what is fair to right the wrong against him, which leads to my next point. Usually, humans want others to feel more pain when they take revenge. Does this mean Jacob shouldn’t have tried? Absolutely not. In fact, someone’s comment on this was — “Jacob’s standard of reconciliation is a lesson for us when we’ve wronged someone. It may require effort, money, and our time. However, it is worth pursuing.” and I agree entirely.
• Esau’s forgiveness was real, but it seems Jacob was not sure. In 33:12–14, I wondered if Jacob was still afraid that his brother might kill him, and that’s why he responded to Esau to let him follow slowly behind. Guess that’s what happens when you are a trickster… lol; you are just never sure.

Chapter 34 was a rather sad story. Dinah was raped, and then the rapist (Shechem) fell in love with her. After the humiliation? Shechem then tells his dad, Hamor, to get her for him as his wife. Hamor approached Jacob and his sons and made his intentions known. Of course, big brothers were mad but played along deceitfully, with a plan to kill them. Notice how Jacob wasn’t aware of his sons’ deceit (deceit again, I know, right?).

Hamor and Shechem trusted them and got every male in their city circumcised. This was their condition before they could have Dinah’s hand in marriage. Levi and Simeon (two of Jacob’s sons) eventually killed every male in the city, including Hamor and Shechem, and took their possessions. When Jacob complained, they justified their action by asking if it was ok that their sister was treated like a prostitute. I guess in those days, they just took matters into their hands really. So they got revenge in their way. The question is, was that too much? I don’t know.