As Jacob begins his journey back to his home country it is not surprising that he is afraid of the inevitable meeting with his brother. Always the schemer, Jacob decides on a plan to win his brother’s forgiveness. The question is: would the gifts Jacob procures really be enough to earn the forgiveness of his brother? After all, Jacob stole Esau’s birthright and his blessing. The interchange that actually takes place in chapter 33 paints a vivid picture of the forgiveness that Christ offers to us: Esau runs to Jacob and embraces him. Esau didn’t care about Jacob’s peace offerings (certainly they weren’t large enough to cover the multitude of his sins anyway). Esau forgave Jacob not because Jacob deserved forgiveness but because the Lord prompted him to forgive. Shouldn’t that be the same with us? So often we withhold forgiveness from a person until he or she has earned the right to be forgiven. Certainly we didn’t earn the right to be forgiven by God. And the challenge we face is to forgive other people even when they’re not very forgivable. We don’t forgive because they deserve it; we forgive because Christ first forgave us.
On a side note, what happens in chapter 34 is one of those situations where a person asks himself: Is that seriously in the bible? Did Jacob’s sons seriously kill those men while they were recovering from their circumcisions? The answer: yes! That story is more violent than half the stories we see on television or in the movies!
Seth, it is good to have you back! I’m interested to know what you think about Dinah. I once had a Bible study leader who highly judged Dinah for going “out to see the daughters of the land”. As an impressionable teen I never questioned when she accused Dinah of being a rebellious tramp who deserved what she got and ultimately caused her father to “stink among the inhabitants of the land”, even though this quote was directed at the brothers. Was it the custom for women to be able to visit other women? Was she really getting what she deserved? It doesn’t say that he forced himself upon her but it doesn’t say she necessarily played the harlot either. Did she place herself in harms way by going out to see these daughters? As for the sons of Jacob, their clever evilness wins them the title of the world’s first mob family. What a reflection of their father’s sneaky, underhanded way of doing things. Even though they claim to have taken this revenge for their sister’s honor (if she had any), this is not what I would call chivalry.
Dear bloghog,
My personal opinion was supported by the Expositor’s Bible Commentary that Dinah was essentially raped by the Hivite and it was not her fault that the situation came about. It seems like an abuse of the scripture to say that it was Dinah’s fault that this happened. In fact, the gruesome deaths of the Hivites reveals God’s desire to keep Abraham’s line pure (the whole reason why Jacob was sent to Laban for a wife to begin with), and to prevent other gods to enter the scene. I hope that helps!
Quick question: I once heard a pastor who said that Esau never had a truly repentant heart for his light treatment of the inheritance and blessing. He used the verse in Hebrews 12 where Esau “was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” NAS However, Esau’s treatment of Jacob is truly beautiful, and I have a hard time picturing an unrepentant and unforgiven man treating another with such grace if he had not been forgiven and restored by God. Any thoughts?
JHM,
I really think that the verse in Hebrews 12 is referring to the incident where Esau did give up the eternal for the temporal. I agree with your comment that God must have been doing something in Esau’s life so that he would be so willing to accept his brother. That type of forgiveness could hardly be human, in my opinion!