Genesis 32.3-6-Jacob Sends Delegation to Esau

Wednesday August 2, 2006

Genesis: Genesis 32:3-6-Jacob Sends Delegation to Esau

Lesson # 189

Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 32:1.

Last evening we began a study of Genesis 32 by noting verses one and two, which present to us the record of Jacob encountering the angels of God as he was returning to the land of Canaan and naming the place, “Mahanaim,” which means, “two camps.”

This evening we will study Genesis 32:3-6, where Jacob sends a delegation to his brother Esau in order to communicate to him his desire to reconcile with him.

In Genesis 32:1-2, we studied that Jacob’s encounter with the elect angels of God was designed to reassure him once again of the divine presence and protection.

Genesis 32:1, “Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.”

Genesis 32:2, “Jacob said when he saw them, ‘This is God's camp.’ So he named that place Mahanaim.”

The presence of these elect angels would be a sign to Jacob of God’s presence and protection and would therefore be a great encouragement to Jacob as he made his way back home and met Esau.

Just as the angels appeared to Jacob in order to reassure him as he was leaving Canaan facing an unknown future (from the human perspective) and preparing to meet his deceitful uncle Laban who cheated him so the angels appear to Jacob again in order to reassure him as he faces the unknown (from the human perspective) and prepares to meet his old adversary, his twin brother Esau.

“Camp” is the noun machaneh (hn#j&m^) (makh-an-eh), which refers to a “military encampment” for the elect angels of God.

“Mahanaim” is the proper noun machanayim (<y!n^j&m^) (makh-ah-na-yim), which means, “two camps,” referring to Jacob’s human encampment and the angels encampment and was located on the Jabbok River, along which the major east-west trade route connecting the Trans-jordan King’s Highway and the coastal Via Maris run.

Genesis 32:3, “Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.”

Jacob sends this delegation to Esau in order to communicate that he wished to reconcile with him and that he had peaceful intentions towards Esau.

The sending of this delegation reveals the sensitivity of Jacob since it was an attempt on Jacob’s part to see things from Esau’s perspective and was not motivated out of fear of Esau.

From Esau’s perspective, when he heard that Jacob was migrating back to Canaan and with a large caravan and many possessions, he would be wondering of Jacob’s intentions since in the past Jacob had hurt him.

Jacob realized that Esau would probably be very fearful and suspicious of him based upon his actions towards Esau in the past where he deceived his blind father into giving the blessing of the birthright to him rather than Esau.

Also, Jacob figured that Esau might think he had come to claim the prophecy of Genesis 25:23 that the “older shall serve the younger” and so therefore, he thought that it would be expedient to communicate to Esau that he did not desire to subjugate him and his family to himself.

Therefore, we see that Jacob had gained an appreciation of Esau’s feelings by being the victim himself of Laban’s treachery and deceitfulness.

The divine discipline in the form of twenty years hard labor for Laban has affected a change of character in Jacob by driving out of the soul of Jacob the sinful patterns of deceitfulness and treachery and replaced them with kindness, gentleness, thoughtfulness and love and consideration for others.

Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

At this point neither man knows the intentions of the other but courageously Jacob initiates contact with Esau in order to calm whatever fears Esau might still have towards him based upon their difficult relationship in the past.

Jacob takes the initiative because he is operating in faith that God is with him and will protect him and if he didn’t have faith he wouldn’t have attempted to initiate contact with Esau but would have sought to enter the land of Canaan secretly.

The name “Seir,” demarcates the Edomite territory, which was situated at the southeast border of Palestine (Judges 11:17; Numbers 34:3) and was properly called “the land of Seir” (Genesis 36:8; Gen 32:3; Joshua 24:4; Ezekiel 35:3, 7, 15) and “the country of Edom.”

The country lay along the route pursued by the Israelites from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea and thence back again to Elath (Deut 1:2; 2:1-8), i.e., along the east side of the great valley of Arabah.

On the north of Edom lay the territory of Moab, the boundary appearing to have been the “brook Zered” (2:13-14, 18).

Merrill F. Unger, writes, “The physical geography of Edom is somewhat peculiar. Along the western base of the mountain range are low calcareous hills. These are succeeded by lofty masses of igneous rock, chiefly porphyry, over which lies red and variegated sandstone in irregular ridges and abrupt cliffs with deep ravines between. The latter strata give the mountains their most striking features and remarkable colors. The average elevation of the summit is about two thousand feet above the sea. Along the eastern side runs an almost unbroken limestone ridge, a thousand feet or more higher than the other. This ridge sinks down with an easy slope into the plateau of the Arabian Desert. Although Edom is thus wild, rugged, and almost inaccessible, the deep glens and flat terraces along the mountainsides are covered with rich soil, from which trees, shrubs, and flowers now spring up luxuriantly” (From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.).

Genesis 32:4-5, “He also commanded them saying, ‘Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now; I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.’”

At this point, Jacob does not know if Esau’s anger towards him has subsided or if he is still thinking revenge.

As he was approaching Canaan, undoubtedly, Jacob would be thinking at least two things.

One that his father was dead since when he left for Paddan Aram, his father’s death was considered imminent.

Secondly, he would have been thinking of what his mother Rebekah said to him when she informed him that Esau was planning to kill him after his father’s death.

However, the assumption that Isaac’s death was imminent was proven wrong since Isaac lived another eighty years after Jacob left for Paddan Aram.

Therefore, he informs the delegation to speak to Esau in deferential terms so as to convey to Esau that his intentions are peaceful and conciliatory.

Notice the deferential language that Jacob instructs the delegation to use when addressing Esau, “my lord” and “your servant.”

He uses these deferential terms to convey to Esau that his intentions are peaceful and conciliatory and that he does not wish to claim the promise that “the older shall serve the younger.”

The deferential terms used by Jacob do not express his fear of Esau but rather his conciliatory attitude towards Esau since Jacob is the one who initiates the contact with his brother something he would not desire to do if he was afraid of Esau.

If he was afraid of Esau, he would have crept into Canaan secretly just as he left Laban secretly out of fear.

However, instead we see him announcing his return in obedience to the Lord’s command by sending this delegation with a peaceful and conciliatory message for Esau.

Robert Deffinbaugh, “The substance of his message to Esau was that he had returned a wealthy man. In this case he was not coming back in order to place a claim on his father’s wealth. Jacob sought to assure Esau that his return was a friendly and non threatening one. All that he sought was Esau’s favor.” (The Book of Genesis; Biblical Studies Press, 1997)

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Bruce K. Waltke, “Although this introductory greeting conforms to the customary epistolary style of the ancient Near East, nevertheless, through this courtesy Jacob begins to right the arrogance toward his brother that brought him in diametrical opposition to his promised destiny (27:29). Like Abraham with Lot, Jacob takes the first step toward giving up the rights of his election to the blessing (13:1-12), trusting God to fulfill the promise. His rivalry with Esau is about over” (Genesis, A Commentary, page 442, Zondervan).

We must remember that Esau did not know Jacob’s intentions either and did not know that Jacob had since changed from the last time that he spoke with him.

Esau would have been thinking about the prophecy of Genesis 25:23 that the “older shall serve the younger” and so therefore, would have been wondering if Jacob had come to claim that promise and subjugate him and his family and take his possessions, thus, Jacob makes clear through this delegation that this is not his intention.

Jacob’s statement “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now” reveals to Esau the reason why he has not heard from him and also reveals his tact in that he omits the real reason why he left home to go to Paddan Aram, which was to avoid Esau’s plot to kill him.

Jacob’s statement “that I may find favor in your sight” expresses his desire to reconcile with his brother Esau.

Genesis 32:6, “The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, ‘We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.’”

Evidently, it appears from the text of Genesis 32:6 that the delegation never made contact with Eau and never communicated Jacob’s desire to reconcile with Esau since they are never said to speak with Esau.

Therefore, it appears that the messengers only went far enough to discover that Esau was advancing toward them accompanied by four hundred men, which would understandably cause them to think that Esau had hostile intentions.

So the delegation never makes contact with Esau out of fear of him because they saw the four hundred men and immediately assumed that Esau’s intentions were hostile and they conveyed that fear to Jacob by emphasizing the four hundred men.

The four hundred men was the standard size of a militia in the days of the patriarchs (1 Samuel 22:2; 25:13; 30:10; cf. Genesis 14:14).

The fact that the messengers state to Jacob that Esau is coming to meet him with four hundred men is rather ambiguous for two reasons.

Was Esau using the four hundred men to attack Jacob or to receive his brother royally and escort him into the land of Canaan?

Jacob would not be asking himself why the messengers were allowed to return unharmed and allow him to prepare himself since the messengers never made contact with Esau and never communicated with him.

Jacob’s response to the news about Esau and his four hundred men, which is recorded in Genesis 32:7 indicates quite clearly that he was convinced that Esau had come to attack him.

News is known to travel with incredible speed in the Middle East as travelers have reported many times in the past.

Esau would have been informed about the arrival of Jacob’s caravan through reconnaissance by his men.

Now, from Esau’s perspective, based upon his past dealings with Jacob and his knowledge of the prophecy that the “older shall serve the younger” it is understandable that Esau protects himself and his family by going out to meet Jacob with four hundred men just in case Jacob’s intentions are hostile.

So Esau would have two questions in his mind, has Jacob come to attack me or is he coming with peaceful intentions?

Therefore, Esau would have been arriving with the four hundred men for either one of two reasons, one to protect himself in case Jacob attacks him or to welcome home his brother royally and escort him on home to their father.

Both Esau and Jacob at this point are filled with uncertainty and anxiety as to what the intentions of the other might be.

However, God has softened the heart of both men throughout the past twenty years because both have been prospered by God, thus setting the stage for reconciliation between the two rather than war.