Review of Genesis 33

— by Victor Fawole

It’s Review o’ Clock! Hallelujah. Jacob was the man that has struggled with men and God, and still survived. In chapter 32, God gave him an all-important encounter that proved pivotal in his journey of destiny. This chapter is about his meeting with his brother, Esau. Let’s not bother ourselves with repeating the whole details of their meeting. Rather, let’s consider a detail that one is quick to overlook.

If I’m to give today’s review a title, I’d say: DEFINING YOUR BLESSEDNESS

Here we go…

Gen. 33:9,11 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself… 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.

Jacob’s interaction with Esau reveals so many things, and as I said earlier, we need not go into all of the details. Both of them have become wealthy and prosperous. I want us to zoom in on how each of them expressed their blessedness.

ESAU: I have enough…

JACOB: God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough…

To begin with, Jacob focused on God – the Source of his blessing. God hath dealt graciously with me! This is the true confession of a man that has truly enjoyed the grace of God all his life. By the grace of God, all of his errors, mistakes, and even good works ended up in his favour. He acknowledged God as the Master Baker of his life. You might want to listen to Pastor Dammy’s sermon titled: Exploring the Most Encouraging Verse of the Bible

In verse 5, Esau asked Jacob about his children, and here was how he responded: The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.

Wow! Notice how Jacob defined his children.

• He defined his children as GOD’S GIFTS
  …and we should also define our children the same way.

Psa. 127:3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psa. 113:9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, And to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.

Isa. 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.

I’m aware that there’s a doctrine flying all over social media recently, as taught by a preacher, that God does not give children (in other words, children do not come from God). That is a very dangerous doctrine that we must avoid and reject. As much as we have scientific advancements that make the process of childbirth easier for us, we should not deny God His glory as the Ultimate Source of humanity. We should not swallow any doctrine that attacks clear teachings of scripture in a bid to sound deep. God’s grace keeps us in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Moving on…

• He defined his children as GRACIOUS GIFTS
  Instead of focusing on the trickery of Laban, or the barrenness of Rachel, or the rivalry between his wives, he focused on the working of grace in blessing his life and family.

Back to Gen. 33:9,11

And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself… 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.

The KJV rendition kind of “waters down” what Jacob said in verse 11. Let us check other translations…

NIV: for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.

NLT: God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.

LSB: God has dealt graciously with me and because I have everything.

The Hebrew word for Esau’s “enough” is raḇ and it means “much, many, great”; while the Hebrew word for Jacob’s “enough” is kōl and it means “all, the whole, totality, everything”. What a distinction!

Let’s join Jacob to sing this hymn:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Notice how Jacob defined his riches.

• He defined his riches with CONTENTMENT
  Esau’s enough was “much”, but Jacob’s enough was “all”. A man who has “much” will always want “more”, but a man who believes he has “all”, is sure he has “enough”.
• He defined his riches with COMMITMENT
  God was his all. Now, He has God. Hallelujah! God is his portion in the land of the living. He has God’s promises and presence. Esau had physical prosperity but lacked soul prosperity. Jacob had both! (For an understanding of these kinds of prosperity, listen to Pastor Dammy’s sermon titled “What the Bible Says About Money — Part 1”).

In summary, when we consider how Esau and Jacob defined their blessedness, we will notice the:

• Difference in DEFINITION: Esau said that he had much, while Jacob said that he had all he needed.
• Difference in DERIVATION: Esau attributed his wealth to his own sufficiency, while Jacob recognized his wealth as God’s providence at work.
• Difference in DIRECTION: Esau was a profane man who only cared about material blessings and instant gratification, while Jacob desired covenantal and transgenerational blessings.
• Difference in DISPOSITION: Esau’s expression oozed pride, while Jacob’s expression revealed humility and gratitude.

Dear Gogolights, as God continues to increase us in influence and affluence, let us be increasingly intentional about maintaining a “Yet Not I” disposition. You can listen to the Part 1 of our series titled “Yet Not I”

SAY AFTER ME:
God has dealt graciously with me!
I am the (wo)man helped by God!
I see the goodness of God!
My sufficiency is of God!
Grace Grace to me!

Hallelujah!

Grace to you, Church!