Genesis 32:8 - The Ingratiating Manner of Jacob

And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.

These, the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and servants are to find grace in the sight of my lord in the hope that Esau would be kind to him (Genesis 32:5 CEV).

Genesis 33:3 - Who's serving who?

And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

Jacob bowed himself to the ground seven times because Jacob feared Esau and his dominion (Genesis 27:40). However, at the end of their meeting, Esua acquiesces his servitude to Jacob as his lord (Genesis 33:15).

Genesis 32:31: Power Made Perfect in Weakness

And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

Although Jacob halted upon his thigh, he had "power with God" to pass over the brook to meet not only Esau, but Esau with his four hundred men (Genesis 32:28, 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Genesis 32:6 - Jacob Faces His Fear

And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him increases Jacob's fear of Esau's vengeance. However, Jacob stands his ground and faces his fear (Genesis 33:1).

Genesis 28:15 - If God said it, He'll do it!

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Just as God said, He brought Jacob back to Luz, the Canaanite city that Jacob renamed Bethel (Genesis 28:19). Jacob returned to where he had the dream and called it Elbethel because there God appeared to him after he had fled from his brother (Genesis 35:7).

Genesis 27:46 - More chicanery by Rebekah.

And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?

Rebekah is trying to get Isaac to support her idea of having Jacob flee to her homeland in Padanaram (Genesis 27:43). Esau already grieved Isaac by marrying Hittite women (Genesis 26:34, 35) so Rebekah is hoping that Isaac will advise Jacob to follow his own footsteps in finding a wife in Padanaram (Genesis 25:20).

Genesis 27:44 - A case of wishful thinking.

And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;

Rebekah was hoping that Jacob would have to disappear for only a short time. However, the few days turned into twenty years (Genesis 31:41) and there's no reference in the Bible that she and her beloved son ever met again.

Genesis 27:40 - The Yoke Of The Edomites

And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

Esau had the dominion when Esau and Jacob met for their first time after Jacob fled to Padanaram (Genesis 33:3). In process of time, the Edomites (the descendants of Esau, Genesis 36:1) served the Tribe of Judah but gained their freedom during the time of King Joram (2 Kings 8:20).

Genesis 27:37 - Too late to change.

And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

Isaac initiated the blessing but it's God that fulfills the blessing (The source of all true blessings). Apparently, once the blessing is in God's hands, the blessing is irrevocable. Therefore, there was nothing Isaac could do to change what God had already ordained for Jacob (Genesis 27:28).

Genesis 27:31 - Too little, too late.

And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.

By following his father's instructions (Genesis 27:4), Esau was hoping to regain his birthright as the first-born (Genesis 25:34).

Genesis 27:23 - Bringing good out of evil.

And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

Through the providence of God, this deception (Genesis 27:16) was part of the divine plan (Job 12:16) to preserve Abraham's seed for Esau had sold his birthright and had married strange wives (Genesis 25:34; 26:34). In addition, the LORD told Rebekah that Esau shall serve Jacob, Genesis 25:23.

Genesis 25:27 - Favoring the ordinary over the extraordinary.

And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

As a man of the field, Esau relied on his extraordinary hunting skills to provide as needed; on the contrary, as a tent dweller, Jacob was an ordinary shepherd (Genesis 46:34) having the faith that God would provide as needed. Jacob's way of life was like that of Isaac, the heir of God's promise to Abraham (Hebrews 11:9).