So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
Esau has just welcomed his brother, and now offers to leave some of his men with him as an escort. Jacob turns it down with a polite question, and commentators ask whether that politeness was honest.
The Words Behind the Refusal
Jacob's answer is a polite refusal. It also hides where he meant to go next:
William KellyWhen Esau offers some of his trained escort, Jacob replies, "What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord." The truth is that he was most anxious to get rid of his brother, and that he had not the smallest intention of going to Seir. He was going to Succoth.
A Courtesy That Was Not True
Jacob wanted no protection from Esau. His own state of mind explains the refusal:
William KellyJacob shows that his confidence was far from restored. He is uneasy at Esau's presence: his conscience was not good. Esau offers his protection. There was nothing further from Jacob's desire. Is it too much to say that the excuse was not entirely truthful? Can anyone believe that Jacob meant to visit him at Mount Seir? It is certain that as soon as Esau turns his back, he goes another way.
Strong With God, Weak Before Men
At Peniel Jacob had prevailed with God. That strength did not show itself in front of his brother:
Frederick W GrantAt Peniel God meets him, His face hidden, to make him learn the strength that is perfected only in weakness. With his thigh out of joint he prevails and is blessed. The secret of strength is learned, and yet, strange as it may seem, the power he has with God he cannot yet find before man. He meets Esau with cringing submission. He still practises his old deceit. He talks of following him to Seir, and as soon as he is free of him, he crosses into Canaan.
The Straight Answer He Never Gave
Jacob had a real and honourable reason for parting from Esau, and he never used it:
L. M. GrantWhy did Jacob not act in simplicity of faith? He could have simply told Esau the truth, that God had directed him to return to Bethel. Was he afraid that Esau might be upset by Jacob's not coming to visit him at least? But would Esau not be more upset by Jacob's deceiving him as he did?
The Cost of "My Lord"
Jacob calls Esau "my lord" and asks for his favour. He had a better promise to lean on:
The Christian's FriendInstead of remembering God's word, "I will be with you," and the fact that God's host had met him, he falls back again on his own schemes, so as to find favor in the sight of "my lord Esau" and to appease him. To faith, if there had been four thousand men with Esau instead of four hundred, what of that? "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Besides, what right or title had Esau? But we put ourselves under the men of the world when we use worldly, deceitful ways in our dealings with them.
Where the Road to Seir Led
Jacob's next move showed what his promise to Esau was worth, and what he wanted for himself:
F. B. HoleJacob declined the offered help, and Esau departed. Then Jacob again reveals the crookedness that seems to have been his natural bent. He had said to Esau, "I come to my lord to Seir." Yet he went at once to Succoth, which lay in a completely different direction. And when he arrived there, the record is that he built a house and made shelters for his cattle. That shows he had a mind to settle down in the land instead of keeping the character of a stranger.
God Faithful While Jacob Was Not
Jacob's failure here cost him more than he knew:
William KellyGod was faithful to Jacob, but Jacob was not yet faithful to God. God still held something back. He could not yet reveal His name to him as He did to Abraham and Isaac, and as He would to Jacob in due time. There was not the self-judgment that made the way for it. So with all his fawning on his brother there was not even openness, and still less faith in action.
Summary
- Peniel: Jacob had just prevailed with God, yet the strength learned there did not show up in front of his brother.
- Fear: He was anxious to be rid of Esau, and had no intention of ever going to Seir.
- Flattery: Calling Esau "my lord" was the language of a man handling the world by the world's own methods.
- Evasion: The simple truth — that God had sent him back — would have served him better than the excuse he chose.
- Succoth: He built a house where a stranger should have pitched a tent. God stayed faithful to a man who was not yet faithful to Him.