Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth. – Genesis 33:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 2, 2012): Genesis 33

I need to prioritize. I don’t do it enough and so often my days are whittled away by the urgent instead of the important. And then I wonder why the important never gets accomplished. Right now there are a few things that to me are very important that I am just not getting to. I know what I need to do, but I am having trouble actually doing it. It is something that I need to change.

Jacob knew what God was calling him to do. What was important to God (and therefore to Jacob) was two-fold. First, Jacob needed to be reconciled to his brother Esau. It was this need that had occupied his imagination ever since he had left Laban in Paddan Aram, which was actually located just north of the land that God had promised to Abraham and his descendants. And Esau, hearing that Jacob was moving south, came out in force to meet his brother. Finally, the plan that Jacob had sweated over became a reality. He needed his brother to understand that he really was sorry and wanted to repair the relationship that as a younger man he had recklessly damaged. And as he met with his brother by the Jordan River, he realized the goal of reconciliation.

But that wasn’t the only item on his priority list. God had called Jacob home. Esau at some point had moved a little further south to land the lay around Mount Seir. This move was probably a result (although it is hard to believe that Esau knew it at the time) of the fact that Jacob had claimed both Esau’s inheritance and his blessing. The Promised Land promised to Abraham and Isaac was now the land that would be occupied by Jacob’s descendants. It was the southern kingdom of Seir that would turn into the Kingdom of Edom – a kingdom named after the red hair of their patriarch - Esau. But with the start of a healing relationship with his brother, Jacob could now turn his attention on the land of his promised home. It was part of the reason why Jacob stopped and started to build his home at Succoth. It was a land that one day his descendants would occupy.

And God continued to show that he was in control of what was going on. Jacob might have doubted that from his vantage point, but from ours, we can see the move of God in the lives of Jacob and Esau. And maybe that is something that can encourage us as we meet with the circumstances of our lives.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 34


Personal Note: Happy Birthday to two of my Brothers in law - both celebrating today. So, have a great day Ken and Laurie (Hey Laurie, did you know that you are 50 today - man., that is old :-))