Genesis 33: Forgiveness

Flesh and spirit reunite.

Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as we discover new insights and new perspectives from a very old book.

I’m reading the Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

In my commentary on Genesis 27, I wrote:

“Esau” represents the body in which consciousness, Jacob, may grow. The body was made for the spirit, not the other way around.

Esau and Jacob both sought reconciliation, but were unsure that the other did. But here we see there is harmony between the two as they serve one another.

Esau felt betrayed by Jacob over his inheritance, then was emotionally abandoned by his mother, who organized the ruse in which Jacob, not Esau, received their father’s blessing. But it was Esau who remained at home, Jacob was the wandering “spirit” who left his family in Canaan to mature, prosper, and create a family of his own in the native land of his grandfather Abraham.

Although Esau prospered, he missed his spiritual consciousness, i.e., Jacob. And Jacob knew Canaan was where he belonged to fulfill the LORD’s promise to Abraham and Isaac.

Genesis 33 is a beautiful tale of forgiveness, perhaps the best chapter in Genesis so far. But metaphorically and metaphysically it also represents the body and soul reconnecting after a period when both seemed to be prospering, but was missing the other.

James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!

(Photo credit: TyshkunVictor)