Genesis-114-To Reach the Shoulder of the Mountain

Genesis 33:12-20

“Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.” But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds that are nursing their young are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the animals will die. Please let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel slowly, at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” “Why do that?” asked Jacob. “Just let me find favor in your eyes, my lord.” So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth. Then Jacob traveled safely to the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped outside the city. For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.” Amen.

 

A Life Pursuing God’s Promise: The Story of Jacob and Us

We have just read the final part of the story of Jacob and Esau. While they do meet again at Isaac’s funeral, this passage effectively concludes their main narrative. As we've seen, Jacob essentially returns the earthly things he obtained by deceit to Esau. He had realized that he was a descendant of God’s promise, and that this promise was the true birthright he should hold on to. He finally begins to seek heavenly things. His entire life, which had been focused on earthly matters, was at last undergoing a complete transformation. The Jabbok River incident that we know so well left a deep mark on his life.

 

The statement Jacob made to Esau—"When I see your face, it is like seeing the face of God"—is truly astonishing. To see the face of God means, as Jacob had already experienced, "I thought I would die." No one has ever seen the face of God and lived. So, by looking at Esau's face, Jacob was not just talking about glory, but was confessing, "I thought I would die when I saw your face." But what happened? He lived. He was able to live because of the Jabbok River incident, which we call Peniel, meaning "I saw the face of God and yet my life was spared."

 

At that moment, he was in a situation where he should have died, but instead of his death, he was struck in the hip and lived. This is very much like looking at the cross of Jesus Christ. Although the text doesn't explicitly mention Jesus' name or what He would do, we saw last time that Jacob was able to look upon Jesus, just as Abraham had. When we discover Christ in the Bible, we are often amazed, asking, "Does this passage really show that Jesus Christ would come to this earth and accomplish this salvation?" However, our certainty comes from the clear words of Jesus in John 5:

 

"You study the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me." The Scriptures here refer to the Old Testament. Jesus is saying, "You are reading the Old Testament, but isn't it because you think you will gain eternal life from it? That very Scripture bears witness to me." Therefore, the story of Abraham leaving his family and homeland to enter Canaan is not just a testament to his great faith or obedience; it is an event that testifies to Jesus Christ. As I have told you, this is the most important attitude for reading the Bible.

 

King of the World or King of God?

After his experience at Peniel, Jacob could now look at the face of Esau and not die. 'Peniel' comes from 'peni' (face) and 'el' (God), while 'Peniesau' is a term I am using to parallel it, even though it is not a biblical word. But the story of a living Jacob doesn't end here. In verse 12 of today's passage, Jacob receives a very significant proposal from Esau: "Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you."

 

Perhaps Esau had good intentions. He might have been saying, "Jacob, I'm the older brother who has made a place for himself." He was so successful that a nation, Edom (meaning 'red'), and a city, Seir (meaning 'hairy'), were named after him. As a ruler in his territory, he was like a king. He was so wealthy that he could casually dismiss all the gifts Jacob gave him, saying, "I have enough, my brother."

 

However, his proposal, no matter how well-intentioned, clearly shows that he did not understand God’s promise. The land Jacob was to inherit was the land of Canaan, given through God’s promise. Esau’s inability to grasp this proves that he was not the one destined to inherit that promise. He was a man of this world, not of the promised land. Conversely, Jacob had the promise but not a single piece of land.

 

To understand the full weight of this moment, we must look closely at Esau's words. The translation "I'll accompany you" in verse 12 is not wrong, but the original Hebrew has the preposition 'before' attached to the verb. So, it literally means, "I will accompany you in front." To "accompany in front" is a strange phrase. Since 'accompany' also means 'to go,' a better translation would be, "I will go ahead of you." Esau is saying, "I will go ahead of you, and I will be with you." This is language most often used by whom? By God. Esau is effectively speaking in the manner of God.

 

Diverging Paths, Yet a Continued Salvation

When Jacob bowed down seven times and gave gifts to Esau, it was like a subject bowing before his king. In fact, according to ancient Egyptian documents, one of the most important customs for a king was to receive bows and gifts. As Jacob humbled himself, Esau said, "Now I will lead you, I will accompany you." Esau was proposing, "I will be your king."

 

But Jacob had learned one thing for sure: "I will inherit God's promise, and God is my Master." This was the most important thing he had learned in the Jabbok River incident. After 20 years of God being with him, and having seen God’s face and survived, his answer should have been clear: "Brother, I will follow God's promise. I'm sorry I cannot travel with you."

 

Instead, Jacob gave a surprisingly ambiguous answer: "My lord knows that the children are frail... let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel slowly... until I come to my lord in Seir." He clearly says he will go, but his actions prove his heart was elsewhere. Many scholars interpret this as Jacob reverting to his old deceitful ways. However, I want to give Jacob a more positive evaluation.

 

My reason for this is the second part of the story. Esau makes another offer to Jacob. "Alright? Then I'll leave a few of my servants with you to help you come." In response, Jacob says, "Why do that? Just let me find favor in your eyes, my lord." You might read this simply as a polite phrase, but in this context, it means, "Please forgive me." He is saying, "I have done you wrong, and I've given you a gift; now please show me grace (forgiveness)."

 

A consistent interpretation of Jacob's character suggests that this was a polite refusal. It’s like saying, "How can I do that? I am sorry, but I cannot go with you, so please forgive me. I cannot accept your help, and I cannot go where you want me to, so please forgive me." I think this interpretation is closer to the overall context. However, the first interpretation—"This is just like Jacob"—is not entirely wrong either, because it's true that Jacob was still a flawed man.

 

But regardless of which interpretation we choose, one thing is clear: Esau is saying, "I am the king; follow me," and Jacob is demonstrating by his actions that he cannot. When Jacob does not follow Esau, and Esau returns to Seir without a word of complaint, it is more fitting to conclude that Jacob’s polite refusal was accepted by Esau. What Jacob's actions say is far more telling than his words.

 

Seir is in Edom, at the southern end of the Dead Sea. The story takes place near the Jordan River, which is to the north. But when they part ways, Jacob doesn't go south with Esau; he goes straight north. This clearly shows, "I have no intention of following your proposal." He takes an unexpected path. The place he goes is very ambiguous. When Jacob enters Canaan, where should he go first? He should go to Bethel, the place where God appeared to him, and where he promised to build an altar and pay a tithe if God brought him back safely.

 

Instead of going to Bethel, he goes to a place the Bible calls Succoth. Succoth means he crossed the Jordan River again. He went back and crossed to the other side. This is not only the opposite direction from Esau but also the opposite direction from entering Canaan. We know this was not a mistake because he built a house there. Building a house means he intended to stay for a while. 'Succoth' means 'shelter' or 'booth,' and the name means, "I built my own house." This is a serious problem, as it is in stark contrast to his promise at Bethel to build a house for God.

 

Two Names, One Life: Jacob and Israel

When God first appeared to Jacob at Bethel, Jacob said, "I will set up this pillar as God's house." But now, what is he building? He is building his own house first. His decision to go north seemed to be a response of faith—"I cannot serve him as my king. God is my Master"—but he quickly went in a completely different direction.

 

Jacob’s life is truly unique. You can see this in one telling sign: Abraham's name was Abram, and Sarah's was Sarai, and their names were changed. After Abram became Abraham, was he ever called Abram again in the Bible? No. The same is true for Sarai. In the New Testament, after Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter, he is called Peter. After Saul becomes Paul, he is always called Paul. But there is a very unique character in the Bible: Jacob. God gave him a new name, right? He said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but you will be called Israel." But as you read the Bible, you will constantly read about both Jacob and Israel. Jacob's name continues to follow him. This is the great and unique feature of his character. God did not change his name for the same purpose as He changed Abraham's, Sarah's, or Paul's. Instead, He gave him two names throughout his entire life to better explain what God's salvation work is like. These two names go with him to the very end.

 

At times, Jacob is so much like Jacob. But at other times, he appears as Israel. Here, too, both names appear. Ultimately, through this, God helped Jacob himself know throughout his life: "Who was I? I was 'Jacob' the deceiver, but at the same time, my name is 'Israel,' the one for whom God fought." Those two names constantly reminded him of who he was. This is why Jacob's life is so much closer to ours than the lives of any other famous biblical figures, especially in the Old Testament. Some scholars, borrowing from Martin Luther, suggest that Jacob and Israel perfectly illustrate what Luther meant when he said, "We are at once righteous and sinners," justified by the cross of Christ but simultaneously sinners. This makes perfect sense. Jacob clearly knew that God was with him, confessed that God was his Lord, and experienced the amazing glory of salvation when he saw God's face and lived. He knew what the Messiah who was to come would do for him, yet he settled in Succoth, building his own house first.

 

This forces us to examine our own faith. Whenever God shows us what our faith looks like through Jacob, I honestly feel a trembling in my heart.

 

Wavering Faith: A Time of Anxiety and Wandering

When we first believed in Jesus, how often did we say to God, "Lord, I want to live for your glory"? When we learned that "I am the temple," who among us did not at least in our hearts vow, "Lord, I want to be built up as your holy temple"? Yet, in our lives, the moment a comfortable path appears, or a little fear or hardship arises, we so often choose to walk that wide, easy path. How much fear must Jacob have felt? The fact that he crossed the Jordan River again shows that he didn't quite trust Esau. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to run so far away.

 

Some might ask, "Did Jacob flee there to examine his faith because that's where he met God?" If so, he should have gone to Peniel, not Succoth. The place of Peniel was nearby, but he did not go there. This is how we know his state of mind. He was extremely anxious and wanted to build his own home to protect himself and rebuild his life. His proper course of action, if he were to truly go to God, should have been to live as a man of God. But his life, like ours, was filled with singing praises to God while carrying doubts and walking into a state of anxiety. The moments in Jacob's life are not just his story, but are so similar to our own that we cannot simply read past them.

 

But Jacob's story doesn't end there. Even though he built a house there, God brought him out. He crossed the Jordan River again, with God accompanying him. Where would he go now? Naturally, we would expect him to go to Bethel. Having built a house and shelters for his animals, he now attempted to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land. So we would expect him to go to Bethel, but he goes to Shechem. Okay, since Abraham also went there, what’s wrong with Shechem? The problem is that when he gets to Shechem, as today's passage says, he buys a piece of land. What does buying land mean? It means he intends to live there. He was supposed to go to Bethel, but he bought land to stay in Shechem. If he had just made it to Bethel, we would have shouted "Hallelujah, Amen!" But he didn't. He crossed the Jordan, but the distance from Shechem to Bethel is not far at all.

 

The Confession, "My God"

Reading this story, I feel as if I am reading my own story. We sing and confess, "Lord, let me go where you go, and let me stop where you stop," but we have never once done that. We always rush ahead when God tells us to stop, and we try to go in the opposite direction when God tells us to go. Jacob's story shows us what we are truly like. And you are all more faithful than me, so you are not like me, right? This is what they call black comedy. We all read this story and cannot help but confess, "This is my story," because what follows makes it even more shocking: Jacob built an altar there. He promised to build an altar at Bethel, but he built one in the wrong place. He may have built it to imitate Abraham, but he built an altar there. And the name he gave the altar is truly remarkable: "El Elohe Israel."

 

You've learned what this means. 'El' is God. Hebrew is an inflected language like German, where the endings change. So 'Elohe' means 'my God.' And 'Israel' you know well. So it means "God of Israel, my God," but the name also means, "God, even my God." You may not be moved because you don't know that this was the first time Jacob ever said this. He had always spoken of "the God of Abraham, the God of my father, Isaac," but never "my God." He only ever said it once before, in Genesis 28:21, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear..." Where did this happen? At Bethel. He said, "...so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God."

 

What he calls 'my God' is not a small matter. Twenty years have passed. When Jacob says "my God" now, he is not just talking about the God of Abraham or Isaac, whom he had heard about and seen. He is talking about the God who did not forget him over the last twenty years, through all the humiliation and pain he suffered in Laban's house. The God who kept His promise and brought him this far, the God who protected him and guarded him—all the history of his life is now being written and relived like a movie in this single phrase, "my God." It's not just his story, but the God his father called "my God," the God who was with Isaac and kept him, is now the God who keeps him. This is one of the most important confessions we must never forget.

 

Our Confession, "My God"

Kim Bo-eun composed a very famous song, "The God of Elijah," that we used to sing in choirs and sometimes as a whole congregation. The song says, "The God of Elijah who burned the sacrifice on Mount Carmel." The chorus goes, "The God of Elijah is my God." When we sing this, we feel chills, because the God whom Elijah called, the God who burned the altar, is not just Elijah's God, but my God.

 

Jacob is just like that now. He is confessing that God is not just the God of Abraham and Isaac, but my God, the God who was with him throughout his life. The God who held on to him even in those moments when he shed tears, felt frustrated, was hurt, stumbled, fell, and wanted to give up on his life. The God who is still holding on to him, who has never left him, is now my God. Do you have such a God? If he had made this confession at Bethel, how amazing would that have been? Regrettably, it was at Shechem. And yet, who was it who led Jacob to make such a confession? It was God Himself.

 

And so you come to realize: how great were Jacob's mistakes and how profound was his despair in this story? In God's eyes, he was incredibly unfaithful. "How could you go to Succoth, buy land in Shechem, and think about settling down there? Jacob, Jacob, where is Bethel?" One might expect God to appear and say this. Yet, God does not abandon Jacob who calls Him "my God." God will ultimately lead him to Bethel.

 

The Way of the Cross, and True Grace

However, as you know, after Jacob made that confession at Shechem in chapter 33, chapter 34 was waiting for him. The moment you and I believe in Jesus, we all become people who walk the path of the cross, whether we confessed it with our lips or not. "Lord, I will carry my cross and follow you." We are all on that path. But how have we walked it? The more we think about it and look at ourselves, the more we feel a deep sense of regret.

 

We made promises to the Lord, yet the moment we meet someone who is a little burdensome, we turn our faces away. The moment we hear something that hurts us, we simply put an 'X' on that person. Whether it is our spouse or another person, our hearts are sometimes filled with hatred. And when the Lord says, "Isn't this a cross you should bear?" what do we do? We say, "This is not my cross," and we abandon and throw it away. Perhaps we never even seriously intended to take hold of it. My friends, this is a much more serious issue than you think. You cannot simply think, "Oh, God is good, so He will just lift me up every time I make a mistake!" If you do not turn back to see if you are truly on the path with God and what kind of life you are living on that path, how could God simply let you be, as His child who is to inherit His kingdom? Therefore, you and I must build an altar before the Lord again and reconsider who we are. "My God, my God."

 

This is a far more serious issue than we might believe. We should not simply think, "God is good, so He'll just lift me up every time I make a mistake." If we do not examine whether we are truly walking on that path with God and consider the life we are living, how can God simply stand by and watch until we, as His children, receive the promised inheritance? Therefore, we must build an altar again before the Lord and deeply consider what the confession of 'my God' means to us.

 

God the Father, Our True Name

Just like the story of Jacob and Israel, the place Shechem is also central to this story. 'Shechem' means 'shoulder,' specifically the shoulder of a mountain. This means Jacob never reached the peak. It would have been so great if he had just gone a little farther to Bethel, which was the summit, but he stopped at the shoulder. God is dealing with him, and I believe God left us this story of "my God" to help us understand what His amazing grace is, especially for a man who only reached the shoulder.

 

Why do I say this? You might think, "Ah, Jacob has finally come to his senses and is calling God 'my God'!" It's quite moving, isn't it? But is it truly a moment that moves God? How sad it is that he calls God "my God" in Shechem! It's like a student who misses one question and doesn't get a perfect score. Isn't that more regrettable? Jacob is not pleasing God now. Instead, he is grieving God's heart.

 

What can you or I offer that would move God? Neither Jacob nor we can please God. In fact, no hero in the Bible has truly pleased God. The only one on this earth who pleased God was Jesus Christ. Only He completed all of God's demands and obeyed all of God's commands. He lived on this earth according to His Father's heart and will. Therefore, only when He called God "my God" was God truly pleased.

 

But, do you know? Instead of Jacob’s proud confession, Jesus Christ cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Why? Why did the Lord cry out this instead of what Jacob proudly confessed? Was it not for our sake? Was it not for Jacob’s sake? Was it not for Abraham's sake? For Moses' sake? The Lord had no choice but to cry out for us. Because we have nothing to bring to God, nothing to give to God but sin. Now that we believe in Jesus and are in Him, we sing praises like, "I surrender all," and "I have nothing but my body to give, so I give this body to you." But when you were outside of the Lord, didn't you have nothing to offer or show to God but your sin? And yet, the Son of God received that sin. And He gave Himself to us. To us who had nothing to give but sin, He gave Himself. Jesus, who became our sin for our sake, walked the path of death. And He cried out, "Why have you forsaken me?"

 

And on the morning of the resurrection, Jesus spoke a surprising word to a woman. "My God is your God, and my Father is your Father." He is not just "El Elioi" (God, the God of the living), but "El Abi" (God, my Father). That Father, my Father, is now your Father. This is the true grace of God that Jacob, Abraham, and all of them longed for and hoped to see—a grace that this world cannot comprehend.

 

When Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", it was so that He could say to you, "My Father is now your Father." Therefore, now you can cry out to Him. Now you can go to Him. Now you can cling to Him. Now you can call out to Him freely. Now you and I can go before God, our Father, my Father. Therefore, my beloved, God will fight for you, and on this earth, He will become your God. But more than that, because Christ was forsaken by the Father, we have become children of God, and you can now call God "Father." I believe that this truth will save you today, save you forever, and give you true peace and rest for all eternity.

 

Let us pray.

Loving Lord, by your being forsaken, we have been healed. Now, please allow us to call you Father. Help us to know that the one who has been with us throughout our lives is our Father. Help us to know that You are the Father who embraced us, gave everything for us, inherited all things to us, and even gave Your life for us. We pray that your beloved people may call You "my Father." We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.