Genesis 33:12

Genesis 33:12 says, And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.  Esau said that they should return home and that he would lead.  The reconciliation was complete.  Esau no longer wanted to kill Jacob, and Jacob no longer feared Esau.  When we reconcile with others under God's guidance, we should then be traveling in the same direction, going toward our everlasting home.  Verse thirteen states, And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.  Jacob expressed his concern about his family and his flocks to Esau.  Some were young and couldn't travel very fast without possibly harming them.  I believe that we need to understand that some of our fellow believers are younger in faith than we are and may not be able to travel as fast as we do in our journey for God.  We should never demand that they travel faster than they can just to keep up with us.  Verse fourteen adds, Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.  Again calling Esau lord, Jacob asked him to go ahead at his own speed and promised that he would catch up to him.  We may not travel at the same speed in our spiritual journey, but as followers of Christ, we can promise to end up at the same place one day, and that is our heavenly home.  Verse fifteen declares, And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.  Esau offered to leave some of his men to accompany Jacob, but Jacob said he didn't need them.  Jacob had God's protection, though he often seemed to forget that fact, so he didn't need Esau's men to protect Him.  When we are truly following God's will, we do not need to rely on anyone in this world to protect us.  Ultimately, we must rely on God alone, though it is good to know that we are not alone in following Christ.  Verse sixteen states, So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.  Esau left that day on his journey home, his relationship with Jacob now restored.  Neither had mentioned the birthright.  We may at times allow the things of this world, which the birthright really was, to control our attitude towards others, only to realize later on that they don't really matter.  Verse seventeen says, And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.  When Jacob got to Succoth, he stopped for awhile.  Then verse eighteen adds, And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.  After resting up, Jacob continued on to Canaan.  We may need to pause and rest occasionally in our spiritual journey, but we must never allow things in this world to keep us from our journey to our heavenly home.  Verse nine states, And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.  Though God had promised Jacob this land, he didn't just claim it because of that promise, but he bought it.  We cannot just take what belongs to other people and claim that God has already given us the right to do so.  Verse twenty declares, And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.  After Jacob bought the land, he built an altar to God.  As followers of Christ, we should always let the world know that God is the One Who is responsible for our successes in life, and we should likewise let the world know that He is with us even in our failures.  We must simply always give God the glory.