Genesis 33 & 34: Will You Bow Seven Times Before God?
Verse of the Day: (33:3) And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
    
1. Seven (33:1-20)
And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. (33:10)

Seven means completion, and Jacob was completely humbled after his earlier encounter with God as he bowed seven times and pleaded with Esau, his elder brother, for his forgiveness as he had deceived him of his birth-right and blessings. Esau saw Jacob’s humility, and immediately forgave him. Jacob was overwhelmed when he saw Esau’s joyful face as though it was God’s joyful face of acceptance of his repentance of his sins.

2. Sword (34:1-29)
And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. (34:25)

This was one of the tragic incidences of the history of God’s chosen people, when Simeon and Levi, Jacob’s two sons, took their swords and slew the males of the people whose prince was Hamor the Hivite. Simeon and Levi could not trust God to judge Shechem, the son of Hamor, who had raped Dinah, their sister, and instead deceived the people of Hamor by promising them that they would forgive Shechem’s sin if they would circumcise themselves like the people of Israel. However, they did not keep their promise but instead killed all the males of the people of Hamor. Let us revenge not or take things into our own hands when people wrong us, but commit the wrong to God, and God shall surely vindicate us, and judge those who had wronged and hurt us. (Romans 12:19-21)   

3. Stink (34:30-31)
And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. (34:30)

Jacob was very angry with Simeon and Levi as they had made him to stink or shamed him before all the people of the land. Jacob knew that he had failed as a father as his sons did not consult him, but took matters into their own hands. Children, let us obey and honour our parents, and we shall be blessed with longevity, and fathers, let us pray for our children, and raise them in the nurture and admonition of God so that our families shall be a great testimony of God’s grace, goodness and greatness! (Ephesians 6:1-4)

Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, please humble me to know that I am nothing without You.