I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 33, as we continue our series through the first book of the Bible, Genesis. We've come to chapter 33, and we're going to read together verses one through 20. So as you arrive there, and this is on page 27 of your Pew Bibles, 27, as you arrive there, I do invite you to stand out of respect for the reading of God's holy word. And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants, and he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, who are these with you? Jacob said, the children whom God has graciously given your servant. Then the servants drew near. They and their children and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last, Joseph and Rachel drew near and they bowed down. Esau said, what do you mean by all this company that I have met? Jacob answered, to find favor in the sight of my Lord. But Esau said, I have enough, my brother, keep what you have for yourself. Jacob said, no, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. Please accept my blessing that is brought to you because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have enough. Thus he urged him and he took it. Then Esau said, let us journey on our way and I will go ahead of you. But Jacob said to him, my Lord knows that the children are frail and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. Let my Lord pass on ahead of his servants, and I will lead on slowly at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children until I come to my Lord in Syre. So Esau said, let me leave with you some of the people who are with me. But he said, what need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my Lord. So Esau returned that day on his way to Syre. But Jacob journeyed to Succoth. and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore, the name of the place is called Sukkoth. And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Padan-Aram. And he camped before the city. And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. There he erected an altar and called it El Elohe Yisrael. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God abides forever. Amen. You may be seated. Blessed are the peacemakers. Long before Jesus preached those words on the Sermon of the Mount, someone had already put those words into practice. That person was Jacob. You see, in our passage this morning, Jacob made peace with his brother Esau. Yes, the brother that he had so horribly defrauded 20 years earlier. This was the brother that he had stolen a birthright from and a blessing. And he had treated that brother with such horrible disrespect that he was so scared, what's gonna happen when I see him? What's he gonna do to me? Is he going to kill me? Certainly I deserve it. And yet what happens here? Jacob finds a way to forge peace with Esau. And that way we see it's not so much about what Jacob did, but what God was doing in Jacob. This matter was so important to Jacob that actually he went out of his way on his journey home to pursue reconciliation with this man whom he had deceived and defrauded 20 years before. If you were to look at a map for, I mean, just imagine Jacob has gone, way up to the north of Israel and he's up in the land of Haran and he could just come straight down. There's nothing stopping him from cutting straight down south into Canaan. But instead what he does is as he's coming down he kind of juts off to the east and then comes back towards Canaan. and that jutting off to the east and coming back, if you were to map it out, this was him going out of his way to do something that he really needed to attend to before he entered Canaan. He needed to make peace. He needed to reconcile with his brother, not only because he'd be living in constant fear and frustration with what Esau might do to him if he didn't fix that situation before he came into the promised land, but also because he knew it was his duty. Jacob had come to the point in his day his walk with God that he was actually doing the hard but right thing. It took him long enough, 20 years, but finally he's ready to do what is necessary to make peace before he enters the promised land. You see, seeking peace where there is strife is no secondary matter. Peace with others is part of living faithfully before God. We have a lot to learn from Jacob on this side of our journey to the promised land. Because yes, we are wayfaring strangers on our way to that blessed land, that heavenly place. And while we're on our way, we need to learn a thing or two about making peace. We need to let God's humbling grace in our hearts. drive us to make peace with people. And here's what we need to see. Several points, but I'll state them as we go. The first is simply this, that reconciliation begins with God's work in us and through us. Let me ask you this. What's your first reaction to speaking with someone who's at odds with you? Do you wriggle and squirm and try to figure out a way to step away from the confrontation, to lessen the blow that it's going to be? Do you let fear of man get in the way of what you must do? Or maybe your pride protests, you know, I don't need to ask his forgiveness, he hurt me too. But you see, if we're going to be ready to make peace with people, we first need to be changed from the inside out. If we're not going to let these fleshly, sinful, selfish reasons get in the way of making peace, we need to have our pride, our fear, our excuses broken. And we need to be changed. We need to become new creations who no longer avoid conflict, but actually face it in a peacemaking fashion. And that's what we see with Jacob. The reason why he's able to pursue peace with his brother is because he was first broken by God in the sweetest and best way. I want you to think about the sermon last week. What do we see? What happened with Jacob? He wrestled with someone for a whole night and he came to find out that he was not just wrestling with man, he was wrestling with God. He was in a wrestling match with the pre-incarnate Christ. It was amazing. And Jacob soon found out who really had the upper hand, who really had the strength in that relationship. God did. And God broke him, dislocated his hip in order to bring him to the end of his pride, to bring him to the end of himself so he could say, okay, God, I give up, but I'm not gonna stop clinging to you. You've got to change me, God. And God did change Jacob. And now we see that Jacob is this new man. He's a new creation. No more deceit and manipulation that we're used to with him. He humbles himself before Esau, bowing low seven times. He stretches his body on the ground like a subject in the presence of a king. No charades, no more games. Just a humble man placing his life in the hands of the brother he so horribly wronged 20 years ago. And you say, where did this change in Jacob come from? What a new guy. I'm used to Jacob the deceiver, Jacob the heel grabber, Jacob the scoundrel. And yet we know exactly where this came from. We've already said it. It came from his encounter with God's radical, intrusive grace. The night before he met his brother, God had wrestled and wrung the pride out of Jacob. And now Jacob walks with what? A gospel limp. from that dislocated hip, from being brought to the end of his pride, he limps his way with this utter dependence upon God, the walk of faith. And that dependence on God is showing up now in his interactions with others. That's how it works. We're brought to the end of ourselves. We lay a hold of God with the arms of faith. And then we start to see, wow, I'm behaving differently toward other people. I'm no longer manipulating them and using them. But because I'm right with God, I'm able to be right with man. Look at what Jacob says over and over again. God has dealt graciously with me. He says that in verse 11. He says, God graciously gave me these children. He's for the first time really recognizing truly the source of his blessings and letting that shape his interaction with others. And this leads to a very important question for you this morning. Christian, if you want to live at peace with others, you must first be at peace with God, And here's the question, are you? Are you at peace with God this morning? Have you come to the end of your pride, to the end of your efforts to try to impress God and impress others? Have you come to the point where you have that gospel limp and you drag yourself by faith to say, give me Jesus and that's all I need. I don't need approval from man. I don't need people to do what I want. I just need Jesus. For he is our peace with God. He laid down his body on the cross. He died the death that we deserve to die as our great substitute. So that what? So that we could be reconciled with God, at peace with God. There is no peace with God in our selfish pride. But there is peace with God in that submissiveness of faith, which says, God, I give up. Just give me you. Just give me Christ. Because Jacob had found peace with God. He was prepared to find peace with his brother. And here's where we see a picture of true reconciliation. It's a lesson for us all in conflict resolution. If you're wondering, how do I do this? How would I actually go about making peace with someone with whom I am really in fierce disagreement? And there is hatred and there is animosity. How do I do this? Well, look at what Jacob does. It's more than just saying, I'm sorry. It involves a pattern of humble, Peacemaking. And it starts with this, pursuing face-to-face confession, face-to-face confession, with few exceptions. And I do recognize that there are some very rare exceptions where face-to-face communication is just not possible, or at least not the best place to start. But at some point, very quickly, Scripture and wisdom dictates that you must meet the person with whom you are opposed face-to-face. And Matthew 5.23 has something to say about this, doesn't it? It says, You see, go, go to your brother. How many times in this passage does Jacob speak about seeing his brother's face? That face-to-face confrontation, that's what we're scared of. We'll talk a little bit later why we're so scared of that. But face-to-face confrontation, we say, yeah, that's intense, I don't want that. And yet the scripture says, that's what you need. You need to look into the eyes of the one with whom you're at odds. And you need to pursue peace with them. Here's the second thing we learned from Jacob in terms of the kind of peacemaking that God is working within him. He pursues face-to-face confession. He also approaches with a softened posture. Now, I don't know if you've ever gone into a confrontation with a defensive and self-protective posture, but my guess is that every single one of us has. We've gone in and we've said, all right, I'm ready to talk. Why don't you go first? I have something to say. And your tone and your approach and everything about it just says, I'm not prepared to talk. I'm prepared to fight. And you go ahead and say something. And I'm listening to every word so that I can use what you say as a weapon right back at you. If we go into confrontations with that kind of self-protective, defensive posture, it's no wonder that peace is not made, but in fact, just more war. What Jacob does, he comes in humbly. He knows he's wronged his brother, and he bows before his brother. He calls him Lord, which at the time was a way of this maximum kind of deference, saying, brother, You are the one who has the upper hand here. I have wronged you. And I'm not gonna come and put on a show with you. I'm gonna come with vulnerability. There's more, because Jacob also comes making restitution for his wrongs. What does he do? He stole the birthright from Esau, and there was no exact way to give that back, but he could make restitution. He could give generously from all those years that he had reaped from his brother's blessings. And he could give generously, maybe even more than he had taken, more than he had accrued, back to Esau. And that's what he does. He insists his brother, please take this, take this. And Esau finally agrees. to this incredible wealth from Jacob, that Jacob says, he doesn't say it, but it's clear, he's making restitution for all those years of wrong. Now, here's the deal, wherever possible, we need to do this too. You know, you stole a candy bar from a convenience store. What do you do? You go back to the convenience store, not with excuses, but with a candy bar in your hand. You put it on the counter and you say to the manager, I stole, I did wrong. Will you forgive me? And then you take another $3 and lay it down next to the candy bar and say, This is because I stole, this is because of the inconvenience I provided to you. And you walk out the door without expecting anything in return. That's peacemaking, that's restitution. That's righting wrongs. And whatever your situation, I know you're thinking about the possibilities, your impossibilities of doing this and the ways that you've wronged, but it's an important biblical principle that we need to lay down here. And I leave it to your wisdom. And to the work of the Holy Spirit in you. Christian, where is God calling you to take the first humble step? Where is God calling you to take the first humble peacemaking step? Well, reconciliation begins with God's work in us, and then here's the second point, and it's important, that God leads us to something else. Reconciliation looks to God's work in others. It looks to God's work in others. Here's what's so challenging, at least from a human perspective, about peacemaking. It takes two to tango. You can do your part, you can come humbly, but will the person you've offended accept you? What are they going to say? Are they gonna be reasonable? Are they gonna be loving? Are they gonna be forgiving? Will they let their guard down too? If reconciliation is going to take place, God must work in two hearts. No matter how difficult it seems from a human perspective, no matter how distant two sinners have become, here's the truth we need to recognize. God can soften hearts that have become hardened against one another. God can do this. And it is a miracle that we need to be grateful for and thankful for where we see it take place. Every act of reconciliation is a miracle that a heart would bend at all in any kind of way. You see, God has been working in Esau's heart. Isn't that crazy? Here he comes with his 400 soldiers and you think, oh man, he's gonna wipe out his brother like a bug. He's gonna stomp on him like a bug. This is the man who was plotting to murder his brother 20 years ago. He said it. But as soon as he sees his scoundrel of a brother bow down before him, in a humble posture, his heart softens. He runs, he embraces, he weeps. There's a picture here, I believe, of the story of the prodigal son. Is there not? Here's what the elder brother in Jesus's parable should have done. Right? Not, oh, there's my brother who spent all those years in sin and depravity, but instead, brother, you've come home. You've wronged daddy, you've wronged me, but my arms are open in this willing embrace, in this forgiving embrace. Miracle of miracles, we have reconciled, brothers. Jacob and Esau, at peace. What does this mean for us? What does this mean for you this morning? I want to note three things that it means. First of all, it means that we ought to be praying, praying for God to work in the hearts of people with whom we need to be reconciled. Why do we need to be praying for that? Well, because we can't control other people. Have you learned that yet? Have you accepted it? I can't control others. I can't make them do what I want. No manipulation tactic is going to work. But we can pray for the God who can change hearts and say, Lord, I can't change their heart toward me. I can't control their response. Are you praying for those with whom you need to be reconciled? Are you praying that God would be working in their heart and yours? We also ought to forgive. Maybe you find yourself on the Esau side of this seesaw in our picture this morning. You say, I'm not the one who's primarily wronged. I'm primarily the one who has been wronged, and I've got a real grudge with someone, and it's gonna be real hard for me to accept them. It's gonna be real hard for me to embrace them. There will be few tears when they confess to me. Christians, if pagan Esau could forgive someone who wronged him, how much more must you? This is the Esau who has done nothing but distance himself from God and his blessings. And yet he's the one who gives us a picture of forgiveness. The very picture that the elder brother in the prodigal son refused to show. As God's people, we must be all the more willing, even more than Esau to forgive those who have wronged us when they come and confess their sin. And yet there's a third point here. We ought to be wise. We ought to be wise in our steps after the reconciliation takes place. You see, yes, reconciliation produces peace, but it still calls for great wisdom. And Jacob is wise enough to realize that he and Esau are headed in different directions. Now there's some, strange stuff going on with how he goes about it. Is he deceiving Esau again? I don't know. There's some back and forth about what's happening, and when he says, oh, I'll follow you, but then he ends up going somewhere else. We don't know exactly what's happening here, but one thing is clear. He does not follow his brother in his way of life. His brother is headed one place, and God has called Jacob somewhere else. You see, God has sent him on a journey to the promised land. And Esau invites Jacob to go with him to Mount Sierra, to the east of the promised land, to the east of Canaan. And Jacob wisely parts ways at that point. You see, some relationships are restored, but not reset. Jacob sees this. There are times when we make peace with people, but we don't return to former dynamics. And you need to know, Christian, that that is okay in wisdom. Your duty is to follow God. And so we see a picture of beautiful reconciliation in this passage. But our third point is very important. You see, reconciliation begins with God's work in us. It looks also to God's work in others. But reconciliation finally leads us to worship the God who reconciles. That's our third point. Reconciliation leads us to worship God. You see, Jacob's first act after reconciliation is simple. It's what? It's worship. He builds an altar and names it El Elohe Yisrael, which means this, God, the God of Israel. You see, all reconciliation ultimately leads us to worship the God who initiated it in the first place. When we see two who are at odds come together and make peace, we ought to recognize that as only from the hand of God who can change hearts, and we ought to say, praise you, God, praise you. Remember what Jacob said when he found peace with Esau in verse 10. I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. Now, I told you we were gonna come back and return to this. When we have wronged someone, they hold something over us. They stand in judgment over what we've done to them. Deep down, we know that it's not just them we've wronged. It's God. All those years that Jacob had wronged his brother and defrauded him for 20 years, deep down, the guilt in Jacob's conscience said what? I've wronged my brother, it's the second table of the law, and I've wronged my God, the first table of the law. And when he saw his brother, when he imagined him in his nightmares, he imagined a frowning and angry face, And that frowning and angry face was more than just the face of his brother. It also reminded him of what? The judgment of God, the great judge who would stand over him and say, you have wronged, you have sinned, you are guilty, you deserve death. You deserve the 400 horses trampling over you. You deserve the army of angels coming in wrath to slay you. So it is when we have sinned against others. Their pained and frowning face reminds us of God's righteous judgment against us and the guilt we deserve for breaking God's law. We have sinned against an image bearer, and that image reflects the very face of God that we have wronged when we wrong another human being. And yet, when hearts are reconciled, that frowning face of judgment softens into a warm overture of acceptance. It is like a little picture of God's gospel grace to us in Christ. Every reconciliation is a little picture of the gospel. It's a picture of God's wrath, which we justly deserve, washing over Christ so that now what? His smiling light of his countenance shines upon us. The graciousness of his face looks upon us. It is like we see the very face of God and he's smiling. And he's weeping and he welcomes us. Christians, this is why we must be peacemakers. Because we get to be this little picture of the gospel. We get to represent a God who does not come first and foremost with overtures of judgment against sinners, but comes with overtures of grace and acceptance and welcome if they were to come to faith in Christ and find peace with him that way. Once we make peace, we must give praise to the God of peace for what he has done for us in Christ Jesus. Blessed are the peacemakers. Like Jacob, I pray that we would make peace with others and so bring the smiling face of God to sinners in need of grace. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we will soon sing in one of our favorite hymns, the gospel tells us of God and sinners reconciled. What a beautiful truth. that we are no longer an enmity with you, we are no longer your enemies, but we are friends, not because we deserve it, but because you laid your wrath upon a substitute so that you would lay your gracious, smiling countenance upon us. And we receive this, not because we deserve it, but because we have humbled ourselves before you to accept your overtures of grace. May we be so conformed to this that it would be our pattern of dealing with others, that we would be a forgiving people, a kind people, a peacemaking people. I pray this all in Jesus' name, amen.