In this sermon on Genesis 33:13, the preacher discusses the encounter between Jacob and his brother Esau. Jacob expresses concern about the safety of his family and livestock, as they are vulnerable and unable to travel quickly. Esau offers to leave some of his men to assist Jacob, showing a reconciled relationship between the brothers. Jacob then settles in the land of Sucketh, where he builds houses and shelters for his cattle. The preacher emphasizes Jacob's growth in faith as he identifies himself with the name of God, El Elohi Israel, signifying his spiritual journey towards Bethel.

Verse 13, now, of chapter 33 of Genesis, I'm reading, He said unto him, My Lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me. And if man should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. And Jacob said, I'm moving with my family, and I have flocks here and herds, and they have little ones, and I can't go very fast. Now, you, of course, with that army of 400 will probably want to move much faster, so you go ahead. Now, he says, verse 14, 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 seer. You see what he wants to do now. He said, I can't keep up with you, brother Esau, but if you let me go ahead, then we'll set the pace that we can keep. But you probably should go ahead. Verse 15, 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. So Esau returned that day on his way unto seer. That's where he lived, down in the land of Edom. And so Esau returns back to his land, to his home, and he leaves, though, a guard to go along to assist Jacob. Now, verse 17, And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle. But that is, he put up barns for them. Therefore, the name of the place is called Succoth. Now, here is something that you can just pass by so quickly and easily without paying too much attention to this at all. The great change has come in this boy now. That is, this man Jacob. All of Jacob's clever scheming, you see, to present a gift to his brother Esau, it just comes to naught. And God had prepared the heart of Laban, not to harm Jacob. So God prepared the heart of Esau to receive Jacob. And now he has peace on both fronts. And Esau did not want the gift of Jacob, as he had an abundance. But Jacob insisted that he take it, which he did. And both of these brothers seem to be generous and genuine in their reconciliation. We have no reason to doubt it. And since Esau was now prosperous and attached no particular value to the birthright anyway, there's no reason why he should not be reconciled to his twin brother. Now the sunshine is beginning to fall on Jacob's life now. Laban has appeased and Esau has reconciled. God arranged all this for him. Now had Jacob been left to his own cupidity and his own cleverness, he would have come to his death in a violent manner. Jacob is going to look back over his life before too long. And when he does, he's going to see the hand of God in his life, and he's going to give God the glory. However the evil he has sown, it's going to bring forth a full harvest. Trouble is the offing for this man. It's there waiting for him. Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. And we find here that we can write over that verse, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. So we bid goodbye to Esau for the time being. He'll be back, however, for the funeral of his father Isaac when he dies. Now Jacob is sometimes criticized because he stopped here at Succoth and did not proceed on to Bethel. We actually ought not to expect too much of Jacob at this time. He's been crippled, and he's just learning to walk with his spiritual legs. Jacob builds an altar here as his grandfather Abraham was accustomed to do, and the fine features that Jacob identifies his new name with the name of God. El, Elohi, Israel, God, the God of Israel. Now this is real growth in a man who's just learning to walk. Let's put it like this. He's on the way to Bethel, but he hadn't arrived there yet. And so we find him journeying here to Succoth.