Choosing God’s Path Over Comfortable Alternatives

Genesis 33:12-20

¹²Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you.” ¹³But 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. ¹⁴Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, 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 Seir.”

¹⁵So 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.” ¹⁶So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

¹⁸And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. ¹⁹And 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. ²⁰There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

(ESV)

Thought:
Esau invites Jacob back to his land where he dwells, Jacob says we will follow behind you, but they turn around and go the other way. Why does he do this?

Two reasons, firstly, just because he has wrestled with God that doesn’t get rid of his habits overnight, he is a changed man but his old ways still plague him. He has achieved this seeming peace with his brother, but yet rather than be upfront about God’s call on him to inherit the land of promise, which was initially meant to be Esau’s, at least according to how inheritances typically worked.

He resorts to his old deceptive ways, this is a good lesson for us of the truth that our old sinful nature always dwells with us, there is always a desire to retreat to old, sinful ways, because they are more comfortable and easier than confidently and boldly obeying the commands of the gospel.

But Jacob also realised something else, he could not go to Seir, because that was not where God had commanded him to go. He was to go to the land of Canaan, not the land of his brother. They had separate destinies.

Sometimes trusting in the promises of God that he has given to you will be hard. The idea of this inheritance that awaits at the end of age, is something we believe in faith, we will not see it on this earth. Like the protection and fellowship of Esau would have seen so much more tangible and welcoming, than the possible dangers that faced him in Canaan. He knew to follow Esau was to abandon God.

This world will seemingly offer everything we need; provision, security, pleasure, fellowship, comfort. But in truth it will only give an appearance of these things, they will not last. Just like the Edomites who were erased from the face of the earth, so one day all these worldly comforts will be wiped away as well.

And if we choose to continue in them, to pursue them over the provision and promises of God, we will find ourselves facing the same destruction they did.

Reflection:
As I go about my day, I need to recognise how easily I drift toward what feels comfortable instead of what God has called me to. Old habits and familiar patterns often feel safer than obedience, but they never lead me where God wants me to go. Today I need to apply this by choosing faith over convenience—by trusting that God’s promises are better than the temporary comforts the world offers.

Prayer:
Father, help me choose Your path even when other options seem easier or more comfortable. Keep me from slipping back into old habits, and give me courage to follow Your promises with confidence. Lead me toward what lasts, not what merely feels safe. Amen.