E50-OT Day 10 – Two Brothers – Genesis 32-33

I read with great interest the passage today following along with two brothers who didn’t get along.

The story of the reconciliation is inspiriting.  My favorite verse is

Genesis 33:4 (NIV)
⁴ But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.

I wonder if Esau had originally set out to reconcile.  He did leave immediately with 400 men.  Did the gifts from Jacob help bring peace?

My heart is still wondering about the end of this passage.  Esau seemingly begs Jacob, “come with me, let’s be together in Seir.”  Jacob begs off and basically says, “you go ahead and I will catch up in Seir.”  Esau relents and the Bible says this:

Genesis 33:16-17 (NIV)
¹⁶ So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.
¹⁷ Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth.

Jacob did not go South to Seir, but West to Succoth. 

Did Jacob not trust Esau?  Or did he just deceive Esau again?