Genesis 33:6 Daily Devotional & Meaning – The Handmaidens Came Near
Daily Verses Everyday! Day 211
“Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.”
Christ willingly took the lowest place so that sinners might be raised. Second Corinthians 8:9 says, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” Jesus did not save from a distance. He came near.
He came near to the broken.
He came near to the forgotten.
He came near to those whom society placed foremost in danger and last in honor.
The handmaidens and their children now came near to Esau and bowed themselves before him. They had previously been placed at the front of Jacob’s household, nearest to the danger he feared might come. Of all the members of the family, Bilhah, Zilpah, and their children had been given the most exposed position. Jacob’s arrangement revealed the unequal order of his affections, but this verse does not describe them as insignificant or invisible. They came forward together, they stood before Esau, and they participated in the reconciliation that God was bringing about.
It would be easy to pass quickly over this moment because the handmaidens occupy a less prominent place in the biblical account than Leah or Rachel. Yet Scripture deliberately records their approach. They were part of Jacob’s household. Their children were among the gracious gifts of God that Jacob had just acknowledged. Although the customs and social structures of the time assigned them a lower position within the family, they were not beneath the attention of God. The Lord knew Bilhah. He knew Zilpah. He knew each child who walked beside them. Human society may create ranks, distinctions, and hierarchies, but every person stands as a life made by the Creator.
This is an important truth because people are often tempted to overlook those who seem less powerful, less influential, or less important. We naturally notice Rachel and Joseph because of the role they will play in the chapters ahead. Yet God’s Word also turns our attention toward the handmaidens and their children. They may have stood foremost in Jacob’s arrangement, but they were not forgotten in God’s story.
Throughout Scripture, the Lord repeatedly sees those whom others overlook. Hagar was a servant who fled into the wilderness after being treated harshly, yet the angel of the Lord found her beside a fountain of water. She responded by calling the Lord, “Thou God seest me,” in Genesis 16:13. Human beings had used her, mistreated her, and driven her away, but God saw her suffering. The same God who saw Hagar saw Bilhah and Zilpah. He saw the complex circumstances into which they had been drawn, the children they had borne, and the place they occupied within Jacob’s divided family.
God’s attention is not reserved for the most visible person in the household. He sees the one standing in the back, the one performing unnoticed work, the one whose voice is rarely heard, and the one whose contribution others take for granted. Psalm 113:5–8 asks, “Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.”
The world is often attracted to status, wealth, appearance, power, and public recognition. God looks differently. First Samuel 16:7 says, “For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” The people Jacob placed first because he valued them less were still known fully and personally by God. No human arrangement could reduce their God-given worth.
There is also courage in their approach. The handmaidens had likely heard the same reports Jacob had heard. They knew Esau was approaching with four hundred men. They had been arranged in front of Leah, Rachel, and Joseph, which may have communicated that they would be the first to face danger if violence began. Yet now they came near. They did not run. They did not remain hidden. They approached Esau with their children and bowed.
Their bowing was an expression of respect and peaceful intent. Like Jacob’s seven bows, it communicated that they were not approaching as enemies. They followed Jacob’s example and participated in the humility with which he sought reconciliation. The family that had been carefully divided in fear was now moving forward together into a peace that God had prepared.
This reminds us that the consequences of conflict rarely affect only the people who began it. The hostility between Jacob and Esau began before these children were born. It arose from favoritism, rivalry, deception, and anger within the household of Isaac and Rebekah. Yet twenty years later, wives and children who had no part in the original deception were standing in a field affected by it.
Sin spreads beyond the moment in which it is committed. Jacob deceived Isaac and fled from Esau, but the consequences followed him into marriage and fatherhood. His wives and children had to travel through uncertainty because of a conflict that predated them. This is one reason Scripture treats sin so seriously. We often imagine that our choices belong only to us, but they frequently shape the lives of those around us.
A parent’s unresolved bitterness can influence the atmosphere of an entire home. A broken relationship between relatives can divide children who do not understand how the conflict began. Pride between adults can become distance between families. Words spoken in anger may echo through years. Children may inherit fears, resentments, or suspicions that were formed before they were old enough to recognize them.
Yet this passage also shows that grace can reach beyond the original participants. Just as Jacob’s sin had affected his household, the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau now brought relief to the entire family. When Esau embraced Jacob rather than attacking him, the women and children were also delivered from the danger they feared. Grace spread through the household.
Our pursuit of peace can bless people beyond ourselves. An apology between two adults may heal more than their own relationship. Forgiveness may free a family from years of tension. Humility may prevent children from inheriting a conflict that never belonged to them. Romans 12:18 says, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Peace is not always possible because reconciliation requires willingness from more than one person, but believers are called to do what lies within them.
Jacob’s family could not control Esau’s response. They could only approach with humility. The handmaidens and their children bowed, placing themselves in a vulnerable posture. True humility always includes vulnerability because it gives up the demand to appear superior. It does not know whether the other person will respond with kindness, but it chooses not to approach in pride.
This does not mean that humility requires someone to remain in an abusive or dangerous situation. Scripture never commands people to pretend that evil is harmless. Jacob had taken precautions because Esau’s earlier threat had been real. Wisdom, safety, and boundaries have their proper place. Yet humility refuses vengeance. It rejects the desire to humiliate another person. It seeks peace without calling evil good.
The bowing of the handmaidens also reveals how children learn from the adults around them. The mothers came near with their children, and together they bowed. The children did not approach independently. They followed the posture demonstrated by their mothers and by Jacob. In this moment, humility was taught not through a formal lesson but through an action.
Children are always observing. They learn how to treat other people by watching the adults who lead them. They notice how parents speak about relatives, neighbors, strangers, church members, and those with whom they disagree. They learn whether forgiveness is merely preached or actually practiced. They learn whether humility is considered a virtue or a weakness. They absorb attitudes long before they can explain them.
Deuteronomy 6 teaches parents to speak of God’s commandments throughout the ordinary rhythms of life—while sitting in the house, walking by the way, lying down, and rising up. Spiritual formation occurs not only through deliberate teaching but through repeated example. Children may forget many individual words, but they often remember the atmosphere of the home.
If children watch adults hold grudges, speak contemptuously, refuse to apologize, and defend every mistake, they may learn that pride is normal. If they see adults confess wrongdoing, extend mercy, pray for enemies, and pursue peace, they witness the gospel taking visible form. Jacob’s children watched their father bow before Esau. Now they bowed as well.
Jacob’s example was not perfect. His favoritism had already communicated unhealthy lessons. He had arranged the family according to the order of his affection, placing the handmaidens and their children closest to danger. Later, his special treatment of Joseph would contribute to the jealousy of Joseph’s brothers. Parents may teach humility in one moment while communicating favoritism in another. This is why godly parenting requires more than isolated acts. It requires continual repentance and dependence upon grace.
No parent demonstrates Christ perfectly. Children will see both faith and failure. What matters greatly is whether they also see repentance. A parent who never admits wrongdoing may teach a child that authority means never being accountable. A parent who says, “I was wrong; please forgive me,” teaches that truth matters more than pride.
The handmaidens and their children bowed because the household was approaching Esau as servants seeking peace. Yet there is something even deeper for the believer. Every human being, regardless of earthly position, will one day bow before Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:10–11 declares, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The handmaidens bowed before Esau as an act of respect, but Esau was only a man. Christ is the eternal Lord. Kings and servants, the wealthy and the poor, the famous and the forgotten, parents and children will all stand before Him. The distinctions that appear so important in this world will not change the authority of Christ over every soul.
This truth gives dignity to those whom society places low and humility to those whom society places high. The servant and the master both answer to the same Lord. The rich and the poor meet together, and the Lord is the Maker of them all, as Proverbs 22:2 teaches. No person is so powerful that he does not need Christ, and no person is so insignificant that Christ will not receive him.
The gospel repeatedly brings people of different social positions together as one body. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul was not denying that earthly differences exist. He was declaring that those differences do not create different levels of access to God. Salvation is not distributed according to status. Every believer comes through the same cross, receives the same grace, and belongs to the same Christ.
Bilhah and Zilpah may have occupied a lower social position than Leah and Rachel, but they did not need a lesser Savior. Their children were not lesser image-bearers. The grace of God does not follow the rankings established by human pride.
Jesus demonstrated this throughout His ministry. He spoke with a Samaritan woman whom others would have avoided. He touched lepers. He welcomed children. He ate with publicans and sinners. He praised the faith of a Roman centurion and received the worship of those whom respectable society often dismissed. Christ was not impressed by status, nor was He repelled by lowliness.
James warns the church against showing partiality toward the wealthy while dishonoring the poor. James 2:1 says, “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.” He then describes a rich man entering the assembly in fine clothing and a poor man entering in vile raiment. To give the rich man the best seat while telling the poor man to stand aside is to judge according to evil thoughts.
Jacob’s arrangement of his family should cause us to examine the arrangements of our own hearts. Whom do we place foremost because we believe they are more expendable? Whom do we place hindermost because we believe they deserve greater protection? Whose needs do we consider first? Whose presence do we barely notice? Do we assign value according to usefulness, position, education, wealth, personality, ability, or closeness to us?
The church must not reflect the favoritism of the world. At the foot of the cross, all stand as sinners in need of mercy. The person who sits in the most visible position and the person who quietly enters unnoticed both need the blood of Christ. First Corinthians 12 compares believers to members of one body and says that the members which seem to be more feeble are necessary. God gives honor to parts that might otherwise be overlooked so that there should be no division in the body.
The handmaidens and their children may appear to be secondary figures in Jacob’s story, but the tribes descending from them would become part of Israel. Bilhah’s sons were Dan and Naphtali. Zilpah’s sons were Gad and Asher. Their descendants would receive portions in the Promised Land and be counted among the tribes of the covenant nation. Those whom Jacob placed at the front of possible danger were still included in the purposes of God.
Human beings see a servant and her children. God sees generations.
Human beings see someone standing in a lower place. God sees a life woven into His providential plan.
Human beings judge according to immediate visibility. God sees the end from the beginning.
This should encourage anyone who feels unseen. Faithfulness does not need public recognition to matter before God. A mother quietly caring for children, a worker serving without applause, a believer praying in secret, or a church member performing an unnoticed act of mercy may seem small in the eyes of the world. Yet Jesus said in Matthew 6:4, “Thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”
God sees every act done for His glory. Hebrews 6:10 declares, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love.” People may forget. Families may fail to appreciate. Churches may overlook. Employers may take faithful work for granted. But God is not unrighteous to forget.
The handmaidens came near with their children. There is beauty in the phrase “came near.” Fear could have kept them distant. Their lower status could have made them feel unworthy to approach. Yet they came near and were received into the peace that now existed between the brothers.
The gospel likewise calls those who were far away to come near. Ephesians 2:13 says, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Sin separates humanity from God. No amount of social status, moral effort, religious activity, or human achievement can close that distance. Christ brings sinners near through His blood.
We do not approach God because we have earned the safest position in the family. We come as those who depend entirely upon grace. We bow before Christ, confessing that He is Lord and that we possess no righteousness apart from Him. Yet those who come through Christ are not merely tolerated. They are received as sons and daughters.
Romans 8:15 says, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Earthly systems may label one person a servant and another a favored child, but in Christ believers receive adoption into the household of God.
This makes the grace of God even more astonishing. The gospel does not merely move us from the front of danger to the back of the line. It brings us out of condemnation and into the family of God. We were enemies, yet we are reconciled. We were far off, yet we are brought near. We were slaves to sin, yet we are made children and heirs through Christ.
The handmaidens bowed before Esau, but believers bow before a King who Himself took the form of a servant. Philippians 2 says that Jesus “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant.” The eternal Son entered human lowliness. He washed the feet of His disciples. He touched the unclean. He carried the cross. He endured mockery and death.
Christ willingly took the lowest place so that sinners might be raised. Second Corinthians 8:9 says, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” Jesus did not save from a distance. He came near.
He came near to the broken.
He came near to the forgotten.
He came near to those whom society placed foremost in danger and last in honor.
The humility shown by Bilhah, Zilpah, and their children points faintly toward the greater humility of Christ. Yet unlike them, Jesus did not bow because He had wronged another or because He feared violence. He humbled Himself for the sake of those who had wronged Him. He faced violence willingly and bore judgment in the place of sinners.
Because Christ humbled Himself unto death, believers are called to put away pride and value others. Philippians 2:3–5 says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
The handmaidens and their children bowed together, presenting a picture of a household moving in humility. Christian families should also be households in which humility is practiced together. Parents should teach children not merely to demand honor but to show honor. They should learn to say thank you, to seek forgiveness, to serve those who cannot repay them, and to treat every person with dignity.
Such humility does not arise naturally. The sinful heart seeks the highest place. Even Jesus’ disciples argued about which of them would be greatest. Christ responded by placing a child among them and teaching that greatness in His kingdom is measured differently. Mark 9:35 records His words: “If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.”
The world says greatness means standing above others. Jesus says greatness is found in serving. The world seeks to be seen. Christ teaches faithfulness even when unnoticed. The world arranges people according to status. The kingdom welcomes the lowly.
As Bilhah, Zilpah, and their children came near and bowed, they demonstrated outward humility before Esau. Yet the greater question for every reader concerns the posture of the heart before God. It is possible to bow physically while remaining proud inwardly. True humility recognizes that everything we possess comes by grace.
Jacob had just called his children gracious gifts. The handmaidens and their children themselves were part of that gift. They were not obstacles, lesser possessions, or expendable members of the household. They were lives entrusted to Jacob by God. His responsibility was to see them as the Lord saw them.
We are called to do the same with the people God places around us. Every person is more than the role he or she performs in our life. A worker is more than the service provided. A child is more than the pride or inconvenience brought to a parent. A spouse is more than the needs he or she fulfills. A church member is more than a contribution to a ministry. Each is a person made in God’s image.
When we view people only according to their usefulness to us, we repeat the favoritism of Jacob’s arrangement. When we see them as God’s creation, we learn to treat them with patience, honor, and love.
The handmaidens and their children came near without knowing how the encounter would unfold. Yet the peace God had prepared for Jacob extended to them as well. Esau did not harm them. The danger Jacob imagined did not fall upon those he had placed in the most vulnerable position. God preserved the entire household.
This does not excuse Jacob’s unequal arrangement. It displays God’s mercy despite it. The family was safer than Jacob believed because their security did not ultimately depend upon their order in the procession. It depended upon the providence of God.
The same Lord cares for those whom others fail to protect adequately. Human leaders, parents, institutions, and communities often fail. Some people are placed in vulnerable positions because of the selfishness or fear of others. Scripture does not pretend that such injustice is harmless. Yet it also declares that God remains the defender of the weak.
Psalm 68:5 describes Him as “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows.” Psalm 146:9 says, “The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow.” Those with little earthly power are not without a heavenly Advocate.
This verse therefore invites us to see what might otherwise be overlooked. We see women and children whom Jacob placed first in danger but whom God preserved. We see a family learning humility together. We see the effects of one generation’s conflict upon the next, but we also see reconciliation bringing peace to the entire household. We see people assigned a lower human status who nevertheless possess full dignity before their Creator.
Most of all, we are reminded that the Lord sees every person who comes near. No one disappears into the crowd before Him. He knows every mother, every child, every servant, every sorrow, and every quiet act of courage. Those whom history mentions only briefly are known eternally by God.
Bilhah, Zilpah, and their children bowed themselves before Esau, but their value did not come from their place in Jacob’s household or from Esau’s response to them. Their value came from the God who had created them and woven them into His purposes. The same is true of us. Human beings may place us first or last, near or far, honored or unnoticed. Yet our worth is not determined by where others arrange us. It is established by the Creator whose image we bear and by the Savior who humbled Himself to bring sinners near.
If you would like to explore Genesis in a sustained, verse-by-verse way with space to reflect, journal, and trace how these foundational truths unfold through Scripture the Verse by Verse book expands these reflections into a unified reading experience. The book gathers these meditations into a structured journey through Genesis, designed to help readers linger in the text and engage God’s Word more deeply over time.
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