By bowing instead of limping (vv. 3-7). When Eastern peoples met in ancient days, they bowed often and exchanged traditional greetings (“Salaam” or “Shalom”), but there was more than tradition involved in the way Jacob and his family greeted Esau. Jacob was now a “prince with God,” but he wasn’t acting like it. “I have seen servants on horses, while princes walk on the ground like servants,” said Solomon (Eccl. 10:7 nkjv), and Jacob was exhibit A of this tragedy. After all, the elder (Esau) was supposed to serve the younger (Gen. 27:29), so why should the younger brother bow?

Jacob’s strength was in his limp, for it was a constant reminder that God had conquered him and he could trust the Lord to see him through. Had Jacob limped, his brother would have noticed it and asked the cause, and that would have been Jacob’s golden opportunity to tell him what God had done for him. You don’t see Esau bowing! Instead, he ran to his brother, fell on his neck, and kissed him.