John Calvin Commentary Genesis 33:4

"And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept." — Genesis 33:4 (ASV)

And Esau ran to meet him. That Esau meets his brother with unexpected benevolence and kindness is the effect of the special favor of God. Therefore, by this method, God proved that He has human hearts in His hand, to soften their hardness and to mitigate their cruelty as often as He pleases; in short, that He tames them as wild beasts are usually tamed; and then, that He listened to the prayers of His servant Jacob.

Therefore, if at any time the threats of enemies alarm us, let us learn to resort to this sacred anchor. God, indeed, works in various ways and does not always incline cruel minds to kindness; but, while they rage, He restrains them from doing harm by His own power. Yet, if He deems it right, He can as easily make them peaceable towards us; and we see here that Esau became so towards his brother Jacob.

It is also possible that, even while cruelty was pent up within, the feeling of kindness may have had a temporary ascendancy. And just as we see that the Egyptians were constrained for a moment to exercise kindness (although they were made no better than before, as their madness, which soon afterwards broke out, bears witness), so it is believable that Esau’s malice was now under constraint; and not only this, but also that his mind was divinely moved to adopt fraternal affection.

For even in the reprobate, God’s established order of nature prevails—not, indeed, in a consistent manner, but insofar as He restrains them, so that they do not throw everything into a common slaughter. This restraint is essential for the preservation of the human race.

For few are so governed by the Spirit of adoption as to sincerely cultivate mutual love among themselves as brothers and sisters. Therefore, that people spare each other and do not furiously rush to mutual destruction arises from no other cause than the secret providence of God, which watches over the protection of humanity.

But to God, the lives of His own faithful people are still more precious, so He grants them special care. Therefore, it is no wonder that for the sake of His servant Jacob, He should have soothed Esau’s fierce disposition to gentleness.