Slices
Prepare
Think about these words of Corrie ten Boom: ‘We never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can expect that he will get us involved in his plan for the answer.’
Bible passage
Jacob prepares to meet Esau
32 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, ‘This is the camp of God!’ So he named that place Mahanaim.
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: ‘This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: “Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favour in your eyes.”’
6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, ‘We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.’
7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, ‘If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.’
9 Then Jacob prayed, ‘O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, “Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,” 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, “I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.”’
13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, ‘Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.’
17 He instructed the one in the lead: ‘When my brother Esau meets you and asks, “Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?” 18 then you are to say, “They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.”’
19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: ‘You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, “Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.”’ For he thought, ‘I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.’ 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.
Explore
Having dealt with his angry father-in-law, Jacob is now faced with the news that his brother is heading towards him with an army (v 6). The last he knew, Esau was threatening to kill him, and it seems that, 20 years later, Esau is still murderous!
Jacob turns to prayer (vs 9–12). He acknowledges how good God has been to him, and how unworthy he is to receive God’s favour, but also reminds God of the promises that God has made, that cannot be fulfilled if Jacob dies at his brother’s hand. He requests God’s help.
And then Jacob employs some very practical strategies. By dividing the group, he hopes that some of his family and possessions will escape Esau’s fury. By sending a very generous gift, with a specific message, in at least five instalments, he hopes to calm Esau’s anger. Although he is in ‘great fear and distress’ (v 7), Jacob shows trust in God, and proves that his natural cunning is still as active as ever.
Respond
In verse 9 Jacob addresses God in terms of his history (God of my father Abraham), in terms of his identity (God of my father Isaac) and in terms of his current experience (you who said to me …). How do you address God? What does that express about your relationship with God?
Deeper Bible study
‘God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, / swift, easy travel, needing no guide’.1 But he has promised his presence. Tell him about the rough road you are on.
Jacob has come through his confrontation with Laban. In the process, he has found God to be his shield of protection, as his grandfather Abraham discovered.2 We too are called to take up the shield of faith as part of a defence against discouragement.3 The next challenge is always just around the corner, and for Jacob it is to be an even bigger challenge, partly because it involves his brother, partly because, unlike with Laban, here he has no justification to offer. No surprise then that Jacob felt fearful and distressed (v 7). Behind that fear and adding to its intensity was the distrust of human nature that must have been bred through living and jostling with Laban. Esau was bound to hate him, to be angry and revengeful. Preparing for the worst, he employs strategies to soften up Esau with lavish gifts which in the end are unnecessary.
Jacob’s fear is understandable. The question is whether it was justifiable. It’s a question we too need to address in a hostile world. The causes of Jacob’s fear were real – but they were not the entire picture. He and we need to be alert to the reasons for confidence that counter our temptation to fear. Jacob looks to his previous experience of protection, now graciously reinforced by the appearance of angels of God (v 1). He turns to call on God (vs 9–12) in something of a model prayer, focusing on God’s kind and faithful promises, his own unworthiness, the reality of his fear and a cry for help. He adopts the common practice of reminding the Lord of his promises (v 12) – not that they slip God’s memory! We bolster our own hearts against a fear that diverts us from obedience by reassuring ourselves that God is for us.
What causes you most fear? Having to face past failure? Thinking others are bound to be negative towards you? Use Jacob’s prayer to bring your fears to the Lord.
1 Annie Johnson Flint, 1866–1932, ‘God hath not promised’ 2 Gen 15:1 3 Eph 6:16
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Job 20,21; Luke 20
Pray for Scripture Union
Local Mission Partner Chester Schools Christian Work thanks God for great prayer spaces that they have run in primary schools and asks us to pray for the opportunities to run more.
