Slices
Prepare
Identify some areas of your life in which you want to see God work. Look for his reassurance today.
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
Laban returns home and Jacob is left to continue his journey with the uncertainty and fear of meeting Esau. If he ever needed reassurance, it is now. And God provides it in the form of a meeting with angels. But this does not completely remove his fear. And so he turns to God with a memorable prayer.
He acknowledges his own weakness. He recognises all that God has done for him. He reminds God of his promises. He prays for protection. There is much that we could learn about prayer from his example. Our prayers are first and foremost to be based on the character and promise of God. They are to be grounded in our relationship with him. They will acknowledge that we are dependent on him. If you have a few moments check these points against the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13.
Jacob doesn’t seem to have complete confidence in God. Fear makes us behave in strange ways and can work against trust. Jacob carries on with his elaborate plan to pacify Esau with gifts and to protect at least part of his wealth and family by dividing them into two groups (v 7). There’s nothing wrong with making plans – unless they reveal a lack of trust in God.
Respond
Where do you need to have more faith? Talk to God about it now.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Proverbs 9,10; Psalm 90
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Racheal Chapman as she continues to embed herself into the Central team as their Support Worker. Ask that she’d be a real blessing as she supports the Mission Enablers and team leaders in their ministry with Faith Guides and Local Mission Partners, and as she continues with everyday behind-the-scenes work such as email communications, prayer newsletters and data entry.
