Genesis 32:1–12

"Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him." God's grace still follows him, despite everything. "Nothing changes God's affection." Whom He loves, and as He loves, He loves to the end. His love is like Himself, "the same yesterday, today and forever."

Such was the respect given to parents and ancestors in those far-off days — very good in many ways. But there was the danger that the fear of Isaac, whom he could see, would crowd out the fear of God, whom he could not see. So he received the reminder of the unseen world that we find in the opening verse of Genesis 32.

Jacob now goes on his way, and angels of God meet him. How ready He is to assure us of His power! He waits only for the right moment to use it on our behalf. It must have reminded him of Bethel, and of the promise there — but there the LORD had appeared to him, even if only in a dream. Here He does not appear. Jacob the outcast and wanderer could have what Jacob returning in wealth and with a crowd could no longer receive. Then it was grace; now it would be fellowship, and for fellowship he was not yet ready.

It was not God Himself who met him yet, but His angels. They were surely meant to encourage Jacob to keep going all the way back to the place the Lord had for him. Jacob recognized them as "God's host," and named the place "Mahanaim," meaning "two camps." Jacob had not yet learned that he ought to merge his interests with God's, so he thinks of God's "camp" as separate from his own. This has its unhealthy influence on his actions soon after, when he divided his own company into "two bands" (v. 7). How much better it would have been for him if he had prayed the prayer of the Psalmist, "Unite my heart to fear your name" (Psalm 86:11).

He learns that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men, and he is afraid and greatly distressed. Providences and visions do not take away terror, nor give confidence in God.

God, to comfort and strengthen him, sends an army of His angels to meet him. Yet even after this encouragement from God, unbelief renews Jacob's fear when he faces his brother Esau. Deliverance from danger does not destroy unbelief. You do not escape the difficulties on the path of faith by avoiding them. You must overcome them by the power of God. Jacob had brought these difficulties on himself, because he had not trusted God. He forgot the host of God. Esau no longer held any hatred against his brother, yet his army frightened the weak Jacob.

The servant saw the Syrians and was dismayed; the prophet saw the heavenly armies and was confident. In the same way, when the angels of God met Jacob, he called the name of the place Mahanaim — "two hosts." Danger may indeed be very near, but God is nearer to us than all our enemies. We may well ask ourselves which host we see today. Is it the crowd of those who hate us? Or the company of "ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14)?

The spot east of the Jordan where Jacob met "the angels of God." He exclaimed "This is God's host," and named the place Mahanaim, "two hosts or camps." Scripture places it on the border of both Gad and Manasseh, which connects it with the brook Jabbok.

This was holy ground. God had fulfilled the promises of Genesis 28 and kept the pledges of Bethel. So we have no ladder here. His watchful care through angels had finished its work. He had kept Jacob in the far country and brought him home to his own land. The ladder may therefore come down. Instead of angels going up and down between heaven and Jacob, angels meet him. They stand before him, just to greet him, or to welcome him on his return.

Later, the angels of God met Jacob, and he called the name of the place Mahanaim, meaning two hosts or camps. This is interesting. It shows how many angels may take part in one particular work of great size.

How ready God is to assure us of His power, waiting only for the right moment to put it forth on our behalf!... Jacob calls the place "Mahanaim" — that is, "two hosts," or "camps." Here he must have counted in his own... How telling that in a little while we find him dividing this host of his into two camps! He says, "If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape." Such is our strength when we build on it, though perhaps we would gladly link God's power with it. In the time of need, our own — what is it? and God's — where shall we find it?

Jacob had not yet learned to merge his interests with God's, so he treats God's "camp" as separate from his. This has its unhealthy influence on his actions soon after, when he divided his own company into "two camps" (v. 7). How much better if he had prayed the Psalmist's prayer: "Unite my heart to fear your name" (Psalm 86:11). We only resort to divisions among God's people because our hearts are not wholly devoted to Him.

This was music for Jacob, and Jacob should have danced. He should have been in triumph before the battle was even fought... If the hosts of heaven waited on him like this, what had he to fear from the hosts of Esau? "If God is for us, who can be against us?" But it was not so with him. He mourns rather than dances at this music. He trembles, and prays, and calculates.

Jacob learns that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men, and he is afraid and greatly distressed. Providences and visions do not take away terror, nor give confidence in God.

There were two hosts around Dothan that day. The servant saw the Syrians and lost heart; the prophet saw the heavenly armies and was confident. In the same way, when the angels of God met Jacob, he called the name of the place Mahanaim — "two hosts."... Danger may be very near, but God is nearer to us than all our enemies. We may well ask ourselves: which host do we see today? Is it the crowd of those who hate us, or the company of "ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14)?

The Hebrew word usually used for angel, and the matching Greek word in the New Testament, simply mean "a messenger." Our word "angel" comes from that Greek word, angelos. Sometimes the word means an ordinary human messenger, as for example when "Jacob sent messengers before him." (Gen. 32:3).

"And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him." Still God's grace follows him, despite everything. "Nothing changes God's affection." Whom He loves, and as He loves, He loves to the end… But his actions here show how little effect "God's host" had upon Jacob. "And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom." He feels uneasy about Esau, and he has reason to. He had treated him badly, and his conscience was not at ease. But instead of casting himself fully on God, he goes back to his usual planning to head off Esau's anger. He tries to manage Esau, instead of leaning on God.

It is remarkable too that it is just when he has met God's messengers that he sends his own to Seir to Esau. But God and Esau are evidently mixed up in his mind all through. This is not strange. It is bound to happen. Whatever brings God back to mind also brings back the person we have sinned against and never put things right with — maybe with no chance now of putting them right.

This was "piping" to Jacob, and Jacob ought to have "danced." He should have breathed an exulting spirit. He should have been in triumph already, before the fighting began, and even before the armies lined up… If the hosts of heaven waited on him like this, what had he to fear from the hosts of Esau? "If God is for us, who can be against us?" But this was not so with him. He laments, rather than dances, at this piping. He trembles, and prays, and calculates. He marshals his forces, as though the battle were his. This is all religious, but it is all unbelief too.

Jacob was migrating with wives, children, servants and many animals, so he formed a large band. He now became aware that there was a second band, standing on his behalf. Even this did not free him from the fear of Esau, and his approach to him, as given in verses 3-5, though very diplomatic, bears traces of the working of a bad conscience.

He sends messengers to Esau, who are to say, "My lord Esau; your servant Jacob says," and so on. What a message to his brother! Esau, "my lord"; and Jacob "your servant." Sin always brings its fruit, and wrong its repayment. The man is perfectly aware of the harm he has done to Esau… It is a fine thing when the conscience begins to work. Friend, has your conscience begun to work before God about the evil of your life?

Again he turns to his own schemes. He divides the people and the livestock into two companies, saying, If Esau comes to the one and strikes it, then the other will escape. How short and sad man's prudence is! God stopped Laban when he meant harm, and made him leave with a kiss all round. Could He not bring Esau to Jacob with an embrace, and even with tears? The Holy Spirit records Jacob's state here for our lasting profit: do not be anxious about tomorrow, but cast everything on the God of all grace, because He cares for us. Jacob had a bad conscience as yet, and had never faced it all out in God's presence. Yet God was faithful to him, not he to God.

God gives us the history of Jacob in such full detail in order to show how His grace could meet a man of that kind, rise above all his failures, and bless him.

The early name of the long range of mountains, extending from about eight miles south of the Salt Sea to near the Gulf of Akaba. It is also called "the land of Seir." It was occupied at first by the Horites, and afterwards by the descendants of Esau, and acquired the name of EDOM.

"Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him." Still God's grace follows him, despite everything. "Nothing changes God's affection." Whom He loves, and as He loves, He loves to the end… It is clear that he feels uneasy about Esau, and with good reason. He had treated him badly, and his conscience was not at ease. But he does not throw himself fully on God. He goes back to his usual planning, to head off Esau's anger. He tries to manage Esau, instead of leaning on God.

It is remarkable too that just when he has met God's messengers, he sends his own to Esau. But all the way through, God and Esau are mixed together in his mind. This is not strange but unavoidable. Whatever brings God back to our souls also brings back the one we have sinned against — sinned without making it right, and perhaps with no way to make it right.

All this shows a soul very much off its centre in God. "My lord," and "your servant," is not the language of a brother, or of someone standing in the conscious dignity of God's presence. But it was the language of Jacob — and of Jacob with a bad conscience.

Sin always brings its fruit, and wrong its payback. The man is fully aware of the harm he has done to Esau. He knows that perfectly well, and now his conscience begins to work. It is a fine thing when the conscience begins to work. Friend, has your conscience begun to work before God about the evil of your life?

"This is God's host," he says, and he calls the place "Mahanaim" — that is, "two hosts," or "camps." Here he must have been counting in his own, and at once he dwells on it in his message to Esau… How telling that a little later he divides this host of his into two camps! He says, "If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape." Such is our strength when we build on it.

Instead of remembering God's word, "I will be with you," and that God's host had met him, he turns back to his own schemes. He wants to "find favor in the sight of" and to "appease" "my lord Esau." To faith, what would it matter if Esau had four thousand men instead of four hundred? "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Besides, what right or claim had Esau? But we put ourselves under the men of the world when we use worldly, deceitful ways in dealing with them.

All this shows a soul very much off its centre in God. "My lord" and "your servant" is not the language of a brother, or of someone with the conscious dignity of God's presence. But it was Jacob's language — and Jacob with a bad conscience.

Sin always brings its fruit, and wrong its payment. The man is fully aware of the harm he has done to Esau. Now his conscience begins to work. It is a fine thing when the conscience begins to work. Friend, has your conscience begun to work before God about the evil of your life?

"This is God's camp," he says; and he calls the place "Mahanaim" — that is, "two camps." Here he must have counted in his own, and so we find him dwelling on it at once in his message to Esau: "I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight." How telling that a little later we find him dividing this camp of his into two, saying, "If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the other camp which is left will escape"! Such is our strength when we build on it. In the time of need, our own — what is it? And God's — where shall we find it?

We see the lesson of faith poorly learned. Again he falls back on his plans, and sends messengers to his brother in Seir, with words skilfully framed to win over "my lord Esau" and "your servant Jacob." Esau was not to fear that Jacob needed to take anything from a brother or a father. He had plenty of resources of his own, and only wanted favour in his sight. But no answer came back from Esau, and that filled Jacob with alarm and distress. His fear grew when the messengers told him that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. Why, except to overwhelm him? It was unbelief of Him who cannot forget His promise, and who can control and turn even the most hostile spirit.

Jacob's first thought was always a plan, and in this we have a true picture of the poor human heart. True, he turns to God after making his plan, and cries to Him for deliverance; but as soon as he stops praying he takes up the planning again. Now praying and planning will never do together. If I plan, I am leaning more or less on my plan; but when I pray, I should lean on God alone. So the two are completely incompatible; in effect they destroy each other.

Just see how useless Jacob's plans were to buy a pardon with a gift! Yet he perhaps claims the credit for the happy outcome. Jacob said, "I will appease him with a present" … "I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight." But Esau had not even seen the female servants and male servants, or flocks, donkeys and oxen, until he had wept on his brother's neck. Then "he lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, Who are these?" As for the droves, he did not know what they meant until Jacob told him. He took them not as the price of pardon, but as Jacob's blessing.

We see the lesson of faith only feebly learnt. Again he falls back on his plans. He sends messengers to his brother in Seir, with words carefully framed to win over "my lord Esau" from "your servant Jacob." But no answer came back from Esau, and that filled Jacob with alarm and distress. It was worse still when the messengers told him that Esau was coming with four hundred men. Why, except to overwhelm him? It was unbelief of the One who cannot forget His promise, but can control and turn even the most hostile spirit.

The messengers bring back word that Esau is coming with four hundred men to meet Jacob (v.6). They say nothing about whether Esau was glad to hear of Jacob or not; and Jacob is thrown into a panic.

For twenty years we have no record that Jacob had judged himself, or humbled himself before God, over his sin against Esau. So when the report of Esau's approach came, it struck his conscience, and he was "greatly afraid and distressed." This was a searching moment. God knew how to reach the sore spot. It put Jacob thoroughly to the test, and was enough to show him to himself and to others.

It is striking that he sends his own messengers to Esau in Seir just after meeting God's messengers. God and Esau run together in his mind all through. That is not strange. It had to be so. Whatever brings God back to our souls also brings back the person we wronged — wronged without putting it right, and perhaps with no way now to put it right.

This was music played for Jacob, and Jacob should have danced. He should have breathed a triumphant spirit. He should have been in triumph before any fighting started, before the armies even lined up. If the hosts of heaven were waiting on him like this, what did he have to fear from the hosts of Esau? "If God is for us, who can be against us?" But this was not how it was with him. He mourns instead of dancing to this music. He trembles, and prays, and calculates. He marshals his forces, as if the battle were his.

But what does he do first? Does he throw himself on God at once? No; he starts to manage… Jacob's first thought was always a plan, and in this we have a true picture of the poor human heart. True, he turns to God after making his plan, and cries to Him for deliverance; but the moment he stops praying, he goes back to planning. Now praying and planning will never work together. If I plan, I am leaning to some degree on my plan; but when I pray, I should lean on God alone.

The host of God was forgotten; and the army of Esau, who no longer held any hatred in his heart against his brother, frightened the feeble Jacob. He could then use every kind of means to soothe the anger of his brother, which he assumed and dreaded. He sends flock after flock across; and this does more to show the state of Jacob's heart than to change Esau's.

Sometimes our own wrongdoing has landed us in the trouble we face, and we rightly dread what comes next. Even that we can take to God, once we have confessed our sin. We can cast all the worry of it on Him. Jacob and Esau show how God can and will turn dreaded events into blessing, when we wait on Him in brokenness.

All through those years we have no record that Jacob judged himself, or humbled himself before God, about his sin against Esau. So the report of Esau's approach struck his conscience, and he was "greatly afraid and distressed." This was a searching moment. God knew how to reach the sore spot. It put Jacob fully to the test and showed him what he was, to himself and to others.

The news that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men awoke his sharpest fears. He had seen the band of angels. Even so, his working conscience made him assume at once that Esau was on his way to take revenge.

"This is God's host," he says. He calls the place "Mahanaim" — that is, "two hosts," or "camps." He must have counted his own company in as the second one, and in his message to Esau he dwells on it at once... How telling that in a very little while he divides this host of his into two camps! Such is our strength when we build on it, even though we would like to link God's power with it. In the hour of need, our own — what is it? And God's — where shall we find it?

But what does he do first? Does he at once cast himself on God? No; he begins to manage... Jacob's first thought was always a plan, and in this we have a true picture of the poor human heart. True, he turns to God after he makes his plan, and cries to Him for deliverance. But as soon as he stops praying, he takes up the planning again. Now, praying and planning will never work together. If I plan, I am leaning more or less on my plan; but when I pray, I should lean on God alone... It is not asking God to bless my means; it is asking Him to do it all Himself.

He is so frightened that he does not first appeal to the Lord. Instead he divides his company into two bands, thinking one band may escape if Esau attacks the first. Of course such human reasoning was not God's leading. God does not divide His saints to sacrifice one part of them for the protection of the other. He loves all His saints, and will not sacrifice any of them to the enemy.

You do not get rid of the difficulties on the path of faith by trying to avoid them. You must overcome them by the power of God. Jacob had brought these difficulties on himself, because he had not trusted God. Jacob forgot the host of God. Esau no longer held any hatred in his heart against his brother, but his army frightened the feeble Jacob.

How short and sad man's own planning is! God stopped Laban's hostile plans and made him leave with a kiss all round. Could He not bring Esau to Jacob with an embrace, and with tears too? The Holy Spirit records Jacob's state here for lasting profit. We are not to be anxious about tomorrow. We are to cast everything on the God of all grace, because He cares for us. Yet God was faithful to him, though he was not faithful to God.

If your conscience is working before God, and you are greatly afraid and distressed, all I can say to you is that I am thankful. Better to be in that state now, with your conscience at work and in distress about your sins. Far worse to wake up in eternity and find that your whole life has been one huge mistake.

The vision of two bands of angels did not deliver Jacob from fear for himself and his two bands. He was not at ease with God, though a believer. All that hindered communion was not yet judged; and so came his utter dread of Esau. He had no idea that Esau's feelings toward him had changed.

Despite the host of God, he is greatly afraid and distressed when the news about Esau reaches him. His guilt, half forgotten, stings him into fear. It brings his soul into bondage before God.

He called that place Mahanaim — two hosts — God's host and his host. If God is there, so is Jacob. But when the day of trial comes, God vanishes from his thoughts and Jacob alone remains. He divides the people with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands, and they fill the whole field of his vision.

Such is our strength when we build on it, though perhaps we would like to link God's power with it. In the time of need, our own — what is it? And God's — where shall we find it?

But what does he first do? Does he at once cast himself upon God? No; he begins to manage... Jacob's first thought was always a plan, and in this we have a true picture of the poor human heart. True, he turns to God after he makes his plan, and cries to Him for deliverance; but as soon as he stops praying he takes up the planning again. Now, praying and planning will never do together. If I plan, I am leaning more or less on my plan; but when I pray, I should lean only upon God. So the two things are completely incompatible; in effect they destroy each other.

Again he turns to his devices, dividing the people and the stock into two companies, saying that if Esau comes to the one and attacks it, the other will escape. How short and sad is man's prudence! He who stopped Laban's hostile intentions and made him leave with a kiss all round — could He not bring Esau to Jacob with an embrace, and not without tears? The Holy Spirit records his state here for lasting profit: that we should not be anxious about tomorrow, but cast everything on the God of all grace, because He cares for us... Yet God was faithful to him, not he to God.

God does not divide His saints to sacrifice one part of them for the protection of the other. He loves all His saints, and has no intention of sacrificing any of them to the enemy. But what about ourselves when trouble of any kind threatens us? Every believer surely knows that our only true resource is in the Lord. Yet our first impulse is to try something to relieve us, instead of going first to the One who can really help.

The trouble today is that people — even Christians — put policy side by side with faith. A godly young man once said, "Policy I hate; but faithfulness to God I love." ... God looks for this: that we be anxious for nothing, pray about everything, and exercise faith in our gracious God who raised up Christ from among the dead. He also looks for us to have no confidence in the flesh — in its ability, resources, or righteousness.

True, he turns to God after he makes his plan, and cries to Him for deliverance. But as soon as he stops praying, he goes back to planning. Praying and planning will never work together. If I plan, I am leaning more or less on my plan; but when I pray, I should lean only on God. So the two things are incompatible; they destroy each other. When my eye is full of my own management of things, I am not ready to see God acting for me. Then prayer is not the voice of my need. It becomes a mere superstitious ritual, or a request that God would bless my plans. I should not be asking God to bless my methods, but asking Him to do it all Himself.

He reminds Jehovah, the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, that he was returning to his country and family at God's own command. He owns that he is unworthy of the least of all His mercies and of all His truth... We can easily see that it was faith, but as yet mixed with human schemes.

He told God that He Himself had told him to return home, and had promised to do him good... If you plead God's promises, and confess you are not worthy, but only a lost sinner, He will hear your prayer.

It is all Jacob here, and not Jehovah; Jehovah's glory set aside and only Jacob's blessing thought of... I, I, I, fills the scene, and is the whole subject of his prayer. So in this hour of trial he fails to keep his vow. He owns Jehovah only as the God of his father Abraham, the God of his father Isaac, the Jehovah who spoke to him — but not as his own God.

He was trying to draw on the piety of his father and grandfather. He thought the godly lives of his forefathers would add weight to his prayer. What a serious mistake! Every man must stand on his own responsibility before God. Your mother's prayers will not do you the slightest good, unconverted prodigal, unless you trust the Lord Jesus for yourself.

But where was Jacob's faith to be sure that God would deal well with him in his own land? He should have had perfect confidence that God would do this, because God said He would. Still, he has learned more than he had when he made his vow at Bethel. He had thought then that he would prove fully worthy of whatever blessing God would give him. Now he confesses, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and all the truth which You have shown Your servant." At least he is giving up the self-confidence he showed before. But he has not yet learned to have total confidence in the living God.

He was greatly troubled, full of fear, and rightly enough made the God of Abraham and of Isaac his refuge. His prayer, as recorded in Genesis 32, was humble, earnest, and pleading. But along with it there was some reckoning on his own policy... So God had to deal sharply with His servant before answering his prayer. That way Jacob would give the glory to the One who alone deserved it.

God had stepped in before, and Jacob had made a vow, but this is the first prayer of his that Scripture records. It does not have the closeness to God and the prayer for others that marked Abraham in Genesis 18. It was simply a plea to be kept safe, while acknowledging God's mercies to him in the past. Yet notice how rightly he took a low place, though not as low as Abraham, who said, "I … am but dust and ashes" (18:27). Jacob says, "I am not worthy of the least of all Your mercies," which was true, though it did not go far enough. In every age, the closer a person comes to God, the deeper their sense of unworthiness and nothingness grows.

Jacob's first thought was always a plan, and in this we have a true picture of the poor human heart. True, he turns to God after he makes his plan, and cries to Him for deliverance. But as soon as he stops praying, he goes back to planning. Now, praying and planning will never do together. If I plan, I am leaning more or less on my plan; but when I pray, I should lean only on God. So the two things are completely incompatible; in effect they destroy each other.

He has learned more than he had when he made his vow at Bethel. He had thought then that he would prove fully worthy of whatever blessing God would give him. Now he confesses, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and all the truth which You have shown Your servant" (v.10). At least he is giving up the self-confidence he showed before. But he has not yet learned to trust the living God completely.

He is on his way back to Canaan, but it is a different Jacob and a different journey. He was an empty Jacob at Bethel; he is a full Jacob at Peniel. He has become two bands. Flocks and herds and servants and wives and children tell of his prosperity. Twenty years before he had been on that road, friendless and alone, with a staff in his hand. Now we see him surrounded by all this. He has become a rich man. He has a stake in the world. He has something to lose.

He had been false and crooked. But Jacob was now before God, and he saw himself in the light of heaven. He saw how he had deceived his old father, cheated his brother, made bargains with God, and deceived his uncle. You and I are not worthy, but God shows His mercy and truth to us bad, crooked sinners. Let us come and tell it all to God.

Their hope is not in His justice, but in His mercy. This is what Jacob depended on when he prayed, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant" (Gen. 32:10). Can God possibly ignore such a prayer? No: He delights in the confessed weakness and failure of a believing heart, and His mercy is fully extended to them.

Where is faith in this? There is none. If he had only had in his soul the sense that God was with him, he could not have prayed like this. There is nothing more blessed for a man than to have in his soul the sense that God is for him and with him. But Jacob did not have that.

He owns his unworthiness of the least of all His mercies and of all His truth. He compares how poor he was when he first crossed the Jordan with the two companies he has now… We can see that it was faith, but faith still mixed with human schemes. So he was far from resting calmly on God, and was even in sheer terror of Esau.

After the trembling man had made his plan, he turns to God, and we can trace the work slowly going on in his soul. He reminds the LORD, the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, that God Himself had told him to return home. He owns his unworthiness of the least of all His mercies and of all His truth... He begs God to deliver him from the hand of his brother Esau, whom he dreaded both for himself and for the mother with the children... We can readily see that it was faith, but as yet mixed with human schemes. So he was far from resting peacefully on God, and was even in abject terror of Esau.

God had said to Jacob, "Behold, I am with you and will keep you" (Gen. 28:15). Esau would not have been able to touch him. If Jacob's ways had not been deceitful, he would not have been afraid of Esau. But you see, his conscience is working... He was afraid of his brother, whom he counted as his enemy. Esau was not his enemy, though he might have been. It was Jacob's own conscience that suggested Esau was against him. God was for him, but he had lost the sense of it.

Still, despite this encouragement from God, unbelief renews Jacob's fear when he faces his brother Esau. Rescue from danger does not destroy unbelief. You do not get rid of the difficulties in the path of faith by trying to avoid them. You must overcome them by the power of God. Jacob had brought these difficulties on himself, because he had not trusted God. God's army was forgotten. Esau no longer held any hatred in his heart against his brother, but his army still frightened the feeble Jacob.

Jacob's first thought was always a plan, and here we have a true picture of the poor human heart. True, he turns to God after he makes his plan, and cries to Him for deliverance. But as soon as he stops praying he starts planning again. Now, praying and planning will never work together. If I plan, I am leaning more or less on my plan; but when I pray, I should lean on God alone. So the two things are completely incompatible; they destroy each other. When my eye is filled with my own management of things, I am not ready to see God acting for me.

We may be in trouble that our own wrongdoing has brought on us, and we may rightly dread the consequences. Even that we can take to God, if we have sincerely confessed our sin... Jacob had deeply wronged Esau, and now, after years apart, he has to face him... Jacob's conscience naturally makes him fear Esau's resentment. He learns that Esau is coming to meet him with four hundred men. But he lays it before God in prayer (v. 11). The result was remarkable. The man whose revenge he feared "ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept"!

The fact is that he was dissatisfied with himself, and feels the need of drawing near to God in a way he had never yet known... His plans did nothing to soften Esau, any more than to relieve his own dread. But he was now to be alone with God. God took him up in a way worthy of Himself. He laid the basis for the deepening work in his soul ever after, and for a blessing which at last shone in Jacob's later years beyond his father or even his grandfather.

He reminds the Lord, the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, that he was going back to his country and family because God told him to. He admits he is unworthy of the least of all His mercies and of all His truth. He compares how poor he was when he first crossed the Jordan with the two companies he has now. He begs God earnestly to save him from his brother Esau. He dreaded Esau both for himself and for the mother with the children. Then he reminds Him of His promise — to surely do him good, and to make his descendants as countless as the sand of the sea.

You will find it the very strength of your soul to go before God with a text and say, "This is written in Your word. Because You cannot lie, I know that I have that thing."

"For You said," he adds, "I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea," and so on. He was in effect saying to God, "You said this, but now Esau might kill me, and what will happen to Your promise?" Did he need to plead with God to keep His promise?

He did make an error in saying that God had told him He would make his descendants as the sand of the sea. God had said this to Abraham (Genesis 22:17). To Jacob He had promised descendants "as the dust of the earth" (Genesis 28:14).

Isaac pictures the heavenly company and Jacob the earthly. So God speaks of the stars to Isaac and of the dust to Jacob. Yet in Genesis 32:12, Jacob says God had also promised to give him descendants as the "sand of the sea." In this chapter Jacob is about to meet Esau and make peace with him. That is a picture of the Gentiles brought into blessing through the Jew in a day still to come. It is striking that just here Jacob should mention the sand.

Jacob arranges his plans, though not without prayer (Genesis 32:7-12). He sends his presents (Genesis 32:13-23) to appease his brother — a brother God had already appeased, since Esau was coming to meet Jacob with family affection. In his appeal to God he recalls His promises, for he had faith, however feeble.

The trouble of the present day is that people, even Christians, rank policy side by side with faith. A godly young man used to say, "Policy I hate; but faithfulness to God I love." Surely nothing is more clearly stated in Scripture than that "without faith it is impossible to please God." But this mixture of faith and contrivance is what is before us here. The truth urges us strongly to judge ourselves about it.

Here we have the blessed statement of what the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob promised to do for Jacob and for his descendants. It is crowned by these memorable words: "I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you of." These are the terms by which God binds Himself to Jacob. And these terms, blessed be His name, God has kept and will keep to the letter, though earth and hell should try to prevent it.