GENESIS 32:1-23 On His Way to the Land

After twenty years of living in exile, Jacob finally is on his way back to the Promised Land.

His return marks the moment in which Abraham’s descendants finally left behind their land of origin and their kindred. This separation was finalized with the “covenant of separation” between Laban and Jacob (as we studied earlier in chapter 31).

There was no turning back. Jacob burned the bridges behind him. He had no other choice but to keep going forward and face the brother that threatened to kill him many years before…

At that moment God sent Jacob a message to cheer him up. The Lord was letting him know that he was pleased by his return to the Promised Land.

(Genesis 32:1-2)  Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.  (2)  And when Jacob saw them he said, "This is God's camp!" So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

God sent angels to guard their way.

(Psalms 91:9-11)  Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place-- the Most High, who is my refuge--  (10)  no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.  (11)  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

(Psalms 34:7-9)  The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.  (8)  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!  (9)  Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!

Jacob needed to know that the Lord was with him on his way back, since he was about to meet with his brother Esau.

The world teaches us to run away from difficulties, but the Lord teaches us to confront anything that stands in our way when we are moving forward on the right path.  If we are following God’s will, He will help us overcome any obstacle.

JACOB CONTACTS HIS BROTHER

 

Before he crosses over the Jordan river to come into the Promised Land, Jacob decides to contact his brother Esau.

By that time Esau was no longer living in the Promised Land. Esau was not living close to his parents in Hebron, but had moved to Seir. The Bible does not tell us that he was expelled from the land, but that he left by his own will. Seir was the territory located south of the Dead Sea, today known as Jordan. This was a desert region and therefore, uninhabited. Esau took this land and made it his own. He became the king of Seir, and gave the land a new name; he named it after himself, his nickname: Edom (which means red).

Jacob could have tried to go unnoticed, but he did not. Even though Esau was far away Jacob decided to send him a message to inform him of his return. Instead of avoiding confrontation, it could be said that he triggered it. Nevertheless, he did it in a humble way. He wanted, once and for all, to set things right with his brother.

(Genesis 32:3-5)  And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,  (4)  instructing them, "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, 'I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now.  (5)  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 did Esau respond to this message?

(Genesis 32:6)  And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him."

Esau did not send a response to Jacob’s message. He simply came up to meet him, together with 400 men. It certainly did not seem like a friendly encounter, but rather like the preamble to an attack.

Jacob had a twofold reaction when he found himself in this position:

a.  Defense Stance

Jacob divided his family into two camps and sent them to the other side of the river to protect them.

(Genesis 32:7-8)  Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,  (8)  thinking, "If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape."

Jacob took safety measures, but his greatest defense strategy was this…

b. Prayer

Jacob called upon God and asked for protection. At that moment, he reminded God of his promise to bring him back to the Land and do him good.

(Genesis 32:9-12)  And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,'  (10)  I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.  (11)  Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children.  (12)  But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.' 

Jacob appealed to God’s words to him. Jacob had obeyed and now he was asking God to do his part. He also referred to God’s promise to Abraham, which he received from his father as a spiritual inheritance. Jacob already had experienced that God keeps His promises, so he prayed with faith, knowing that God is good and righteous. He also prayed with humility, recognizing that we don’t deserve divine mercy, but that God grants it because he loves us.

PRESENTS FOR ESAU

The world teaches us to be proud, to show no fear and to never give up. However, the Lord teaches us to be humble.

(Proverbs 15:1)  A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Jacob did not react violently to Esau’s threat of coming toward him with so many men, but rather he stood his ground, and waited for his brother’s arrival. However, he did not stand with his arms crossed either, but decided to do something to gain his brother’s favor: he sent presents ahead of him.

(Genesis 32:13-21)  So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau,  (14)  two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,  (15)  thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.  (16)  These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove."  (17)  He instructed the first, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?'  (18)  then you shall say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.'"  (19)  He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, "You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him,  (20)  and you shall say, 'Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.'" For he thought, "I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me."  (21)  So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp

Presents always have a positive effect. There are a way of pleasing the person who gets them. As the proverb says, they may even calm down anger:

(Proverbs 21:14)  A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

Even then, Jacob could not entirely rely on the presents being effective. He knew that he had to protect his family and keep them as safe as possible, in case the presents were not enough to gain Esau’s favor.

(Genesis 32:22-23) The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.  (23)  He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.

Jacob took his family to the other side of the river. This river has banks that are mostly steep and canyon-like, therefore very difficult to cross. In this way he was protecting them, or at least making them a little harder to be reached.

However, Jacob stayed on the side of the river where Esau was coming.

In the following chapter we will read about Jacob’s encounter with Esau… however, we will first read about another encounter he had that night while he was on standby…