Jacob, son of Isaac and brother of Esau, had faced much opposition over the last several years of his life. There had been much conflict with his father-in-law, Laban (Genesis 29:1-30), and Jacob’s two wives, Leah and Rachel, were envious of each other which had resulted in unstable relationships (Genesis 27:30-28:9). Jacob had overcome many of these obstacles and departed from Haran to return to the land of Canaan. As Jacob was on his way to Canaan, he saw the angels of God and he declared the place to be called Mananaim, which meant two camps (32:1-2). Jacob probably intended one camp to symbolize his family and the other camp to symbolize God’s protective camp over his family. God sent the angels to bring comfort and assurance to Jacob as he entered back into Canaan. One of the obstacles Jacob would face upon entering Canaan was his twin brother, Esau. Jacob and Esau’s relationship had been unhealthy from birth, but God had chosen Jacob as the son of Isaac who would carry on the Abrahamic covenant.
In anticipation of a possible conflict with Esau, Jacob sent messengers ahead to speak peace to Esau (32:3-5), but when the messengers returned saying that Esau was coming with 400 men, Jacob became “greatly afraid and distressed” (32:6-7a). It is likely that Jacob recalled Esau’s threat to kill him after Jacob had stolen his blessing (Genesis 27:41). Jacob immediately went into action and divided the people traveling with him into two companies saying, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape” (32:7b-8). The situation also caused Jacob to pray to God for protection so that His promises could be fulfilled (32:9-12). The last time a prayer of Jacob was recorded was twenty years ago when he worshiped God at Bethel (Genesis 28:20-22). Jacob should have put his trust in God and His promises, but fear consumed him so he attempted to appease Esau by sending him extravagant gifts (32:13-21). The prayer of Jacob showed a man that wanted to trust God with his life, but Jacob’s actions revealed that he was still holding on to control.
Dear God, help me to not only trust You with my words, but also my actions.
