Beholding (32:1-8)
Greatly relieved that Laban had left him and that Mizpah stood between them, Jacob headed toward Bethel, the destination God had appointed for him (31:3, 13; 28:15; 35:1). But Jacob knew that eventually he had to meet Esau because, in traveling to Bethel, he would come near Mount Seir, where Esau lived (33:16).
Preparation. “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city” (Prov. 18:19 nkjv). Anticipating a difficult reunion with Esau, Jacob took the wise approach and sent messengers ahead to inform his brother that he was coming. But instead of committing the whole matter to the Lord, who had protected him from Laban, Jacob adopted a condescending attitude that wasn’t befitting to the man God had chosen to carry on the Abrahamic covenant. Sending the messengers was a good idea, but calling Esau “my lord” and himself “your servant,” and trying to impress Esau with his wealth, was only evidence that Jacob wasn’t trusting God to care for him.
Protection. Imagine Jacob’s surprise when he saw an army of angels before him! “This is God’s host [army]!” he exclaimed, and he called the place Mahanaim, which means “the two camps,” Jacob’s camp and God’s camp. Twenty years before, Jacob had seen the angels at Bethel and learned that God was with Him (Gen. 28:10-12). But now he discovered that God’s angelic troops were there to protect him and fight for him. So there was no reason to be afraid. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31).
Angelology is a popular subject today, and secular stores display dozens of books about angels, not all of them biblical in content. You can even attend seminars and learn how to contact angels and get their assistance in solving your problems. Angels are real beings, and they do minister to God’s people (Ps. 34:7; 46:7, 11; Heb. 1:13-14), but it’s God who commands them, not mere humans. One day in heaven we’ll find out how much they’ve helped the family of God in times of difficulty and danger. Meanwhile, we’ll have to let God tell His heavenly hosts what to do.
Plotting. As Jacob and his family, servants, flocks, and herds traveled slowly southwest toward Bethel, the messengers were moving rapidly to Mount Seir. By the time Jacob reached the Jabbok, a tributary of the Jordan, the messengers had returned with an ominous message: Esau and four hundred men were coming to meet Jacob. Expecting the worst, Jacob jumped to the conclusion that his brother had come to take vengeance on him and his family. A guilty conscience often makes us see the darkest possible picture.
When faith is crowded out by fear, we’re prone to start scheming and trusting our own resources. A woman said to evangelist D. L. Moody, “I’ve found a wonderful verse to help me overcome fear,” and she quoted Psalm 56:3: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” “I can give you a better promise,” said Moody, and he quoted Isaiah 12:2: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid.”
Believers who are walking by faith need not fear the enemy or whatever bad news may come their way. “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord” (Ps. 112:7). But Jacob was “greatly afraid and distressed” (Gen. 32:7) and therefore reverted to his old policy of scheming.
Instead of remembering the encouraging vision of God’s angelic army, Jacob divided his camp into two bands so that if one group was attacked, the other group could escape. It was a poor strategy against four hundred men, and Jacob would have been better off to maintain the original two bands–his company and God’s army of angels–and trust the Lord to see him through.