Jacob’s Prayer

"And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; and said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape. And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude." (Genesis 32:1-12)

When angels come to meet Jacob and he names the place of meeting "Mahanaim" (which is Hebrew for "two camps") we might safely assume that Jacob has a host of angels encamped either in front of him and also behind him, or possibly on either side of him, for the name that Jacob gives the meeting ground indicates that there are two distinct groups of angels encamped with him in that place. And they do seem to have arrived for the purpose of meeting Jacob; yet we are not privy to their conversations if there were any. And we do not know how long they remain there. One thing for sure is that Jacob has seen more angels than just about anyone thus far in scripture.

Just before Jacob arrives in the country of Edom, he sends a group of men to deliver a very humble and subservient message to his brother Esau whom he now calls "my lord." Jacob hopes a little humble pie will satisfy Esau, but the response he gets to his message to Esau is to hear from his messenger that Esau is on his way with 400 men! This leaves Jacob to determine, because of his guilty conscience, that a furious vengeance is about to descend upon him and his family….and Jacob is terrified…absolutely terrified!

And so Jacob prepares for the worst! He divides his family up, hoping only half of them will die and the other half will somehow escape, which is very sad and shows his great fear for them all.

Then Jacob calls upon God, the God of Abraham and of his father Isaac, and pleads for mercy even though he knows he is least deserving of mercy. It is a beautiful prayer, and a humble one; and one which reminds God of His promise to Jacob as well.

We are not told whether the next thing that he does is at God's instructions or of his own thinking, but I think it is Jacob's own idea and that he has not yet heard from God (although God will answer him before the night is over.) Jacob proceeds to establish a gift, a peace offering he hopes, to send to Esau in advance. He hopes to be able to see by Esau's face whether or not his offering is accepted gracefully; and thus, Jacob will know whether or not he will be accepted as well.

"And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? And whither goest thou? And whose are these before thee? Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us. And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me. So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company." (Genesis 32:13-21)

What a long night that must have been! In fact, we will see that it is a night that will change Jacob forever!