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Gen. 32 and Gen. 33 contain a very strange experience in the life of Jacob, the chosen one. We have already pointed out that Jacob did not trust in the Lord. Since the time he was born, he exercised his natural ability to do things for himself. In chapter thirty-one he fled from Laban, and God delivered him out of Laban's usurping hand. Because Laban told him that God had warned him not to hurt Jacob, Jacob took the opportunity to boldly rebuke him (Gen. 31:24, 36). Nevertheless, the Lord brought him through that difficulty. However, in front of Jacob was another serious problem — his brother Esau.
Jacob was in a dilemma. Behind him was Laban and in front of him was Esau. I believe that while Jacob was fleeing from Laban and returning to the land of his fathers, he was greatly disturbed by these two men. It was difficult for him to remain with Laban and it was just as difficult for him to return to the place where Esau was. By God's mercy, he was released from Laban, but now he had to confront Esau.
Genesis 32:1 and 2 say, "And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's camp: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim," which means two camps (Heb.). As Jacob went on his way, he was probably thinking about how he would face his brother. Perhaps he said to himself, "I have been delivered from my uncle, but how shall I deal with Esau, my brother?" Much to his surprise, the angels of God met him, indicating that they would protect him. God's angels are always invisibly present with His chosen people. In this instance, the angels appeared to Jacob and he saw them. He did not see a small number of angels; rather, he saw two camps of them. This reminds us of Psalm 34:7, which says, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." The presence of two camps of angels should have been a great encouragement to this troubled Jacob. However, he was still afraid that his brother would smite him.
After Jacob saw the two camps of angels, he should have been comforted. Nevertheless, he did not trust in these two camps of angels. God's purpose in showing him this vision of angels undoubtedly was to comfort him, to strengthen him, and to cause him to trust in God's celestial armies. But Jacob did not put his trust in what he saw. Rather, Jacob, who still trusted in his self-striving (vv. 3-8), imitated God's two camps of angels by dividing his people into two camps. Instead of putting his trust in what he saw, he copied the technique. Although we can only guess at what Jacob was thinking when he did this (perhaps he thought that each of the two camps of his household would be protected by the two camps of the angels), one thing is clear — Jacob did not exercise trust in God nor in the vision of the angels; rather, he expended his time and energy in exercising his natural ability. Verses 7 and 8 say, "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 camps; and said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape." This was Jacob's cleverness. But actually it was not clever at all, for if Esau could have smitten the first camp of women and children, why could he not have also smitten the second camp? But this dividing of his people was the best that Jacob could do.
After making these arrangements, Jacob probably was still not at peace. Thus, he did something unusual — he prayed (vv. 9-12). This is the first record of Jacob's praying in his entire life. (In Gen. 28:20-22 it was his vow, not his prayer to God.) During the twenty years Jacob was under the squeezing hand of Laban, there is no record that he prayed. Although Laban changed his wages ten times, Jacob did not pray. In principle, we all are Jacobs. We have received the promise of God and we have come to know God, but still we do not pray. No matter what happens to us, we do not pray. Instead of exercising our spirit to pray, we exercise our mind to consider and our natural strength to face every problem. Jacob did not pray when he was with Laban; instead, he employed his natural strength to manage the situation. But now, being about to face Esau, he was brought to a place where he had no more skill. All his skill, technique, ability, and strength had been exhausted. When he learned that Esau was coming with four hundred men, he was frightened. The most he could do was divide his people into two groups, thinking that if the first were sacrificed, the second might be spared. Because this was the best Jacob could do, he was forced to pray.
Jacob prayed a very good prayer. His prayer was much better than the prayers of most Christians today. 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 do thee good" (v. 9, Heb.). Here we see that Jacob prayed by holding on to the Lord's word. The best way to pray is to take God's word as the standing for your prayer. Jacob seemed to be saying, "Lord, didn't You say that You would do me good? Now I stand on Your word and ask You to do something about it." Although this verse seems to indicate that Jacob was quite experienced in prayer, there is no hint in the previous record that he prayed at all.
In verse 10 Jacob said, "I am smaller than all the lovingkindness and all the faithfulness which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two camps" (Heb.). I like Jacob's expression here. He seemed to be saying, "Lord, my capacity is so small that it cannot contain all Your lovingkindness and faithfulness." Here, Jacob was humble in the presence of God, confessing that he was not worthy of God's rich lovingkindness and faithfulness toward him and that he had passed over Jordan with just his staff, but that the Lord had increased him to two camps. Here we see a vivid picture of two camps in the heavens and of two camps on earth. Due to this, the chosen one should have been perfectly at peace. In the next verse Jacob continued, saying, "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." Here we see Jacob's fear of Esau.
The high point of Jacob's prayer is in verse 12: "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." In this part of his prayer, Jacob touched God's economy, for he spoke of the seed. To pray like this is not only to hold on to God's word but also to touch His heart. God had chosen Jacob with the goal of having seed for the fulfillment of His purpose to have a corporate expression of Himself on earth. Jacob probably did not understand this, but he still prayed very well. As we study this prayer, we see that it was marvelous in every respect. I hope that we all shall pray like this.
After praying such a marvelous prayer, Jacob surely should have been at peace. But he was still active. Instead of sleeping, he "took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother" (v. 13). He divided this present into nine droves "and 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" (v. 16). The purpose of this was to see what Esau's attitude toward Jacob would be. Jacob was clever, sending a present of nine droves of cattle to Esau with a space between each drove. This increased the distance between him and Esau and allowed him time to learn what Esau would do so that he might have the opportunity to prepare himself for a battle.
Consider the whole picture. Firstly, Jacob divided his people into two camps. Then, after praying an excellent prayer, he should have gone peacefully to sleep. But instead of doing so, he formed nine droves of cattle as a present for Esau in order to increase the distance between himself and Esau, thus giving him time to prepare to cope with the situation. This is a portrait of a very strange experience. On the one hand, Jacob prayed earnestly, but on the other hand, he exercised his wisdom. This is a photograph of ourselves. Although Jacob might have done this only once, I have done it many times. On the one hand, I tried my best to prepare for coping with a troublesome situation, and on the other hand, I prayed earnestly to the Lord. No matter how good my prayer was, I still did not trust in it. Jacob prayed very well, but he had no trust in his prayer. If he had, he probably would not have been so active afterward. If I had been one of Jacob's servants, I might have said, "Jacob, after praying such a prayer, you don't need to do so much."
Jacob called the nine droves of cattle a present, but they were actually a bribe. I do not believe that Jacob had such a good, loving heart toward his brother Esau. This present did not issue out of a heart of love but out of a heart of fear. Its purpose was to appease Esau. Jacob even said, "I will appease him with the present that goeth before me" (v. 20).
While Jacob's people and servants might have been sleeping peacefully, he himself could not rest. He was desperate before God. It was a matter of life or death. Jacob anticipated that a slaughter was coming, feeling quite certain that Esau would slay him and his family. Hence, Jacob had no peace. Suddenly, as Jacob was left alone, "there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day" (v. 24). This combatant was not an angel but the Lord Himself in the form of a man. Only the Bible could have this kind of story. Much to Jacob's surprise, in the depths of the night, while he was desperate, a man came to him trying His best to pin him down. Because Jacob would not give in, the two of them wrestled all night until the breaking of day. Before this, Jacob was afraid of being slaughtered. Now, he was afraid of being defeated in this wrestling match and he thrust all his energy into the struggle. The Lord did not subdue him immediately so that He might expose to Jacob how natural he was and how great his natural strength was. Eventually, the Lord touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh, causing him to become lame. Still, Jacob would not let Him go until He blessed him. We shall consider this more in the following message.
In his dream at Bethel, Jacob received the firm promise from the Lord. The Lord had told him, "Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of" (28:15). Moreover, when it was time for Jacob to leave Laban, the Lord said to Jacob, "Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee" (31:3). But Jacob still trusted in himself and exercised his natural skill and ability to save himself from the difficult situation. He also had a desperate time with the Lord. It would seem that after all this, Jacob would no longer do anything. But in chapter thirty-three we see that Jacob had not yet ceased from his own striving. There is no indication, even in this chapter, that Jacob trusted in the Lord.
After wrestling with the Lord who came in the form of a man, "Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men" (33:1). After all the Lord's promises, after his prayer, and after wrestling with the Lord, Jacob still had something new to do. He divided his wives and children again. His first division was a division of his people into two camps according to the two camps of the angels. His second division was that of his present into nine droves. But now, after reconsidering the matter, he redivided his people according to his heart. "He divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph last" (33:1-2, Heb.). Because Jacob loved Rachel and Joseph, he put them last. Even here, at the last minute, Jacob still exercised his skill to cope with the situation. The two maids and their children went first, to be a sacrifice if necessary. The second group, including Leah and her children, followed. Rachel, the one he loved so much, and her child, Joseph, were last. This is the work of the supplanter, the one who is altogether natural. He had had the promises of God, the dealings and sufferings, the excellent prayer, the wrestling, and the previous dividing of his people, but still he did something else. This is what I mean when I say that this chapter relates a strange experience.
After all this, when Jacob saw Esau, he was bold, yet humble, to go to the front to meet him (33:3-4). Verse 3 says, "And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother." In a sense, he was honest and faithful to his wives and children and went to the front to pioneer the way. Jacob's coming to him in this manner greatly surprised Esau who "ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (v. 4). Both Jacob and Esau wept. By this we see that all of Jacob's fears were products of his own worrying and that all he did was in vain. He did not need to divide his people into two camps, to pray the best prayer, to present nine droves of cattle as a gift to Esau, to wrestle with the Lord in the form of man, and to divide his wives, children, and maids the second time. If he had truly known God and had trusted in Him, he would have been continually at peace, saying, "I am not worried about Esau because God has promised to bring me back to my father's land. He even told me to go back, and I have the peace that He will bring me there. No matter what Esau might do to me, I am not concerned because my God has given me His word."
We all must learn from Jacob's experience. We do not need to do so much. Are we not today's Jacobs, the chosen ones? Surely we are. Has not the Lord given us His promise? Certainly He has. Are not the camps of angels encompassing us? We must believe that they are. We may think that certain people are our enemies. The enemy, Satan, may inject thoughts into our minds regarding our Laban or Esau. All such thoughts are vain. Recall your past. Have you not done many things which eventually proved to be useless? Whatever we did was in vain. Many times I have said to myself, "Man, you are really stupid. You have wasted your time and energy in doing things in vain. Nothing of what you have done was a help, for the Lord did not use them." Surely Jacob never dreamed that Esau would have come to him with such fervent love. God frustrated Laban by speaking to him in a dream and also He aroused Esau's brotherly love toward Jacob. Hence, Esau did not come to Jacob with hatred or with the desire for vengeance; rather, he came with warm, brotherly love. Esau had forgotten the suffering Jacob had caused him. But Jacob, the supplanter, had not forgotten what he had done to his brother. In this we see God's marvelous acts.
I would like to say a word especially to the young brothers and sisters. Undoubtedly, you love the Lord. By loving the Lord, you have the assurance that you are one of the chosen ones. As chosen ones, the Lord's promise, His goal, and His destination are for you. The Lord has charged us all to advance toward the goal, to go on to our Father's land where we can enjoy the riches of the Lord for His eternal purpose. So we simply need to enjoy peace in Him. Do not be bothered by any Labans or Esaus. Whatever happens, simply rest in Him. If you cannot take my word now, wait for a certain period of time, and you will discover that all the things that worried you will come to nothing. You do not need to do anything, for actually there is no real trouble either in front of you or behind you. Apparently, there is a great deal of difficulty; actually, because you are God's chosen ones under His all-sufficient care, there is no difficulty at all. You are God's chosen ones assured with His promise and charged with His goal. Now you are on the way. I do not care about all the opposition and rumors. Many times I laugh at them. As long as we are on the way to reach God's goal and as long as we have His promise as His chosen ones, everything is all right.
These two chapters are a portrait revealing what kind of God our God is. I can testify of His lovingkindness and faithfulness. If Jacob was smaller than all the Lord's lovingkindness and faithfulness, then I am even smaller than he. No matter what our circumstances are, the Lord is here. We do have Him, His promise, His goal, and His armies. Forget about your skill and your ability to cope with the situation. Jacob was very skillful, dividing his people firstly in one way and then in another. As we have seen, the second division of his people was according to his heart's desire to preserve Rachel and Joseph. But nothing he did was useful; everything was in vain. What a good picture this is for us today.
As I was preparing this message, I was greatly helped. I said to myself, "Poor man, you are still at least somewhat like Jacob. On the one hand, you have the word of God, you trust in God, and you have prayed to Him. On the other hand, you still have so many kinds of dividing. Eventually, the person you are afraid of is one who loves you." Many times, the ones whom we were afraid of became our helpers. This happened to Jacob with Esau. Jacob had a great deal of wealth and needed help to transport it. Esau brought four hundred men to help him, but Jacob was frightened when he heard of this. The people whom he feared were actually his helpers.
Sometimes the Bible has a play on words. For example, there were two camps of angels, and Jacob divided his people also into two camps. Later, he divided the cattle into nine droves. When Esau beheld all these droves, he did not call them droves, but camps, saying, "What meanest thou by all this camp which I met?" (33:8, Heb.). Esau seemed to be saying, "Jacob, did you send these camps to fight against me? What does this mean?" Jacob replied, "These are to find favor in the sight of my lord...Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee" (vv. 8, 11, ASV). Notice that Jacob changed the word from present to blessing. Apparently he was saying, "Esau, I do not come to fight against you but to give you this blessing. These are not camps; they are my blessing to you." After this, Jacob and Esau were at peace.
Esau, having a good heart, said to Jacob, "Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee" (v. 12). Jacob, however, was still somewhat fearful of Esau and did not want to stay in his presence very long. Using his cleverness once again, he said, "My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir" (vv. 13-14). In other words, Jacob was saying, "Please leave me. I don't want to stay with you. As long as you are here, I am threatened." When Esau said, "Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me," Jacob said, "What needeth it? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord" (v. 15, ASV). As long as Jacob could see Esau's face or the faces of Esau's men, he could have no peace. Many times, even after we have passed through a certain thing, the tail of that problem is still within us, and we do not want to be reminded of it. Actually, that was not a troublesome thing; it was a loving thing. Esau came with a loving heart. But Jacob's fear had not entirely subsided. This is an accurate picture of our experience.
If I had been Jacob, I might have said to myself, "Stupid man, you didn't need to do anything. You have the Lord's promise and you are moving toward His goal. You saw His angels and He Himself even wrestled with you, changed your name to Israel, and gave you a blessing. What else do you need? You should not do anything." Jacob, on the contrary, was very busy, scurrying about like an ant on a hot frying pan. In these two chapters there is no hint that Jacob had any enjoyment. I doubt that he either ate or slept well. He was constantly busy, thinking about how to face the situation and how to deal with Esau. Even when Esau came to him in a loving way, Jacob still did not trust him but asked him to go on ahead of him. Actually, Jacob was saying, "Esau, don't stay here. Take your four hundred men and go ahead. Your men frighten me. I don't want any one of them to stay with me." What a strange experience this was!
God is faithful, and eventually Jacob returned to Canaan (vv. 17-20). Verse 18 says, "And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem." This could also be translated, "And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem." He returned to Canaan by the way of "Salem" (v. 18). Salem, the second half of the word Jerusalem, means peace, safety. Thus, for Jacob to return to Canaan by the way of "Salem" meant that he came safely in peace. In a later message we shall see that Jacob followed the tracks of Abraham. According to chapter twelve, when Abraham entered Canaan, the first city he visited was Shechem. Jacob also came safely to the city of Shechem. This proves that God kept His word and fulfilled His promise, for He had promised Jacob that He would bring him back safely to the land of his fathers. Jacob did not make this journey by himself; God made it for him. Here, in Shechem, Jacob did the same two things that his grandfather did: he pitched a tent and erected an altar (vv. 18, 20). Now he began to have a testimony. During the previous twenty years, he had neither the altar nor the tent, indicating that he did not have the proper life as a testimony of God. Now, having returned to the proper ground in the proper place, he had a life with the testimony of God. Here we see that this chosen one of God has been brought back, by God's grace, to the proper standing for the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose.
