Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. And he put the maidservants in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. Genesis 33:1-4 NKJV
Jacob’s name meant trickster. He and his mother, Rebekah, had tricked his dad into giving him the birthright which should have been for his brother Esau. Esau had vowed to kill Jacob some 20 years ago which was the last time they had seen each other. Jacob had fled to his uncle Laban’s home.
Uncle Laban was a trickster as well and had tricked Jacob into marrying his oldest daughter Leah when Jacob thought he was marrying Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel dearly but was kind of stuck with Leah as his wife after being tricked into marrying her.
What’s interesting about this is it comes after Jacob had had two encounters with God. On the way to his uncle Laban’s the Lord appeared to him in a vision of a staircase with angels ascending and descending. There God told Jacob He would give this land to him and his descendants. God told him his descendants would be as numerous as dust of the earth and would spread abroad to the west, east, north and south. And He told Jacob all families would be blessed through his lineage. This meant Jesus would be born through the lineage of Jacob (Genesis 28:10-22).
God had been with Jacob when he had gone to his uncle Laban’s. Jacob was deceived by Uncle Laban with Leah, but God had blessed him in livestock and wealth. Finally, after spending 20 years with Uncle Laban, God called him home to Canaan. Again, at Bethel God came to Jacob and wrestled with him all night. At this point, God changed Jacob’s name from Jacob meaning trickster to Israel meaning one who wrestles with man and God and wins. God blessed Jacob there.
After all this, however, Jacob worried about what Esau would do to him when they met face to face. He sent numerous livestock from his herd as a gift for his brother. And look at the way he ordered the women and children to go in, with the maids going first with their children, then Leah and her children, then Rachel and her one son Joseph.
He makes it painfully obvious who he loved the most. He put Rachel and Joseph in the back in hopes that if they were attacked, they could escape unharmed.
Even though God had promised to bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the dust on the earth and promised him that Jesus would come through his lineage, still he feared what his brother Esau would do to him.
Do you ever find yourself in that situation? You’ve prayed to God. God has blessed you. You know what God is capable of, but you still try to stack the deck in your favor just in case God doesn’t come through? I know I have.
I have let my fear of what someone else may do get to me and I have forgotten about God and His angels that surround me. I have forgotten about His promises of protection in Psalm 91. Hebrews 13:5-6 says, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So, we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Jacob prayed. God appeared to him and blessed him. God sent his angels to meet him in Genesis 32:1.
Psalm 91:11-12 says God will give His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. In their hands they will bear us up so we will not dash our foot against a stone.
When life gets tough or scary, pray. Trust in God. He’s got you. You don’t need to stack the deck, you don’t need to scheme, you just need to trust in Him. Don’t focus on “what if”. Focus on what God can do.
Have a great day!