Oh Brother!
Opening Prayer
Loving Lord, I thank You that because of Your great love shown me in Jesus, I need never fear You.
Read Genesis 32:1-21
[1] Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. [2] When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. [3] Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. [4] He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. [5] I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.'” [6] When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” [7] In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. [8] He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.” [9] Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, LORD, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ [10] I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. [11] Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. [12] But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.'” [13] He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: [14] two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, [15] thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. [16] He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.” [17] He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ [18] then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.'” [19] He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. [20] And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.'” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” [21] So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
How did Jacob react to the news that Esau was coming?Jacob’s day of reckoning is near. Returning to his parental home in obedience to God’s word to him, he has to pass through the region where Esau now lives. In great fear and distress (7), he makes plans to deal with the situation. Even though he has known God’s providential deliverance in fleeing both his parental and marital homes, he is now consumed by worry and dread. The life of faith is not a magic charm that will protect Jacob; rather, God forces him to face his fears and yet again prove God’s faithfulness. His response, however, is noteworthy: he prays (9). He remembers God’s promises to him and voices the fears now engulfing him. Jacob’s reaction is a lesson for us. This is how we grow in our prayer lives: through confessing the great truths of faith and bringing our weakness into the light of God’s presence. But Jacob’s prayer also challenges God to act on his promises (12) and, as we’ll see, God did!
Apply
Find a confession, such as the Apostles’ Creed, and use it to remind yourself of the truth of God’s loving purposes.
Closing prayer
Lord God, I know that I can trust You to carry out all Your good and loving promises to me.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.