In our previous study of Jacob’s return to the Land of Canaan, we discovered that he sent a message to his brother Esau that he had returned to his country, hoping to find favor in his sight (Genesis 32:5). His message was that the Lord had made him very wealthy, implying that he had no need of an inheritance from their father, Isaac. Thus, Jacob hoped to make amends with his brother Esau over tricking him out of both his birthright and the family blessing. When Jacob’s messengers returned, they told him that Esau was on his way with 400 of his men. Esau was with his army in the land of Seir, which was the country of the Horites (Genesis 14:6), and was, probably, there living by the sword, hired as a mercenary (cp. Genesis 27:40). How much Jacob knew of Esau’s activities isn’t clear in the text, but he certainly took the news that Esau and 400 of his men were on their way to meet him, as a threat to both himself and his family (Genesis 32:7).
Probably, foremost in Jacob’s mind, after successfully fleeing the threat of Laban, was the threat Esau had made 20 years previous to Jacob’s return to Canaan. In fact, Jacob had left Canaan for Haran, because Esau had threatened his life, which he would carry out the moment their father Isaac had died (Genesis 27:41; cp. 42-45). Jacob hoped that, by telling his brother of how the Lord had blessed him in Haran with so much wealth, Esau would be content with inheriting Isaac’s wealth, as though Esau’s birthright had never been taken away from him (cp. Genesis 25:29-34). Nevertheless, it seemed that Esau was bent on revenge, and news of his coming with an army of 400 seemed only to support this understanding.
After Jacob prayed to the Lord to save him from the wrath of his brother (Genesis 32:9-12), he called some of his servants together and placed several groups of cattle in their hands, which he was sending as a present for his brother, Esau. It was a present of over 450 animals,[1] which he hoped would appease his brother’s wrath against him (Genesis 32:13-15).
Some scholars criticize Jacob for sending this present to Esau, some saying it witnesses to Jacob’s pride, while others conclude it is an example of how little faith he had in the Lord to answer his prayer for salvation. The idea is that evidence that the Lord saved Jacob from Esau’s wrath was the fact that he had embraced him, revealing his heart in their emotional reunion (Genesis 33:4), so what purpose did Jacob’s scheme have in that process? The problem with such criticism of Jacob is the shortsightedness of this type of scholarship. Jacob had manipulated both Esau and Isaac, tricking them into giving him both the family birthright and blessing. If the Bible teaches us nothing else, it tells us that, when we have wronged a person, if it is within our power to make restitution, we are under an obligation to make amends as best we can. The fact that Jacob prayed for salvation has nothing at all to do with his efforts to make restitution for his wrongdoing, and doing all he could to make peace with his brother. We need to keep in mind the words of our Lord, Jesus, at this point. Jacob prayed, that’s true, but he knew that his brother had a right to be angry with him. Therefore, with his prayer in the hands of the Lord, Jacob did his best to make restitution for the wrongs he had done to his brother (cp. Matthew 5:23-24).
Jacob also put a little distance between each group of animals, so that, when Esau came to one group and understood it was a gift from his brother, and the same with each succeeding group, he might appease Esau’s anger against him, hopefully to be reconciled with his brother and be forgiven of the wrong he had done to him. Therefore, Jacob remained in Mahanaim under the protection of the angels of God (cp. Genesis 32:1-2, 21) until morning, hoping what he did was enough to appease his brother’s anger (Genesis 32:16-21).
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[1] The count was 200 female goats and 20 male goats; 200 ewes and 20 rams; thirty female camels, plus their young; 40 cows and 10 bulls; and 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys; 450 in all plus the unknown number of young that came with the camels.
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