Genesis 32:1-21 NKJV
32 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”
6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. 8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”
9 Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. 11 Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. 12 For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”
13 So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. 16 Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” 17 And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” 19 So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; 20 and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.
The opening words of today’s reading are beautiful and comforting: “So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” Of this, Luther writes, “the holy patriarch Jacob, freed from the heavy and long misery of servitude under his father-in-law, rejoiced that peace and consolation had finally been restored to him after the completion of his tribulation. He then proceeded on the journey he had begun, that he might return to his dear father Isaac, who already for a long time had been weakened by old age… These are words of joy and triumph for the patriarch with great confidence and a feeling of security because of the peace given to him by God, just as though he meant to say: “Now the angels are appearing, heaven is laughing, the stormy winter has passed, and now the clear and serene light of day is shining forth” (LW AE6).
As the story continues to unfold, Jacob’s trials and tribulations will not quite be done, but for now he is comforted and refreshed with God’s presence by His heavenly angels. Jacob had endured much, but here God blesses him with a most pleasant surprise.
In and of our sinful nature, we tend to focus more intently on our misfortunes rather than our blessings and turn inward to sorrow and sadness. This, of course, can serve no good and can drive us further into despair. God in His mercy teaches us not to be “navel-gazers” but to look to Him as Psalm 121:1-2 says: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
Dear Christian, look in faith to the God who gave His Son to pay for all your sins. Though you are not worthy of His mercies, look to Him in faith; He will guide you through this life unto the life of the world to come.
Let us pray: O God, cause my eyes to look to You and not to myself, that I may continue to sing Your praise and receive Your comfort and strength; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.