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Jacob was filled with fear when he learned of his brother Esau’s approach with four hundred men. Jacob had cheated Esau out of his inheritance and the blessing that Esau had expected from his father. Was Esau returning to Jacob now for vengeance? As far as Jacob was concerned, Esau had motive for causing him harm, power to do so, and now opportunity. Jacob feared the worst. He even arranged his family and servants in lines for the meeting so that if Esau attacked, some might escape.
In earlier days, Jacob had sought to bargain with God. He wanted to follow God, but on his own terms (see Gen. 28:20–22). Over the course of time, God’s gracious dealings with Jacob led him to change his mind toward God. He discovered that God knew what was best and that God truly loved him, despite his own misgivings. He grew in the knowledge of God and learned to depend on and trust in Him while awaiting the fulfillment of His promises.
Jacob’s prayer in distress, recorded in Genesis 32:9–12, has three parts:
- At the beginning and end of the prayer, he recalls God’s word to him (vv. 9, 12);
- he acknowledges his own unworthiness before God (v. 10); and
- he appeals to God for help in the situation (v. 11).
God brought about a remarkable answer to Jacob’s prayer. When the brothers met (33:4), Esau’s warm embrace must have taken Jacob completely by surprise. Esau treated Jacob with an affection that recalls the father’s embrace of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:20. This remarkable change in Jacob’s fortunes was undoubtedly God’s doing. God graciously worked restraint and kindness in Esau to display affection to his brother. He answered Jacob’s prayer with a happy providence far beyond anything that Jacob expected. Jacob knew that God had helped him. He built an altar in God’s honor (Gen. 33:20). Later God also reminded Jacob of the help He had given him on that day (35:1).
Jacob suffered when he feared the prospect of his brother’s wrath, but God delivered him from experiencing it. Christ also entrusted Himself and His circumstances to God in prayer (Matt. 26:39–44; Heb. 5:7). He suffered both the prospect and the experience of God’s wrath for our sakes. He bore our sins on the cross and the accompanying penalty of death. Yet God also delivered Him—not before death, as He did for Jacob, but afterward, by raising Him from the dead.
The prayers of Jacob and the Lord Jesus Christ teach us to humbly entrust ourselves and our situations to God. God’s commitment is to bring about deliverances for those who love Him, whether fears are actually experienced or not. He is “a very present help in trouble. . . . The God of Jacob is our fortress” (Ps. 46:1, 11).