# 304 Then Jacob Was Left Alone

The Book of Genesis

Day 304

Ge 32:13 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.  22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.  23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.  24 Then Jacob was left alone;

Pretty good strategy on Jacob’s part! That old deceiver Jacob is still at it, still in the business of deception.He decides to greet his brother with a show of power. Wave after wave, drove after drove, carefully spaced out to give the impression that Jacob is rich and powerful and somebody you wouldn’t want to mess with! Jacob’s bottom line hope is that he will be accepted  by his brother, that bygones will be bygones and they can dwell in peace.

 Put yourself in Esau’s shoes here. What would you think? If these are JUST Jacob’s GIFTS to him.  he must be a really powerful person! 

After the servants and goods have departed, Jacob then puts some extra distance between Esau and his family, putting them on the other side of the brook, and then he was left alone.

To quote from the classic hymn, “A Mighty Fortress, Jacob has, “let goods and kindred go,” and you know what? With goods and kindred released, this deceiver Jacob, was now in a place where God could do business with him. 

Perhaps this describes your situation today. A financial setback, a lost job, a spouse filing for divorce, or maybe you’ve received some bad medical news. Your life is not turning out the way you planned. Everything you thought you were working for is suddenly stripped away. If you were totally honest with yourself, you’d have to admit that your faith life with God has not been what it should be. In a sense, it had it’s own share of Jacob-like deception. You have not been truly following the Lord and now you find yourself left alone.

Take heart my friend, for Jesus is there in the midst of your broken loneliness, and HE is ready to do business with you, just as He did business with Jacob. The key is to reach that point where it’s just you and God in your prayer closet. God must be first and everything else is secondary.  How did Jesus put it? Mt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.