After praying such a marvelous prayer, Jacob surely should have been at peace. But he was still active. Instead of sleeping, he "took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother" (v. 13). He divided this present into nine droves "and delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove" (v. 16). The purpose of this was to see what Esau's attitude toward Jacob would be. Jacob was clever, sending a present of nine droves of cattle to Esau with a space between each drove. This increased the distance between him and Esau and allowed him time to learn what Esau would do so that he might have the opportunity to prepare himself for a battle.
Consider the whole picture. Firstly, Jacob divided his people into two camps. Then, after praying an excellent prayer, he should have gone peacefully to sleep. But instead of doing so, he formed nine droves of cattle as a present for Esau in order to increase the distance between himself and Esau, thus giving him time to prepare to cope with the situation. This is a portrait of a very strange experience. On the one hand, Jacob prayed earnestly, but on the other hand, he exercised his wisdom. This is a photograph of ourselves. Although Jacob might have done this only once, I have done it many times. On the one hand, I tried my best to prepare for coping with a troublesome situation, and on the other hand, I prayed earnestly to the Lord. No matter how good my prayer was, I still did not trust in it. Jacob prayed very well, but he had no trust in his prayer. If he had, he probably would not have been so active afterward. If I had been one of Jacob's servants, I might have said, "Jacob, after praying such a prayer, you don't need to do so much."
Jacob called the nine droves of cattle a present, but they were actually a bribe. I do not believe that Jacob had such a good, loving heart toward his brother Esau. This present did not issue out of a heart of love but out of a heart of fear. Its purpose was to appease Esau. Jacob even said, "I will appease him with the present that goeth before me" (v. 20).
While Jacob's people and servants might have been sleeping peacefully, he himself could not rest. He was desperate before God. It was a matter of life or death. Jacob anticipated that a slaughter was coming, feeling quite certain that Esau would slay him and his family. Hence, Jacob had no peace. Suddenly, as Jacob was left alone, "there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day" (v. 24). This combatant was not an angel but the Lord Himself in the form of a man. Only the Bible could have this kind of story. Much to Jacob's surprise, in the depths of the night, while he was desperate, a man came to him trying His best to pin him down. Because Jacob would not give in, the two of them wrestled all night until the breaking of day. Before this, Jacob was afraid of being slaughtered. Now, he was afraid of being defeated in this wrestling match and he thrust all his energy into the struggle. The Lord did not subdue him immediately so that He might expose to Jacob how natural he was and how great his natural strength was. Eventually, the Lord touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh, causing him to become lame. Still, Jacob would not let Him go until He blessed him. We shall consider this more in the following message.
In his dream at Bethel, Jacob received the firm promise from the Lord. The Lord had told him, "Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of" (28:15). Moreover, when it was time for Jacob to leave Laban, the Lord said to Jacob, "Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee" (31:3). But Jacob still trusted in himself and exercised his natural skill and ability to save himself from the difficult situation. He also had a desperate time with the Lord. It would seem that after all this, Jacob would no longer do anything. But in chapter thirty-three we see that Jacob had not yet ceased from his own striving. There is no indication, even in this chapter, that Jacob trusted in the Lord.
After wrestling with the Lord who came in the form of a man, "Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men" (33:1). After all the Lord's promises, after his prayer, and after wrestling with the Lord, Jacob still had something new to do. He divided his wives and children again. His first division was a division of his people into two camps according to the two camps of the angels. His second division was that of his present into nine droves. But now, after reconsidering the matter, he redivided his people according to his heart. "He divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph last" (33:1-2, Heb.). Because Jacob loved Rachel and Joseph, he put them last. Even here, at the last minute, Jacob still exercised his skill to cope with the situation. The two maids and their children went first, to be a sacrifice if necessary. The second group, including Leah and her children, followed. Rachel, the one he loved so much, and her child, Joseph, were last. This is the work of the supplanter, the one who is altogether natural. He had had the promises of God, the dealings and sufferings, the excellent prayer, the wrestling, and the previous dividing of his people, but still he did something else. This is what I mean when I say that this chapter relates a strange experience.