What did God plan to do when Jacob was afraid of Esau?
God planned to come down in human form, as He did throughout the Old Testament, and confront Jacob man to man. Although Jacob feared Esau and surrounded himself with flocks and herds for protection, God had something else totally on His mind beyond Esau's threat.
Les explains that Jacob was scared to death of what Esau might do, because Jacob had tricked him some 40 years earlier. Jacob arranged his flocks and herds for protection, but God's purpose was not merely to shield him from Esau. God would come down in human form, as He did throughout the Old Testament, and confront Jacob man to man. The account picks up in Genesis 32, in the dead of night, with Jacob asleep on the ground.
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
More Questions
What did God intend to do when Jacob was preparing to meet Esau?
God's purpose in this encounter was to come down in human form and confront Jacob man to man.