- 120-
without any reply, other than that Esau was himself coming to meet his brother, and
that at the head of a band of four hundred men. This certainly was sufficiently
alarming, irrespective of the circumstance that since Esau was (as we shall presently
show) just then engaged in a warlike expedition against Seir, the four hundred men
with whom he advanced, had probably gathered around his standard for plunder and
bloodshed, just like those wild Bedouin tribes which to this day carry terror wherever
they appear. Even to receive no reply at all would, in itself, be a great trial to one like
Jacob. Hitherto he had by his devices succeeded in removing every obstacle, and
evading every danger. But now he was absolutely helpless, in face of an enemy from
whom he could neither retreat nor escape. It is said in the sacred text: "Then Jacob
was greatly afraid and distressed." The measures to which he resorted prove this. He
divided his caravan into two bands, in the hope that if Esau attacked the one, the
other might escape during the fray. The result thus aimed at was very doubtful, and,
at the best, sad enough. Jacob must have deeply felt this, and he betook himself to
prayer. Mingling confession of his utter unworthiness with entreaty for deliverance
from the danger before him, he successively pleaded before God His express
command to return to Canaan, His past mercies, and His gracious promises, at the
same time addressing God as Jehovah, the covenant-God of Abraham and of Isaac.
Not one of these pleas could fail. That cry of despair was the preparation for what
was to follow: Jacob was now learning to obtain, otherwise than by his own efforts,
that which Jehovah had promised to give.
We know, with almost perfect certainty, the exact spot where the most important
transaction in the life of Jacob took place. It was at the ford of Jabbok, the confluence
of the two streams which flow from the East into Jordan, between the Sea of Galilee
and the Dead Sea, and almost midway between these two points. Indeed, there is only
one ford of Jabbok "practicable," "and even here," as a recent traveler records, "the
strong current reached the horse's girths."^49
The beauty and richness of the whole district is most striking - park-like scenery
alternating with sweet glades, covered with rich crops; "trees and shrubs grouped in
graceful variety;" then peeps into the great Jordan valley, with its almost tropical
vegetation, and of the hills of Palestine beyond. Looking down upon the ford, the
brook Jabbok is almost invisible from the thicket of oleander which covers its banks;
while on the steeper sides, up either way, forests of oak and of evergreen oak merge
into the darker pine. It was night in this solitude. Overhead shone the innumerable
stars -once the pledge of the promise to Abraham. The impressive silence was only
broken by the rushing of Jabbok, and the lowing of the flocks and herds, as they
passed over the brook, or the preparations for transporting the women, children, and
servants. Quite a large number of the cattle and sheep Jacob now sent forward in
separate droves, that each, as it successively came to Esau as a gift from his brother,
might tend to appease his feelings of anger, or satisfy the cupidity of his followers. At
(^)