1. Jacob meets Esau (1-11)

Jacob had run away from home 20 years before because of Esau's threat of revenge. All those years he had carried this unsolved problem in his heart. Now he had to face Esau. Jacob arranged his family with his beloved Rachel and her son Joseph in the safest place, and went out to greet his brother. Their meeting was anticlimactic. Esau did not attack. He embraced his brother, and they wept. Jacob realized that God had answered his prayer. He said, 'Seeing your face is like seeing the face of God.'

2. Let me find favor in your eyes (12-17)

Esau wanted to know why Jacob had sent the droves of animals. He insisted that he needed no gift. He offered to accompany and/or to protect Jacob's family. Jacob only wanted to escape Esau's wrath. He wanted forgiveness and peace. Esau accepted his gift and went back to Seir. Jacob was tired of struggling, so he settled down in Succoth.

Application: Lord, help me to see your face in answers to prayer, and in impossible problems which you resolve.
One Word: Like seeing the face of God