Genesis 32:20
And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
This verse belongs to Jacob's preparations to meet Esau on his return journey after twenty years in exile. He acted after learning that Esau was approaching with a band of warriors to take revenge, while his own company was unarmed and defenseless. He feared Esau might harm him in a struggle to secure the inheritance.
He remained aware that his deception of his father to take the blessing meant for Esau had caused his exile and had now brought this danger, filling him with self-reproach. At the same time he remembered God's favor and promises of help and guidance. The verse shows him sending a present ahead of himself to appease his brother and gain a favorable reception. He directed his messengers to deliver a humble, conciliatory message calling Esau lord and himself Esau's servant and explaining that he had possessions and was not returning as a destitute claimant to their father's inheritance. His hope was to make peace, gain favor and acceptance, secure reconciliation and a favorable reception, and avert threatened violence.
He acted to make amends for the wrong he had done and to avert the danger, even though his only hope was in God's mercy and his only defense was prayer. Trust in God does not excuse neglect of human effort to make things right. Jacob represents believers and Esau represents unbelievers, so Jacob's encounter with Esau with its danger and distress is a pattern for the saints' future trouble in the closing conflict with the image beast.
The chapter's picture of Jacob seeking acceptance is connected with Christ's pleading for the unsealed remnant, asking that threatened judgment be held back until God's servants receive the seal. Followers of Christ approaching the time of trouble should likewise make every exertion to place themselves in a proper light before the people, to disarm prejudice, and to avert the danger threatening liberty of conscience.