Double Minded

Illumination

Two Camps, 1-2

Genesis 32:1–2 NKJV

1 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

The name Mahanaim means two camps and is a recognition that there were two groups present: Jacob’s physical group and God’s Spiritual group.

God allowed Jacob to see the angelic host that accompanied him

Angelic hosts are sent to accompany those who serve God and are otherwise defenseless

Similar to Elisha’s experience in 2 Kings 6

King of Syria sent an army to surround his city

His servant panicked, recognizing they had no defense

2 Kings 6:16–17 NKJV

16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Angels are real

Angels serve God

Angels sometime protect God’s people

Two Companies, 3-8

Genesis 32:3 NKJV

3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

Genesis 32:6–8 NKJV

6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. 8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

Having been granted a view of the spiritual world and the true reality it presented, Jacob immediately forgot what he saw and took matters into his own hand.

Two Plans, 9-21

First Plan: Pray, 9-12

Genesis 32:9–12 NKJV

9 Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. 11 Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. 12 For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

Second Plan: Pacify, 13-21

Genesis 32:13–15 NKJV

13 So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.

He organized the animals intro droves (or waves) with several servants tending the drove. Each drove and its servants were a present to Esau.

Two Names, 22-32

Genesis 32:22–24 NKJV

22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

Jacob continued to divide his house trying to save at least some of it from the impending doom. He divided in until he alone was left. That is where God met him…in person.

Jacob wrestling with God physically was just the latest struggle in a life filled with struggling with (and against) God.

Jacob was determined to somehow force God to bless him. But the blessing was not what he expected.

Genesis 32:28 NKJV

28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Jacob, the heal grabber, became Israel, the prince of God

Having received the blessing of God, he renamed the area and limped away. Then we read:

Genesis 33:1 NKJV

1 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.

Conclusion

Jacob was still doing what Jacob always did. God had given him a new name and a new identity with a new army but Jacob chose to remain his old self. His double identity, and his double mind remained locked in conflict with each other.

Application

Sadly, it is a scenario that we have all probably seen play out in the lives of people we know…and maybe in our own lives. It never makes sense when viewed from an objective distance.

Pastor James who led the church at Jerusalem in the first century warned about the inherent instability of a double-minded person in his letter to the church.

James 1:5–8 NKJV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

His encouragement:

James 4:8 NKJV

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

He echos the Apostle Paul’s thoughts:

Romans 8:5–8 NKJV

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Being double-minded is being unstable because our two minds are in perpetual conflict with each other. Do we have the courage to have single-minded focus?

We have the ability to chose.

Honestly, either choice will bring clarity of thought, identity, and purpose.

Choosing seems wise

So why do we, like Jacob, put it off? Why do we remain double-minded and unstable? Why is probably a whole different study, but we can see that it is so in ourselves and others. We, can change that if we choose to.