Genesis Chapter 32
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Genesis Chapter 32 (Jacob sends a message to Esau)
Genesis Chapter 32 (Jacob sends a message to Esau)
We finished out chapter 31 with Jacob and Laban making a covenant of peace together with God as their witness. Jacob is now continuing his instruction from God to go back to the land of Isaac or his hometown.
And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
That same messenger of God, that other form of God that we see time and time again communicating to Jacob. God in another role.
And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
Mahanaim in hebrew meaning “two camps” or “two hosts” And Jacob names this place that after meeting with the angels of God.
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
Esau’s land the country of Edom where we get his descendants the Edomites. “Jacob sent messengers” that phrase in the Hebrew manuscripts is written as a past tense phrase. Most likely indicating that Jacob was pretty close to Esau’s camp.
And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
He is sending Esau this message to bring him up to speed to where he has been for the past 20 plus years.
And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
He is most likely listing all these assets in intentions to share his wealth with Esau. Kind of a way of compensation for Esau's loss of wealth when Jacob took over the birthright.
And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
Esau is coming to meet with Jacob and he is bringing 400 men. That is a lot of men for a convoy. This wasn’t just a convoy, this was an army. we see in 1st Sam 22,25,30, Davids story, the army was referenced as 400 men, Also in Judges chapter 20, there is inter tribal warfare taking place of around 400,000 men, so we see the number 400 used to describe military forces and conflict throughout the old testament. increments of 400 were kind of like the rule of thumb for a standard army.
Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
Jacob understanding that in this time period 400 was kind of like a rule of thumb for numbers of militia, he has a great fear of Esau coming to them with this group. So he divides his people into two separate groups.
And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
So Jacob, showing his leadership skills right here, He surely inherited this trait from his father Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham, he is using his knowledge and strategy to help plan out and save as much of his people as possible.
And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:
I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
Take a look at what is taking place here. Jacob, using his knowledge and leadership to try and help his people, but he knows that what is about to take place is out of his control. He prays to God for help during this time. He does not pray for God to help him take Esau out, he prays for God’s intervention, no specifics but for God to help deliver him and his people from the hand of his brother. Jacob being a great example here that he knows his brother has built up resentment from their past and Jacob inheriting the birthright. But instead of Jacob praying for Jacobs plan to come to pass, he is praying for God’s own intervention to take place and he will honor and serve him for whatever decision He makes.
And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
Jacob is sort of reminding God and bringing the covenant God promised Jacob back up.
And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
So Jacob spoke with God and prayed for His protection, but also they settled there for the night and gathered up a “peace offering” of sorts for his brother Esau.
Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.
This is a pretty big peace offering.
And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
Drove H5739 ‘eder
in Hebrew meaning “flock or herd”
Jacob once again showing strategy here, he is hoping that by keeping distance between each flock he is gifting to Esau that it will overwhelm Esau with generosity. instead of one Giant offering, it will look like many big offerings.
And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.
So Jacob is telling these messengers to make sure Esau knows that these peace offerings or gifts are coming from his brother Jacob.
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.
“I will appease him” This phrase in the Hebrew manuscripts is the word kaphar which is used to describe atonement-or the covering of sin.
So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
Ford - meaning a passage or crossing place
Jabbok - meaning “pouring forth” but also a river East of the Jordan river.
So Jacob took his “immediate” family and crossed over the river.
Reading this passage as “passed over the crossing place of the pouring forth river,” we can make the connection that this was probably a well traveled area. They did not have interstates and such so I take it this was a good quick traveling passage.
And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
Jacob sent his “immediate” family and their belongings over the river, but he stayed there by himself
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
So a man came unto Jacob and they wrestled, brawled until morning. Who was this man?
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
This man tells Jacob, it is becoming morning, let me go, and Jacob says “no not until you bless me”
And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Jacob meaning - Surrplanter or heel grabber
Israel meaning - He who strives with God
This man is blessing Jacob, and explaining that he persevered through the night, and has power WITH God and with men.
This man is an extension of God, Jacob was trying to take plans in his own matter and run from his brother Esau, but God is keeping Jacob in check here.
Here we see Jacob at this time had 11 sons that he sent across the brook, these will become later the 12 tribes of Israel. Jacobs name being changed by God the same way Abram to Abraham’s was Jacob to Israel.
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Peniel literally meaning face of God. Showing that Jacob wrestled with this man who was an extension of God.
He took his brother by the heel in the womb,And by his strength he had power with God:
Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed:He wept, and made supplication unto him:He found him in Beth-el, and there he spake with us;
This is Hosea speaking here on behalf of God to the Israelite later on, and calling them to repentance, giving them example of their actions from the ancestor Jacob.
And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
His thigh was messed up after wrestling with this man all night but he showed his strength under God and persevered through it.
Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
Not eating the tendon of his thigh. More or less the sciatic nerve that runs down the back of your thy. Jewish traditions still refrain from eating this part of the animal because it reminds them and the Israelite of Jacob’s blessing and name change from God. People ask “ well is this a sin to eat the thigh of an animal?” No this is the only time it is documented in the old testament. It was documented here for a representation of Jacob’s blessing from God.
Conclusion:
What can we learn from Jacob and his actions here,
Look at what is going on here, Jacob is letting the worldly things like his brother being upset with him get in his head, he tries taking matters in his own hands and flee and offer gifts to try and ease Esau, So what does God do.
Yes Jacob does pray before he tries to take matters in his own hands but he kinda lets his faith slip
God keeping Jacob in check, wrestling with him in flesh all night and Jacob perseveres through God’s test, Even though God does not take him out, He pushes Jacob to his limits, Thigh messed up, all the way to daybreak.
How many times do we let the stress of the world get into are heads so bad that we literally are staying up all night worrying and trying to come up with plans to ease matters. I know I’m guilty of it. Let Jacob’s story here be that example for us.
No matter what we are going through, stressing and trying to take matters in our own hands, Pray to God about the situation and let him guide us through it,
When we go through troubling times no matter how big or how small, that is God’s way of testing our faith, It is easy to follow him when everything is going great, when things in life start weighing you down that is when we truly need to let go and let God.
Use common sense which is a gift from God in itself to do the things we can handle , but when things get out of hand of the flesh, have faith and let God guide us through those troubles and use it as a time to show God how faithful you are and how submissive we are to him.
