Jacob and Esau
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Jacob and Esau help me lord
Lesson 3
Prayer Points
1. Prayer for Those Who Are Unwell
We pray for all among us who are sick in body, mind, or spirit—that the healing power of Jesus would touch them.
Lord, bring comfort where there is pain, strength where there is weakness, and peace where there is anxiety.
We ask for wisdom and grace for doctors, nurses, carers, and families.
May those who are unwell know Your nearness and experience Your restoring love.
2. Prayer for the New Name and Identity of the Church
We thank You, Lord, for the new name Horizon Church, and for the new season it represents.
May this name speak of hope, new beginnings, and the promise of what You are yet to do.
Let our identity be rooted not in a name alone, but in faithfulness to Christ and obedience to Your Word.
Father, we pray that Horizon Church would be a light in this community.
May lives be changed, families restored, and hearts turned toward You through the witness of this church.
Open doors for genuine relationships, compassionate outreach, and gospel-centered influence.
Let our presence bring blessing, healing, and hope to this area.
4. Prayer for the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, we invite You to move freely among us.
Pour out fresh fire, fresh faith, and fresh hunger for God in every heart.
Renew our passion for prayer, holiness, and love for one another.
Equip us with spiritual gifts to serve, encourage, and build up the body of Christ.
5. Prayer for Personal Renewal
Lord, search each of us and renew us from the inside out.
Where there is weariness, bring renewal; where there is fear, bring faith.
Shape us to be more like Jesus in our words, actions, and attitudes.
Use each one of us for Your glory and for the good of others.
6. Prayer of Surrender and Trust
We place this church, this community, and our own lives fully into Your hands.
Lead us into the future You have prepared for us.
May everything we do bring honor to Your name.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord.
Prayer Points (Short Version)
Lord, we lift before You all who are unwell. Bring healing, strength, and peace, and let them know Your presence.
We thank You for this new season as Horizon Church. May this name reflect hope, faith, and new beginnings in You.
Let this church have a lasting impact on our community—bringing light, compassion, and the truth of the gospel.
Holy Spirit, pour Yourself out afresh on each one of us. Renew our hearts, deepen our faith, and stir our love for You.
Lead us forward in Your will, and may all we do bring glory to Your name. Amen.
A. Esau
The twins.
“God does not take us around the wrestling place. He takes us through it — and on the other side is a changed life.”
Lot was a righteous man. 2 Peter 2:7.
7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked
Question: So where did he go wrong?
Answer: He set his mind on the wrong things.
1. Abraham set his mind on the promises of God. Lot set his mind on the green grass and riches.
2. Abraham set his mind on that "city" which had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Lot set his mind on the city he could see, Sodom.
The spiritual man sets his mind on things above, he is dead to this world but alive to God for ever. The carnal man sets his mind on the things of the earth. When they fail, which they do, he loses all.
“Every person lives by something. The carnal man and the spiritual man are not defined by what they say they believe, but by what governs their lives.
Purpose — Esau lived for the moment. Jacob, even in his weakness, wanted God’s blessing. One lived for now; the other was reaching for eternity.
Love — Esau loved comfort more than promise. Jacob loved the blessing, even when he didn’t yet understand God. What we love most will always shape our choices.
Connection — Esau was connected to the flesh. Jacob, after Peniel, became connected to God. He stopped striving and started clinging.
So the real question is not, ‘Am I religious?’
The question is:
What is my purpose?
What do I love?
And what am I connected to?
Because whatever you put first will govern your life.”
Matthew 6:21 – “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
tonight as we go through the study key questions to ask yourself
Personal Reflection
Personal Reflection
Am I despising my spiritual birthright like Esau?
Am I striving like Jacob before God?
Have I surrendered like Israel?
21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” 24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
God had promised Abraham that through Isaac he would make a nation, a people of God, through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed. Isaac's wife Rebekah was chosen by God, but strangely she was barren for nearly 20 years until Isaac pleaded with God for her.
Isaac now had two sons to start that godly "line". But according to custom it was the elder son who inherited all the promises made by God to Abraham. This was his birthright.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
2. Esau despised his birthright.
Read Genesis 25:29-34
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) 31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” 33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.
If you had asked Esau, he would have strongly denied despising his birthright. However, his actions showed the truth. His belly came first. So, he proved himself "not worthy".
Read Hebrews 12:16
16 See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright.
(see also Matt. 10:38-39
38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
3. God rejected him.
Read Hebrews 12:16-17
16 See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright. 17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could find no ground for repentance, though he sought the blessing with tears.
read in context more closely
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. 5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. 6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” 7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? 10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. 12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. 13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. 14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. 16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. 17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.
we need to look at this more closely, Hebrews tells us that Esau was not rejected because God refused to forgive him, but because he had already made his choice. He despised his birthright, and when the moment passed, it could not be undone. Esau shows us the danger of living for the flesh—for comfort, appetite, and what feels good right now. Jacob was no hero either. He was a deceiver who trusted his own strength. But Jacob wanted the blessing, and God loved him enough not to leave him as he was. At Peniel, God met Jacob, broke his self-reliance, and turned him into Israel—a man who learned to cling instead of striving. This is the warning and the invitation for us today: God’s grace is real, but it must not be despised or delayed. What we put first reveals who we truly are—our purpose, what we love, and what we are connected to. And when we surrender those things to God, He does not reject us; He transforms us
What Governs My Life?
What Governs My Life?
1. Purpose
Why do I live?
What am I aiming for?
2. Love
What do I desire most?
What has my heart?
3. Connection
Who or what do I depend on?
Where do I draw life from?
“The story of Jacob and Esau teaches us something very important:
God does not bless the flesh — He transforms it.
Esau shows us the obvious carnal man. He lived for the moment, for appetite, for what he could touch and taste. And Scripture says he despised his birthright. Many people lose eternal things not because they hate God, but because they value other things more.
But Jacob is more challenging — because he wanted God’s blessing. He believed in God’s promises. Yet he lived carnally because he trusted himself. He thought, ‘If I’m clever enough, if I plan well enough, I can secure God’s blessing.’
And God loved him too much to leave him there.
That night at Peniel, God wrestled Jacob to the ground. God touched his strength and turned it into weakness. And when Jacob could no longer wrestle, he clung.
That is when Jacob became Israel.
Church, God does not turn carnal people into spiritual people by making them stronger — but by making them dependent. Paul said, ‘When I am weak, then I am strong.’
The question today is not who you were yesterday.
The question is: Are you still wrestling, or have you started clinging?
Because when we cling to God, we receive a blessing that the world cannot give — and we become a blessing to others.”
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
We know the story of how Rebekah and Jacob tricked Isaac when he was old and almost blind, so that Jacob received the blessing that Isaac intended for Esau, his favourite son. Genesis 27:1-41
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” 5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 9 Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. 10 And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.” 14 So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. 24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” 25 Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed! 28 May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!” 30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. 40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.” 41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
But we also read in Hebrews 11:20 that "by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come."
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
Question: Can we do the will of God by deceit?
Answer: Of course not. God was there, using the mistakes of men for His own purposes. God had set his love on Jacob. He would deal with that old deceitful nature later.
Notice this: Isaac trembled. Genesis 27:33. He knew by faith that God had allowed the blessing to go to his younger son. He does not pretend (there is no pretence in Isaac) but must give his beloved Esau the lesser blessing - and it was right!
33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!”
4. No repentance for Esau.
Read Hebrews 12:17.
17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
Esau made his choice when he sold his birthright.
He wept - for the earthly blessing - but planned in his heart to kill his brother. Later he tried hard to please his father, Genesis 28:8-9, but had no understanding of the eternal things.
8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. 9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son.
5. We have a birthright.
Read John 1:12-13.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Did you know that we have a birthright? We have!
We are not born with the right to the promises given to Abraham's sons, but "to as many as received Him (Jesus), he gave the right...". We have the right to become sons of God! Jesus bought this birthright for us on the cross. See Ephesians 1:3-5.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
Yet many do not choose to receive their birthright and instead choose fame or fortune, pretty girls, or peace with the family.
B. Jacob
1. The deceiver.
Scripture
Carnal Man: Romans 8:7
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Wrestling with God: Genesis 32:28
28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Spiritual Man: Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Read Genesis 27:35-36.
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
The name Jacob means a “deceiver”. wrong means heal grabber supplanter
The name Jacob derives from Hebrew roots meaning “he grasps the heel” or “he cheats, supplants.”1 However, the etymology is more complex than the biblical narrative suggests. The meanings appearing in Genesis—one connecting to “heel” and another to “deceive”—likely result from wordplay based on two separate Semitic roots, one meaning “heel” and another meaning “protect.”2
Jacob is probably an abbreviated form of “Jacob-El,” meaning “May El protect [him],” “El will protect [him],” or “El has protected [him].” like Elohim El Olam (“Eternal God”)1, El Elyon (“God Most High”)1, El Roi (“God who sees”)1, and El Shaddai (“God Almighty”).12 Given the difficult circumstances of Jacob’s birth, the reading of Jacob-El as “God protected [him]” seems most appropriate.2 This protective meaning appears in similar names throughout the ancient Near East, though it contrasts sharply with how the biblical text interprets the name.
The folk etymologies in Genesis reframe Jacob’s identity around his character rather than its original meaning. When Jacob was born grasping his brother Esau’s heel, the name became connected with “heel,” eventually coming to mean “heel-catcher,” and later figuratively “supplanter” or “deceiver.”3 The Ancient Israelites believed names reflected and influenced the bearer’s character and behavior, so Jacob meaning “to cheat/cheater” seemed to fit his actions.4
This tension between the name’s original protective meaning and its reinterpreted significance as “deceiver” underscores Jacob’s spiritual journey. God later changed his name to “Israel,”1 which means “he strives with God” or “God strives,”4 marking a transformation from trickster to one who contends with the divine itself.
wont use below
Question: Why did God choose this deceiver? Answer: Because God loved him.
Read Romans 9:13.
13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Not one of us can claim that God loves us because there is any good in us. Romans 3:10-11
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
2. God spoke to Jacob in a dream.
Read Genesis 28:10-22
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” 18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz. 20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”
a) Jacob did not know God. He appeared to Jacob as the God of Abraham and Isaac, so that Jacob knew who was speaking to him. Gen 28 13
13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.
b) In His grace God offered to bless Jacob, protect him and bring him back to his land. (verse 13-15).
Jacob's deceitful mind struck a bargain! "If you will be with me, provide for me and bring me back in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and I will..." (verse 20-21). Poor Jacob! He could not understand the generous heart of God.
c) God allowed the trickster to be tricked. Genesis 29:15-30 and Gen31:6-7. But He blessed him with children and cattle and brought him back.
6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.
C. Jacob comes face to face with God
1. He was full of fear.
Read Genesis 32:6-8
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, 8 thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”
Jacob was returning to Canaan with his wives and children, but he was full of fear because years ago Esau had vowed to kill him. He had the promise of God to protect him, but his faith was failing.
2. He prayed and put his own plans into action.
Read verses Gen32:13-23.
13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” 17 He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’ ” 19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him, 20 and you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp. 22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.
He sent off droves of animals, goats, sheep, cows, camels and donkeys, with servants to herd them, as gifts for his brother. Then he sent his own wives and children ahead of him. There was nothing more he could do. Only God could help him now.
3. Alone with God at last.
Read verse Gen32:24.
24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
A "man" (God Himself - see verse 30) wrestled with him until dawn. Jacob encountered the living God - and still he fought on.
Question: Why did God come to wrestle with Jacob?
Answer: Because Jacob, like many of us, was too strong in himself for God to bless him.
The old, clever Jacob would not believe that God truly loved him. He was still trusting in his own strength and wisdom. He ruled his own life and only prayed at difficult times! Just like many of us.
God had to come, like a mother to a struggling child and put His arms around Jacob.
4. Jacob struggled on.
Read verse Gen32:25.
25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
Still he fought for his "independence", until God injured him. Sometimes God has to do that with us - for our own good. See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. He always does it in love.
7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Illustration: When a man is drowning in deep water, and his rescuer tries to save him, the drowning man will sometimes panic and fight the rescuer. So, the rescuer may have to "knock him out" before he can pull him to safety.
5. Now Jacob clung to God.
Read verses 26-29.
He got the blessing, not by tricking his brother or his father, but from God Himself.
6. A new man.
Read verse 30-31.
a) No longer Jacob the deceiver, but Israel, prince with God, he limped as he traveled. No longer strong in his own strength, Israel was weak and dependent on God. See 1 Corinthians 1:27-29.
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
b) Now God could say, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." Matthew 22:31-32.
31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
He was never “the God of Esau”, even though Esau was a son of Isaac too. See Hebrews 11:9, "Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the promise".
9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
Question: How did Jacob, the deceiver, the man of the flesh, become Israel, the spiritual man, prince with God?
Answer: He had a personal encounter with the living God. God was no longer just his father's God, but now his own God.
D. Jacob and Pharaoh
Read Genesis 47:7-10.
7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
Question: Who gives the blessing, the greater man or the lesser man?
Answer: The greater blesses the lesser. Hebrews 7:7.
7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.
Near the end of his life, Jacob was introduced by his son Joseph to the richest and most powerful man of his time, Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
The old sheep farmer blessed the king of Egypt. Pharaoh could give Jacob nothing. Jacob had God.
The spiritual man blesses the rich and powerful of this world, because he possesses the real treasures. See Ephesians 1:3-4.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Memory verse
2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
