Genesis 32.1-33.1-Jacob Walks By Faith As He Prepares To Meet Esau
Wednesday September 13, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 33:1-Jacob Walks By Faith as He Prepares to Meet Esau
Lesson # 204
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 32:1.
This evening we will review Genesis 32 and note Genesis 33:1, which reveals that Jacob is walking by faith and confident of the Lord’s protection as he prepares to meet Esau.
Genesis 32:1, “Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.”
Genesis 32:2, “Jacob said when he saw them, ‘This is God's camp.’ So he named that place Mahanaim.”
This encounter with the elect angels of God was designed to reassure Jacob once again of the divine presence and protection.
Genesis 32:3, “Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.”
Genesis 32:4-5, “He also commanded them saying, ‘Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now; I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.’”
Genesis 32:6, “The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, ‘We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.’”
Jacob sends a delegation to his brother in order to communicate to him his desire to reconcile with him but the delegation did not make contact with Esau and therefore, did not convey Jacob’s message to Esau.
Rather they simply turned around after seeing Esau coming with four hundred men and assumed that Esau had hostile intentions.
Genesis 32:7-8, “Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies; for he said, ‘If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.’”
Jacob’s response to this information from the delegation was to divide his family into two companies in order to save lives.
Genesis 32:9-10, “Jacob said, ‘O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you, I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.’”
Genesis 32:11, “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.”
Genesis 32:12, “For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’”
In Genesis 32:9-12, we see Jacob praying for protection from Esau and claiming the covenant promises of God in order to meet his fear of Esau, which demonstrates his faith in the Lord.
Genesis 32:13-15, “So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau: two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.”
Genesis 32:16, “He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, ‘Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.’”
Genesis 32:17, “He commanded the one in front, saying, ‘When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’”
Genesis 32:18, “then you shall say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’”
Genesis 32:19-20, “Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, ‘After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’ For he said, ‘I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.’”
Genesis 32:21, “So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.”
By faith Jacob sent these gifts to Esau as restitution for stealing the blessing of the birthright twenty years before and to demonstrate that his intentions towards Esau were not hostile but rather conciliatory.
Genesis 32:22, “Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.”
Genesis 32:23, “He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.”
Once again by faith Jacob sends his family across Jabbok and into the land of Canaan and is not operating in unbelief since if he was operating in unbelief he would have been afraid of Esau and would never have initiated contact with him and risk sending his family directly in his path.
Genesis 32:24, “Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.”
Jacob again demonstrates his faith in the Lord by sending away his family at night so he could be alone with the Lord in prayer, which also demonstrated his maturity as a believer.
In this passage, we saw something unusual take place, namely, Jacob wrestled the God-Man, the preincarnate Christ and which wrestling match was “symbolic” of Jacob’s struggles in life with men, which in reality were with God.
The fact that Jacob’s wrestling match with the Lord took place at night is symbolic of the divine discipline he underwent in the form of his fourteen years of hard labor for his deceitful uncle Laban.
The fact that the wrestling match ended at daybreak symbolized that Jacob was no longer under divine discipline but rather experiencing fellowship with God.
Genesis 32:25, “When he (the Lord) saw that he (the Lord) had not prevailed against him (Jacob), he (the Lord) touched the socket of his (Jacob’s) thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.”
The Lord did not prevail over Jacob in the sense that the Lord could not refuse Jacob’s prayer requests because they were according to His will and Jacob persevered in prayer.
The Lord dislocating Jacob’s hip symbolized that by means of the fourteen years of hard labor for Laban, which constituted divine discipline, the Lord had succeeded in getting Jacob to stop trusting in his own power to solve his problems and to depend upon the power of God.
Genesis 32:26, “Then he (the Lord) said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.’ But he (Jacob) said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’”
The fact that the crippled Jacob clung to the Lord and did not let Him go until the Lord blessed him indicates that Jacob had learned that the blessing of God must be obtained from God himself, and this must be done by clinging to Him in helpless dependence, not by trying to manipulate Him or fighting Esau.
Genesis 32:27, “So he (the Lord) said to him (Jacob), ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’”
Genesis 32:28, “He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.’”
The change of name from “Jacob” to “Israel” marks a change in Jacob’s character in the sense that no longer does he solve his problems with people by means of deception as denoted by the name “Jacob” but now solves them with the power of God by claiming the promises of God in prayer.
Genesis 32:29, “Then Jacob asked him and said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there.”
Genesis 32:30, “So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.’”
Genesis 32:31, “Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.”
Genesis 32:32, “Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.”
The fact that Jacob survives this encounter with God would reassure him since if he could survive this encounter with the Lord, the Creator and Sovereign ruler of creation, then it follows that he will be rescued in his encounter with his twin brother Esau and should therefore not fear Esau.
In Genesis 33:1, we see Jacob, now Israel meeting up with his family and caravan and preparing to meet Esau.
Genesis 33:1, “Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.”
The statement “Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold” brings the reader alongside of Jacob, capturing the scene for us, heightening the tension of the narrative, indicating the seriousness and magnitude of the moment.
The four hundred men was the standard size of a militia in the days of the patriarchs (1 Samuel 22:2; 25:13; 30:10; cf. Genesis 14:14).
Prior to Jacob’s encounter with the Lord at Peniel, Jacob questioned the purpose of Esau’s militia.
Was Esau using the four hundred men to attack Jacob or to receive his brother royally and escort him into the land of Canaan?
Jacob’s response to the news about Esau and his four hundred men, which is recorded in Genesis 32:7 indicates quite clearly that he was convinced that Esau had come to attack him.
News is known to travel with incredible speed in the Middle East as travelers have reported many times in the past.
Esau would have been informed about the arrival of Jacob’s caravan through reconnaissance by his men.
Now, from Esau’s perspective, based upon his past dealings with Jacob and his knowledge of the prophecy that the “older shall serve the younger” it is understandable that Esau protects himself and his family by going out to meet Jacob with four hundred men just in case Jacob’s intentions are hostile.
So Esau would have two questions in his mind, has Jacob come to attack me or is he coming with peaceful intentions?
Therefore, Esau would have been arriving with the four hundred men for either one of two reasons, one to protect himself in case Jacob attacks him or to welcome home his brother royally and escort him on home to their father.
Prior to Jacob sending the gifts to Esau as restitution for stealing the blessing of the birthright, Esau would have questioned Jacob’s intentions and he too would have been filled with uncertainty and anxiety as to the intentions of Jacob.
On the other hand, prior to Jacob’s wrestling match with the Lord, Jacob would have been filled with uncertainty and anxiety as to what the intentions of Esau might be.
However, Jacob’s fears have been calmed by his conversation with the Lord and Esau’s fears would have been calmed by the arrival of the gifts from Jacob.
Therefore, we see that God has softened the heart of both men throughout the past twenty years because both have been prospered by God, thus setting the stage for reconciliation between the two rather than war.
So the battle for Jacob has already been won, God has given him the victory without a sword being raised in anger.
1 Samuel 17:47, “the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S.”
Therefore, as Jacob approaches his encounter with Esau, he has no fear of being attacked because of the assurance that the Lord gave him at Peniel and is thus is walking by faith and trusting in the Lord.
There are several elements to this story of Jacob meeting Esau that indicate quite clearly that Jacob at this point in the narrative is operating in faith and “not” unbelief.
The fact that Jacob initiates contact with Esau and even risks sending his beloved wives and children ahead of him to meet Esau indicates quite clearly that Jacob is operating in faith and trusting the Lord to protect him and his family.
If Jacob was afraid of Esau he would never have risked initiating contact with Esau or risk sending his beloved family ahead of him in the path of Esau.
To cross at night with a vast entourage as Jacob did, was a difficult and dangerous operation, which could only be undertaken by moonlight and only under urgent circumstances, which this was.
By moving from the northern to the southern side of the Jabbok River, Jacob is placing himself and his family all the more quickly in the path of Esau, who was advancing from Seir in the south.
If he lived in fear of Esau, he would never undertake such an operation and risk his family’s safety or his own.
If you recall, Jacob told Laban that he left Paddan Aram in secret out of fear of Laban.
If Jacob was afraid of Esau, he would have slipped into the country secretly just as he left Laban in secret out of fear of Laban.
Therefore, it is clear that Jacob is operating in faith, resting in the promise of God to protect him and his family and if he wasn’t operating in faith, he would never have risked initiating contact publicly with Esau or risk sending his beloved wives and children ahead of him.
Faith produces courage whereas unbelief produces cowardice and so we see that Jacob’s faith has produced courage in his soul.
Biblical faith is trusting in the promises of God regardless of the circumstances or consequences and resting in them and is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.
The principle of faith operates quite simply: (1) God speaks and we hear His Word. (2) We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances are or what the consequences may be.
The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown but we obey God’s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best.
Jacob obeyed the Lord’s command to return to Canaan even though there was uncertainty as to Esau’s attitude towards him.
Hearing the Word of Christ produces faith in God (Rm. 10:17) and so we see that God’s Word motivated Jacob to walk by faith.
Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
The Christian soldier’s faith or total and absolute confidence in God’s faithfulness to His promises acts as a shield protecting his soul from the attacks of Satan and his kingdom of darkness, which come in the form of thought projections that are designed to produce doubt in God’s Word.
Ephesians 6:16, “In addition to everything, I solemnly charge all of you to take up for yourselves your shield, which is your faith because that will enable all of you to extinguish all the flaming arrows originating from the evil one.”
Jacob’s soul was protected from the attacks by the kingdom of darkness because of his faith in God and His promises.
The believer employs the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, by exercising faith in the Word of God, which is expressed by obedience and results in victory in spiritual combat.
Ephesians 6:17, “Also, I solemnly charge all of you to take hold of your helmet, which is your salvation as well as your sword that originates from the Spirit, which is, as an eternal spiritual truth, God’s Word.”
1 John 5:4, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith.”
Jacob will experience victory not only in spiritual combat with Satan and the kingdom of darkness but also victory with Esau in that they will be reconciled.
Faith in the Word of God appropriates the omnipotence of God.
Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’”
Jacob is not looking at Esau but looking to God and is thus operating in faith and concentrating on the Lord’s promise to protect him and is therefore appropriating the omnipotence of God to deal with this mountain in his life in the form of Esau.
God will reward our faith since it pleases Him and so God will reward Jacob for his faith in Him.
Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
By initiating contact with Esau and sending his family across the Jabbok, Jacob is taking into account God and acknowledging His character and nature, His presence and His Word in the form of His promise of protection.
Fear is not sin but becomes sin when we do not turn to God in prayer to overcome that fear and do not claim the promise of divine protection.
Jacob met his fear and anxiety with prayer and claimed the promises that God had made to him in the past of the divine presence, protection and prosperity.
Psalm 56:3-4, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?”
Jacob’s reconciliation with Esau is a perfect example as to how God turns the hearts of men wherever He wishes.
Proverbs 21:1, “The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
The Lord does “not” turn the hearts of men against their will but rather brings in people and circumstances, prosperity and adversity to do this.