Genesis 32:1

The Bible says in Genesis 32:1-2, “And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.” We can believe that the reason that God once again appointed His angels to appear to Jacob was to remind Jacob in this time of trial that God is always faithful in times of trial and that God faithfully keeps His promises. God was going to use every means necessary to protect Jacob. Jesus loves you as much as He loved Jacob. If you trust in Jesus, He will also use every means necessary to protect you and to provide for you.

God had sent Laban back to his home without harming Jacob. And now Jacob was traveling back to the land of Canaan where potentially a very angry Esau awaited Jacob. Jacob had just been reminded that God would take care of him, but Jacob also did his part to try to stay safe. Jacob did what he could to make the situation better. The Bible says in Genesis 32:3-23, “And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 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: 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. 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. 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; And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape. 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. 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. And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.”

When Jacob heard that Esau was coming towards him with four hundred men, Jacob understood that his fears about Esau were being realized. What did Jacob do? He turned to the Lord for help. Jacob prayed an intense prayer in Genesis 32:9-12. The Bible says, “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. 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 reminds the Lord that Jacob is only doing what the Lord has told him to do: returning to the land of Canaan. Also, Jacob makes it clear in his prayer that he is relying upon the promises of God. When we come to the Lord in prayer we must have some basis for confidence in God’s faithfulness. We can be confident that He hears our prayers, and that He is going to answer our prayers.

God’s great promises are the basis for that confidence that we have in Him. Because Jesus died for our sins and is our Savior, we are confident that we can come before the throne of grace and find help in time of need. Our own goodness is certainly not the basis for confidence before the Lord. Jacob understood that. Jacob said to the Lord, “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant.” An absolute requirement to true prayer is to confess to the Lord our own sinfulness. Jesus said in Matthew 6:12 that we should always pray, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Jesus also said in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Of course, the reason that forgiving others is so important is because we are all sinners. To come before God without admitting our sins is to deny the true essence of who we are and what we need from the great and holy God. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

The Bible says in Genesis 32:24-32, “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 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. 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. 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. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. 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.” There is an important symbolism to the fact that Jacob wrestled with God. It shows how greatly he desired to be blessed by God. This seeking after God is important. Some people have a small desire, but other people like Jacob have a great desire to be close to Jesus and to obtain His help. It says in James 6:16, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Jesus said in Matthew 7:7, “Seek and ye shall find.” He also said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Anyone can have a relationship with God through Christ, but you have to really want it. You have to look beyond your selfish nature and look beyond your troubles, and seek God with a great desire to be close to Him. Jacob wrestled with God, and Jacob would not let go until God blessed him. Jacob said to the Almighty, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” Because of Jacob’s persistence, and because of Jacob’s strong desire, the Lord said to Jacob, “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.” Whenever you hear the word “Israel,” let it be a reminder to you of the importance of seeking God with all your heart.

Jacob was given a reminder of the time when he wrestled with God. It says that Jacob “halted upon his thigh.” In other words Jacob had a limp for the rest of his life. Perhaps God gave this limp to Jacob to remind Jacob of what it takes to stay in fellowship with the Lord. It says in Isaiah 55:6, “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found: call ye upon Him while He is near.” Sometimes physical infirmities are used by the Lord for spiritual purposes in our lives. This certainly was the case in the life of the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 12:7-9, “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

After all of these years Jacob and Esau finally met once again. But Esau was not angry with Jacob as Jacob had feared. In order to protect Jacob, God changed Esau’s heart; just as God had changed Laban’s heart on the journey back to Canaan. The Bible says in Genesis 33:1-11, “And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.”

Genesis 33:4 made it clear that Jacob and Esau had a happy reunion. It says, “And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.” Jacob had become a person who gave God the glory for the good things that happened to him in his life. For example, concerning his family, Jacob said in Genesis 33:5, “The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.” And then concerning his material possessions, Jacob said to Esau in Genesis 33:11, “Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Learn to be thankful for the good things that God has done for you. Every believer has many good things that God has done for them. Of course, the most important thing that God has done for us is that Jesus came into this world and died for our sins. And when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, He personally visits each soul that is saved to draw that soul to Himself. We will be thankful to Him throughout eternity for His love and His grace to have died for us and to have saved us from our sins, so let’s be thankful to Him every day in this life also.

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