Genesis 32

But we’ll also see ourselves and our fight of faith that we’re in every day we remain in this world.

Let’s never forget what is maybe the most important verse in the bible that relates to bible study, the verse we repeat time and again, Romans 15:4

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

Despite the fact that Jacob was living in the flesh, or living according to this world’s way he’s still God’s man.

This’s good reason to be very careful about judging folk as to whether they’re Christians or not. There’s a lot of people who don’t look much like Christians from the outside but definitely are.

Likewise, there are many who look like they should be Christians by their outward appearance but who definitely are not.

Whether they are or not is in the hands of the Lord.

Jacob was God’s representative and His witness in the world at that time and up to now he hasn’t been the greatest ambassador, but he doesn’t continue that way because God’s going to deal with him.

God will actually cripple Jacob in order to get him and the Lord also disciplines us as we see in Hebrews  12:6,

for whom the lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. 

This is Jacob’s experience also. He got his degree at the college of life’s reality where Uncle Laban was headmaster of the school. It took him twenty years to get his degree, and he certainly worked for it. Old Laban changed the requirements ten times.

Every two years, Jacob had a new contract with Uncle Laban, and it was always to Jacob’s disadvantage.

We come now to this test, this turning point in which God’s going to deal with Jacob because he’s going to represent God.

God will deal with him and move in on him in this thirty–second chapter. We’ll see the outworking of Isaiah 40 verse 29 in this chapter,

He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.

This is also the experience of Jacob.

Let’s jump in at Genesis 32:1-2,

So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

God’s beginning to deal with Jacob directly in order to bring him into the place of fruit bearing and of real, vital service and witness for Him.

Laban departed from Jacob and headed back to Padan Aram. Now that he’s gone, Jacob continues his journey toward Canaan. While on his way “the angels of God met him.” The English word for angels comes from the Greek word aggelos which means a messenger.

We don’t exactly know what this means except that in some way, angelic beings, normally unseen, were now made visible to Jacob, and they met him. Perhaps God wanted Jacob to know how great His care was for him and his family.

There are a host of passages in the Bible relating to this. One is Psalm 34 verse 7,

The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. 

This wonderful revelation of God’s presence and care came after Jacob finally separated from Laban, the worldly man. Laban is a type, or a picture of the world.

Separation from the world brings greater insight to the believer.

Jacob sees the angels, knows he’s protected, and declares the name of that place Mahanaim meaning “this is God’s camp.” What’s amazing is that before he left Canaan 20 years earlier, when he woke from his sleep after his vision of the ladder he said, “Surely this is God’s house.” So here we have the house and the camp.

The difference is that a house is permanent and fixed, but a camp is moveable and changing. The house of God is heaven, His permanent dwelling, but the camp of God is where His presence is displayed and revealed among men.

The great Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “Our Mahanaims occur at much the same time as that in which Jacob beheld this great sight. Jacob was entering upon a more separated life. He was leaving Laban and the school of all those tricks of bargaining and bartering which belong to the ungodly world.”

Now to Verses 3 to 5,

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

And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. 

I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ‘ ” 

Jacob’s returning back to the land, and he fully remembers the last time he saw Esau twenty years ago when Esau was breathing out threats against him.

Jacob sends servants and instructs them what to say so that he’s humbling himself in order to gain Esau’s favour, and hopefully temper any anger he may still feel. He wants to restore a right relationship between them.

Jacob probably already has an idea about how Esau feels because he knows where Esau is living, even though it’s not the same place as when he left twenty years earlier.

They’ve possibly been in communication with each other, but any letters or messages may not have revealed to Jacob the true condition of Esau’s heart and so he’s being careful in his dealings with his brother.

Jacob wasn’t boasting when he mentioned his wealth. He wanted Esau to know that he was already a man of wealth and that he hadn’t come to take anything from Esau. Jacob tried to anticipate his brother’s thinking and to answer Esau’s concerns.

What this verse is picturing is clear. Esau is a picture of fallen humanity as we’ve seen previously, and Jacob here is picturing Jesus. The messengers Jacob sends before his arrival picture the prophets who’ve proclaimed the message of Jesus’ coming.

“Your servant is coming.” Time and time again that thought is seen in the Old Testament prophets.

One who would be King of Israel, the Messiah of the world, and yet a Servant to the world’s people. Isaiah 49 and verses 5 and 6 show us this as clearly as crystal,

“And now the LORD says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, And My God shall be My strength), 

Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” 

Jacob’s now been established as a people. He has a family who’ll become the tribes of Israel, he has a flock that represents the church, and he’s heading back to the land of Canaan to continue this journey. And so he continues in verse 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.” 

This message absolutely frightened poor Jacob because he didn’t know what it all meant. Esau didn’t give any hint about his intentions to the servants.

Jacob probably quizzed them thoroughly and may have said something like, “Did you detect any note of animosity or bitterness or hatred toward me?” And probably the servants said, “No, he seemed to be glad to get the information that you were coming to meet him, and now he’s coming to meet you.”

But the fact that Esau appeared glad was no comfort to Jacob. It could mean that Esau would be glad for the opportunity of getting revenge. Anyway, poor Jacob’s upset.

In the 20 years since Jacob left, Esau’s become a prominent chieftain. He’d married daughters of the Hittites and also of Ishmael and he’d consolidated power among them. This is evident by the large force he’s bringing along.

Jacob’s very uneasy as we’ll see in the next verse.

The number 400 is given here and it’s precise. God could have simply stated that Esau came with a large army of his people, but instead, the number 400 was given. Why?

We’re going to include something very interesting here about this inclusion of the number 400.

Numerals in the bible are a powerful signature from God, way beyond the ability of any human to integrate into anything more than an occasional sentence let alone an entire book. If you like it’s a seal of God.

Without going into the significance of numbers in the Bible, that’s beyond the scope of this bible study, we can summarise by saying that the number 400 is a product of 8 and 50. A product is where 2 numbers can be multiplied to get that number. In other words 8 times 50 = 400. We must remember also that in the original Hebrew, numbers have corresponding words.

The word for 8 has 2 words which can mean ” to make fat” or “cover with fat” and “one who abounds in strength” or “abundant fertility” depending on how they’re used. Both give the impression of superabundance. Eight is the number for “superabundance”.

Fifty is the number of jubilee or deliverance.

It points to deliverance and rest following the perfect completion of time. And so 400 is the product of 8 and 50. It is a divinely perfect period resulting in rest.

It’s the time frame used by God to indicate the bondage of the people from Abraham until the Exodus which is recorded in both Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6.

Genesis 15:13 reads,

Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 

Acts 7:6 reads,

But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.

Now all of this might seem like over-analysing or reading too much into the simple fact that a bunch of Edomites rode across the land on camels, but it’s not.

The number 400 here is pointing to the entire time of man’s history as a people, from their time in Eden, all the way through the kingdom age and the millennial reign which is still future to us now.

As we’ve seen, it’s a divinely perfect period resulting in rest.

To Genesis 32:7-8,

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. 

And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.” 

Jacob’s in a bad way. He has no idea what Esau’s intentions are, especially since he’s coming with 400 people.

He becomes afraid and distressed. Jacob has no idea what Esau’s intentions truly are, and he becomes afraid and distressed.

His fear and distress are starting to show a lack of trust in the very promises of God that he’d been given. His worry is his weakness as he struggles with what lies ahead.

With this brother of his coming to him, he divides up his group. He reasons that if his brother strikes one group, then the other one can escape.

Jacob is so unsure of the outcome that he takes this course of action.

Notice what Jacob does now. He appeals to God in his distress.

Verses 9  and 10,

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’: 

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. 

This man now appeals to God and cries out to Him on the basis that He is the God of his father Abraham and the God of his father Isaac.

Now we’re detecting a change in Jacob’s life.

This is the first time we’ve ever heard him say, “I’m not worthy of the least of your mercies.”

For the first time, he’s acknowledging that he might be a sinner in God’s sight. Do you know that there are a great many “Christians” who do not acknowledge that they are sinners?

Guys, we’re all sinners. We’re saved only by God’s Grace. As long as we’re in this life, we have that old nature that isn’t fit to be in the presence of God. And, you know, God’s not going to let it into His presence.

That’s the reason God had to give us a new nature; the old one wasn’t even fit to repair.

Old Jacob’s now beginning to understand his lack of worthiness. When any of us begins to move toward God on that basis, we’ll find that God will communicate with us.

So, Jacob’s now relying on God to continue to accomplish His word and so he begins his prayer as “O God of my father Abraham and God my father Isaac.” Jacob prays to God. Not anything or anyone else.

Notice that Jacob isn’t praying to the idols that Rachel brought along, and he’s also not praying to the angels that he saw in the camp of God.

Never once in the Bible is prayer allowed to be to or through anyone but God. Prayers to Mary, to the saints, to angels, or anyone or anything else is not only frowned on, it’s forbidden.

Jacob knew this and we should too. A prayer to anyone or anything other than God is a failure to give Him the credit and glory that He alone is due.

He’s bringing to remembrance the covenant which has been passed down two generations already and of which he is the most recent recipient. This God, who transcends time and exists throughout the generations is the same God who was there with his fathers – Abraham and Isaac.

Some people simply know Who God is.

They can look around the earth at all the splendour of God’s creation and the wisdom it displays and they can tell that God is a great God; a majestic and wise Creator.

Jacob, like his fathers, knew this.

The balance and precision of nature shout out the wisdom of the Creator and the intricacy of His creation.

As people begin to turn their focus more and more on the material goods, entertainment and temporary achievements this world offers, they quickly lose these thoughts and God becomes an afterthought in the business of life. Eventually, He’s no longer even an afterthought; He’s first denied and then despised.

Those who experience God’s handiwork appreciate the mercies of the Lord more directly. Every meal is a gift and every breath is a blessing. To the others who ignore Him, they look to what they think they deserve, “I’ve done this.” “I have a right to this” “It’s all about me.”

Jacob’s been a man of the land and he’s been wholly dependent on God for everything he has.

Jacobs states his own unworthiness.

As tough as this sounds, it’s reality. If nothing else clues us in to our own unworthiness, the cross certainly should. If the death of Jesus was necessary for us to live, then how unworthy we truly are.

Jacob was on the other side of the cross and even he could figure this out. It’s amazing that so many of us still can’t. Without the cross, we too will perish. We must choose wisely how we deal with it.

Jacob states: “For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two companies.”

He went over the Jordan with just his walking stick, his staff, that’s all he had. Now he’s coming back, and he’s become two companies.

Jacob crossed the Jordan with very little of his own. And now, before crossing the Jordan again and returning to Canaan, he’s become two entire companies of people.”

We should let the Lord know that we know that every blessing we have has been given by His grace, and we can take credit for none of it.

Tell Him, not because He needs to know. He already does. Tell Him because you’re acknowledging to Him that YOU know it was Him all along.

Verses 11 and 12

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. 

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.’ ” 

Jacob really cried out to God. That night was a very difficult night for him. Notice he’s concerned about the Lord’s honor. He’s told Him as much already by bringing the covenant to mind.

If he and his family are destroyed, then the covenant promises will be made void and it is the Lord’s honor that would suffer. The Lord would be untrustworthy and His Word meaningless. This is not only Jacob’s concern, it’s Jacob’s reminder.

Now to verses 13 to 15,

So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: 

two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. 

Jacob is going to be pretty generous with the stock he’s going to give to Esau.

Verse 16,

Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”

This is Jacob’s tactic.

He’ll send out a drove, a very rich gift, for his brother, and when that first drove arrives, Esau will say, “What’s this?”

The servants will reply, “We’re bringing you a gift from your brother Jacob.” Esau will receive that gift and then ride on a little farther to meet another drove of the same size. He’ll ask the servants, “Where are you going?” and they’ll say, “We’re going to meet Esau with a gift from his brother Jacob.” And he’ll say, “I’m Esau.”

So, by the time Esau gets down to where Jacob and the family are, he’ll be suitably softened.

Jacob’s prayed to God and reminded the Lord, that told him to return to his country and that he promised to protect him. But does he really believe God?

Maybe yes and maybe no. He goes right ahead and makes these arrangements, which, on the surface could reveal that he isn’t trusting God.

However, just because we ask for something from God, it doesn’t in any way stop us from acting.

The old saying, “Help yourself and God will help you” was as true for Jacob as it is for us.

The great preacher Matthew Henry once wrote, “God answers our prayers by teaching us to order our affairs with discretion. Jacob prayed, and now he’s acting with discretion.”

Even the book of Proverbs shows this is true. Proverbs 18:16 reads,

A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men. 

The Word of God is a is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path Psalm 119:105 tells us. In other words, the Word is guiding us as we walk.

On the other hand, many of us take our burdens to the Lord in prayer. We spread them out before Him then when we’re finished praying, we get up and put each little burden right back on our own back and carry on tring to cope with them ourselves.

We often don’t really believe Him, do we? Thank God that He’s so faithful anyway.

Verses 17 to 20 of Genesis 32,

And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ 

then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” 

So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”

Esau will be met by one drove after another like that. This is the plan that Jacob’s working on.

Genesis 32:21-23

So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp. 

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. 

He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. 

This is the night of the great experience in Jacob’s life.

The land where he crossed the Brook Jabbok is very desolate even today. The crossing there at the Brook Jabbok is a very bleak place in very mountainous and very rugged country.

Here’s where Jacob came that night and he’s not a happy man. He is filled with fear and doubts. He had mistreated Esau. God had never told him to get the birthright or the blessing in the way he did.

God would have given it him because He said He would. That night Jacob sends all that he has across the Brook Jabbok, but he stays on the other side so that, if his brother Esau comes, he might kill Jacob but spare the family. And so Jacob’s left alone.

Verses 24

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 

This is the question: Who is this one who wrestled with Jacob that night in the most famous wrestling match ever?

There has been a great deal of speculation about who it is,  but really it was none other than God Himself.

Hosea 12:2-6 testifies to this,

“The LORD also brings a charge against Judah, And will punish Jacob according to his ways; According to his deeds, He will recompense him. 

He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength, he struggled with God. 

Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, And there He spoke to us— That is, the LORD God of hosts. The LORD is His memorable name. 

So you, by the help of your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually. 

It was God in human form and therefore really can be no other than Jesus Christ.

Most say it was the pre-incarnate Christ, Christ before His virgin birth 2000 years ago. It could well have been but there’s another absolutely fascinating angle that has to do with time.

We know that we as humans living on this earth are subject to time. Time rules everything we do. However, God is not subject to time. He is eternal. Eternity is not a long time, it’s outside of the time dimension altogether.

In light of the fact that God is outside our time dimension Jesus, Who is God could have easily appeared to Jacob here on this night AFTER His birth, death and resurrection some 1700 years in the future. He could have appeared the same way in all the other occurrences in the Bible where God appeared to humans, and there are many. This is almost impossible for us to imagine in our natural mind because we simply can’t grasp eternity or timelessness.

But we can be sure that whatever form He took it was God.

Jacob’s descendants, his people, beloved of God and with whom continues the everlasting covenant promises, are the people who ushered in the Messiah, and to whom this Messiah will return again someday when they call on Him as Lord.

This is the people Israel and today we’ll see the renaming of Jacob to reflect the coming struggles with God.

The night-time struggle is a struggle all of us need to remember and reflect on all our days as we live in God’s presence.

Now, there is no way we can do this great chapter justice in the short study. The great intricacies and details of this chapter such as the 5 groups of gifts, the 2 wives, the concubines, the children the droves, the servants, the messages all contain types or pictures of the nation Israel, the Church and each of us individually and could all be studied for a lifetime and still have gaps that God needs to fill in.

Verses 25

Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.

Old Jacob is not going to give up easily; he’s just not that kind of man—and he struggled against Him. Finally, this One who wrestled with him crippled him.

Verses 26

And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”.

What happens now?

Jacob’s just holding on; he’s not doing the wrestling you see. He’s just holding on to this One.

He’s already found out that you do not get anywhere with God by struggling and resisting. The only way that you get anywhere with Him is by yielding and just holding on to Him. Abraham had learned that, and that is why he said amen to God. He believed God, and He counted it to him for righteousness.

Abraham reached the end of his rope and put his arms around God. Friends, when you get in that condition, then you trust God. When you’re willing to hold on, He’s there ready to help you.

Verses 27 to 28

So He said to him (that is God said to Jacob), “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 

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.” 

He’s not Jacob anymore—the usurper, the trickster—but he’s Israel. Now the new nature of Israel will be manifested in the life of this man.

Verses 29 to 30

Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. 

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” 

Jacob had seen the Angel of the Lord, in whatever form, the pre-incarnate Christ or the post-incarnate Christ.

Verses 31 to 32

Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. 

Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank. 

God had to cripple Jacob in order to get him, but He got him.

Jacob refused to give in at first and that was typical of him. He knew a few holds, and he thought that after a while he would be able to overcome. Finally, he found out he couldn’t overcome, but he would not surrender. And so what did God do? Certainly, with His superior strength, in a moment God could have pinned down Jacob’s shoulders but He wouldn’t have pinned down his will. He wasn’t ready to yield.

Notice how God deals with him. He touches the hollow of Jacob’s thigh. Just a touch of the finger of God, and this man becomes helpless. But you see, God’s not pinning down his shoulders.

Now Jacob holds on to Him. The Man says, “Let Me go,” and Jacob says, “No, I want Your blessing.” He’s clinging to God now. The struggling and striving are over, and from here on Jacob is going to display a spiritual nature, dependence upon God.

You won’t find the change happening at a moment’s notice. We’re creatures of habit. This man will lapse back into his old ways many times, but we begin to see something different in him now. Before we’re through with him, we’ll find that he really is a man of God.

First, we saw him at his home and then in the land of Haran where he was a man of the flesh. Here at Peniel, at the Brook Jabbok, we find him fighting. After this, and all the way down into Egypt, we see him as a man of faith. First a man of the flesh, then a man who is fighting and struggling, and finally a man of faith.

In the New Testament another young man, a son of Jacob by the name of Saul of Tarsus, tells us his struggle in chapter 7 of Romans.

There were three periods in his life. When he was converted, he thought he could live the Christian life. That’s where many of us make a mistake. When we became a Christian, we think we can live the Christian life in our own efforts. We think it’s easy but we fail dismally. We can’t do it. That’s where Paul had his problem. He tells us about it in Romans 7 verse 19,

For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.

Paul found out that not only was there no good in the old nature, but there also was no strength or power in the new nature.

Finally, we hear him crying out in Romans 7:24,

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Then something happened, and in verse Romans 7:25 he says,

I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

That’s the way that it is with all of us. We have that old nature, and it can’t do anything that will please God. In fact, Paul went on to say in Romans 8 verses 7 to 8 that it was against God.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

We can’t please God in the flesh. Finally, Paul found victory by yielding to the Spirit of God. What the law could not do, the Spirit now is able to do in our lives. How do we do it? It is not until we yield to Him that we can please Him. Yield means that it is an act of the will of a regenerated person submitting himself to the will of God. And that’s exactly what Jacob did.

Jacob won, but he got the victory, not by fighting and struggling, but by yielding.

What a picture we have here, and we are told in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 11,

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

That’s you and me guys.

Until next time may the Lord make His Word real to you and may He bless you and keep you in His wonderful care.