|
Genesis Chapter Thirty-two
Preface
This chapter is noteworthy on at least three plateaus—historical, spiritual, and symbolic. It depicts an historical event in the life of Jacob as he leaves the land of Haran to return to the land of Canaan. Additionally, it provides the account of Jacob’s name-change to that of “Israel.” Along with these historical facts, this chapter relays the significantly spiritual change in Jacob’s character, which transformed him from a person previously known as a “supplanter” and “deceiver” (schemer and conspirator) to a person who was indeed humble before his God.
But significant to the Christian of today is the symbolism of this chapter as it relates to the two natures that exist within every believer, a duality that results in a continuous conflict between good and evil and that is resident within each believer as long as he retains his physical body. This clash between natures is a major focus of the apostle Paul in chapter 7 in his epistle to the Romans. But a careful examination of the spiritual transformation of God’s chosen man from a “Jacob” to an “Israel,” reflects key elements in how this war within each believer may be won to the glorification of God.
From this chapter onward Jacob is recognized by God with the name Israel. The name Israel will progress from its inception to mean all the Jews, God’s chosen people.
Israel. The name Israel first appears in Gen 32:28, where the Angel of the Lord bestowed it upon Jacob (q.v.) during His encounter with him at Peniel. . . .
The national designation of the Hebrew people was “the sons of Israel” rather than “the sons of Jacob” by the time the members of Joseph’s family had multiplied (Ex 1:9, 12) and were ready to leave Egypt for the Promised Land under Moses’ leadership (Ex 2:23, 25; 3:9; etc.). The expression “sons of Jacob” never appears in the Pentateuch after the book of Genesis (where it occurs only in connection with Jacob’s immediate children). For the sake of brevity the “sons of” was occasionally omitted, and “Israel” by itself could refer to the Hebrews as a race. Thus the pursuing Egyptians by the Red Sea were quoted as saying, “Let us flee from the face of Israel,” when they found themselves bogged down and threatened with destruction (Ex 14:25). . . .
In the days of Moses, Yahweh (“Jehovah”) declares Himself to be the Father of Israel: “Israel is My son, even My firstborn” (Ex 4:22); in 5:1 (ASV) we read: “Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Let My people go. . . .” As “Israel” the Heb. nation was to play a special role as a theocracy governed by the specially revealed law of God, and He was to be their only King. The powerful leader Gideon reaffirmed this principle when he rejected the proposal to make him king over Israel, saying, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah shall rule over you” (Jud 8:23, ASV). Even when a human king was at last anointed by the prophet Samuel, it was made clear that he was chosen and appointed by Yahweh, and was under obligation to obey His law (1 Sam 10:25; 12:13-15, 24-25). (Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Professor of Old Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois)
And to this day God’s purpose and plan for Earth, even the Universe, always includes and to a great extent centers around His chosen people Israel. They are a people that could never be erased from the face of the earth, the plight of so many individual races throughout history. No man or demonic being could ever eliminate them, even though many have tirelessly tried. Although scattered throughout the world for a time, they have now came back and continue to come back to their home land also known by the name of Israel aside the Mediterranean Sea in the Middle East. From this land they never more shall be moved!
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.
It is unclear from the text why the angels of God met Jacob as he was traveling toward Canaan. When Jacob departed Canaan to travel to Haran, he experienced the angels of God in a dream. In coming back “home,” he sees them from an awakened state. Apparently there may have been a number of them, which may have been indicative of their protective nature and similar to the number of angles that protected Elisha in 2 Kings 6:15-17. He then names the place “Mahanaim,” which means “two camps.”
The concept of two camps, one of man and one of God, is established early in this chapter, a symbol of the two natures of the believer. This symbolism as it relates to the two natures of a believer—one of evil (“sin nature”) resident from physical birth and received by means of the blood-line down from Adam, and one of Deity (“new creation”) acquired at the spiritual “new birth” by faith alone in Christ alone and transmitted through the workings (baptism and sealing) of the Holy Spirit—would be a “stretch” in interpretation if it were not for the latter part of this chapter revealing the spiritual struggle of Jacob that transforms him from a “Jacob” into an “ Israel.”
Genesis 32:3-5 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 was always disposed to orchestrating his own fate. The last time he had seen Esau, his brother was prepared to kill him for stealing his birthright (Genesis 25:33) and the family blessing (Genesis 25:29—27:42). Esau was so enraged that he had vowed to kill Jacob as soon as their father, Isaac, died (27:41).
Now Jacob was about to meet his brother for the first time in 20 years, and he apparently was fearful of the reunion and what it might propagate. He therefore sent a messenger ahead with a message implying gifts from his accumulation of wealth. Jacob was hoping to buy Esau’s favor.
Genesis 32:6-8 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.” 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.”
Now Jacob was definitely afraid. Upon hearing that Esau was coming toward him with a sizeable force of 400 men, he determined that his brother’s advance was not for Jacob’s betterment. Jacob then divided his people and his wealth into two companies (or camps) in the hope that should Esau attack one of them the other would escape.
This immediate action, which stemmed from Jacob’s basic nature, a nature determined to establish his own destiny through self-effort, is symbolic of the believer today who endeavors to live his life apart from God’s grace-provision of the Holy Spirit, whose “filling” can only be activated through cleansing (1 John 1:9) and faith (Colossians 2:6). Instead of “looking up” in faith and doing it “God’s way,” the carnal believer will “look within” to self to solve life’s problems and face life’s options “his way.”
Genesis 32:9-12 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. 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.’”
Then, almost as an after-thought, Jacob appeals to God. This is somewhat like the believer who, while facing a dilemma in life, determines by himself and acts to handle the difficulty and then prays to God to bless “his” decisions and actions.
Jacob’s prayer was based on the ground of the covenant-relationship that Jehovah had established with him and his forefathers. But the significance of the prayer is not so much in that he knew the correct basis for his appeal; but that it revealed a modicum of humility, something which heretofore was never a part of Jacob’s nature. It appears that faced with such impending danger, Jacob is coming to the realization that he cannot by his own authority and facility control his destiny.
This often occurs in the Christian life, and that is why it is unwise for a Christian to judge another Christian’s spiritual life. “By their fruit you shall know them,” may only be a reflection of self that the adjudicator is unable to fairly perceive. It is prudent to leave such judgments up to God. The point is this. No Christian is without sin (1 John 1:8) and it is entirely possible for a Christian, a child-of-God who is sealed for all eternity by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 4:30—the guarantee of eternal life), to yield back to his “sin nature” and thereby become a disobedient child who produces works of “wood, hay and straw,” only for such efforts to be eventually consumed by God’s judgment fire, yet he himself will be saved (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).
This author knows for certain that this wayward journey away from the roots of salvation is possible and may last for a lengthy amount of time. The Bible clearly states that God the Father will discipline (“spank”) His wayward children whom He loves (Hebrews 12:5-11; Revelation 3:19). In fact, a believer’s wayward journey may become so severe that God takes His child prematurely into heaven (I Corinthians 5:5), only to later, when faced with God’s judgment of his life, suffer the loss of rewards that could have come his way (1 Corinthians 3:14, 15).
Now the road back for a wayward child of God into God’s gracious favor may be instantaneous as a result of a traumatic experience in his life; or, it may be sparked with such an event and then continuously improve over time as he is guided by the Holy Spirit. Such is the case here with Jacob. He makes a start, and his road back will become clear. But of utmost importance to the believer then, as well as today, is that God will never forsake a person who by faith alone in Christ alone has become His child. Just as God’s covenant with Abraham is dependant only upon the nature and guarantee of God, so is God’s covenant of grace to those who truly believe in His Son for their personal salvation.
Genesis 32:13-21 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. 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.” 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.” So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.
The following commentary from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Moody Press, Chicago, 1962) is most appropriate:
The present (AV), or “gift minha” was an elaborate one, consisting of at least 580 beasts from Jacob’s choice herds and flocks. The “minha” was the usual present given to a superior with the intent of securing favor and good will. Jacob said: I will appease (kipper) him (v. 20). The word is a significant one in its reference to atonement. Its literal sense is, “I will cover.” By means of the gift, Jacob hopes to “cover” Esau’s face so that he would overlook the injury and dismiss his anger. His next word—so that he will accept me—is, literally, “so that he will lift up my face.” This is symbolic language, indicating full acceptance after forgiveness.
Although, at least from this commentator’s view, Jacob had initiated a corrective path to God through a smidgen of humility, he continued his efforts to do things his way. Instead of wholly trusting in God for a changed-heart in Esau, he orchestrated a series of offerings that would hopefully achieve his brother’s favor.
Christians often follow the same path. Instead of trusting in God and relying on His power for success in the spiritual life, many choose to come to their own conclusions and make their own decisions regarding appropriate (good) works. They quickly forget that their “righteousness” is as “filthy rags” in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6). Their “good works” could not save them, and any “good works” accomplished in their own power (“human good”) will achieve them no credit before God. It is only through “divine good” (works that are generated via faith under the power of the Holy Spirit) that God’s approval and eternal favor is achieved.
Genesis 32:22-32 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. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 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. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” So He said to him, “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.” 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. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” 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.
Here in this passage is the most significant event in Jacob’s life. Still in fear he attempted to secure safety for his family by sending them across the Jabbok, an eastern tributary of the Jordan River, 60 miles long, and now called Nahrez-Zerqa from the blue look of its water.
Then, alone on the other side of the Jabbok, “a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.” Here is another theophany (appearance of the preincarnate Christ) that is confronted by Jacob who is endeavoring to achieve “his” will. Jacob struggles with the Man until daybreak and refuses to quit; whereupon, the Man touches Jacob and weakens him. At this point Jacob can only “hang on,” and refuses to let go until he is blessed. Then comes Jacob’s crowning moment when he confesses to the Man that his name is “Jacob,” which means “supplanter” or “deceiver.” And upon this confession, the Man (God) changes Jacob’s name to Israel (one who has strived and persevered).
Although this wrestling experience between God and Jacob was indeed physical in nature; one may also see it symbolically as an experience of prayer, in which Jacob laid hold on God in a most tenacious effort to receive deliverance. Whether the circumstance was physical or a prayerful state, the results are the same. Once Jacob was suitably weakened and came to the end of himself (true and complete humility), he could only hang on to God by faith. And because of this non-meritorious act of genuine trust, God blessed him with a suitable name change to Israel, which also may be translated “a prince of God.”
God gave several people new names in the Bible (Abraham, Sarah, Peter). These new names were symbolic of how God had changed their lives. In this passage the reader sees how God changed Jacob’s character. Jacob, the ambitious deceiver, had now become Israel, the one who struggles with God (in faith) and overcomes.
For the Christian today, an experience of this nature is necessary. When the believer finally comes to his “end,” admitting that he has no power to affect the approbation (favor) of God, and simply submits by faith to God for the “filling” (control) of the Holy Spirit, then only can he achieve success in his spiritual life.
Jacob had this experience with God, and he named the place “Peniel,” because he thought he had seen the very “face of God.” In reality, he had experienced God in as real a manner as is available to man, through the agency of faith. All the rest of his life he would be crippled; yet his limp would be a reminder of his new royalty.
It is understood that verse 32 is still true among orthodox Jews today. The sciatic nerve, or thigh vein, must be removed from the slaughtered animal before that portion of the animal may be prepared for consumption.
And this commentator would be remiss in not sharing the closing commentary on this chapter by J. Vernon McGee in his Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1981).
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 is 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 manifest a spiritual nature. Psychologists tell us that certain synaptic connections are set up in our nervous systems so that we do things by habit. We are 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 are through with him, we will find that he is a real 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 through 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 the 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 I made my mistake also. When I became a Christian, I frankly thought I could live the Christian life. After all, Vernon McGee didn’t need any help. I thought it was easy, but I didn’t “do” it, and that was the hard part. That is where Paul had his problem: “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Rom. 7:19).
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, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24). Then something happened, and in verse 25 he says, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. . . .” It is through Him that you will have to do all your thanking, because that is where your help is going to come—through Him. “. . . So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (Rom. 7:25). That is the way that it is with all of us. We have that old nature, and it cannot do anything that will please God. In fact, Paul went on to say that it was against God.
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7-8). We cannot 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 does one do it? It is not until you and I 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 is 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 in him, and we are told that all these things happened unto them as examples to us (see 1 Cor. 10:11).
To yield is an exercise of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The key is found in Colossians 2:6—As [in the manner] you have therefore received [by faith alone] Christ Jesus the Lord, so [in the same manner, by faith] walk [live the spiritual life] in Him. And this is the predominate lesson to be learned in this chapter of Genesis. Secondly, it is the chapter in which the Bible student is introduced to the name Israel—the name of God’s chosen people and the parcel of land that God promised to them and which rightly belongs to them by Divine decree, part of which they occupy in the Middle East today. For more on Israel and God’s design for his people and their land, access www.focusonjerusalem.com. |