- What is the signficance of Mahanaim?
- (It doesn't say) When he left the land, Jacob had seen angels, and now when he arrives back, Jacob sees angels
- Additionally, this is the edge of the land of Israel. Angels are encamped around the border of the promised land
- Two camps
- God's camp and Isaac's camp, vs 1-2
- Spiritual and a physical camp, vs 1-2 (meaning of Mahanaim: double host or double camp)
- His group is divided into groups, vs 7
- Thankfulness for two groups, vs 10
- Theme of messengers (what is the message? To Jacob?)
- Angels are messengers to Jacob
- ?Reminder of protection?
- Jacob sends messengers to Esau
- Why does Jacob send the original messengers to Esau?
- "To find favor in his eyes" is the message
- (It doesn't say exactly) He could be telling Esau that he will not be a burden
- It could be that he is facing his past and his sins head on
- Why does Esau come with 400 men?
- Gen 27:40 (NIV) 40 You will live by the sword
- Esau was a hunter, and Esau lived by conquering others
- The news put Jacob in great distress, what does he do and why?
- He divides his family and possessions into two groups
- He does this so that one group might survive (he is practical)
- Additionally, he gives gifts to Esau
- Interesting thing about the gifts. What had Jacob stole from Esau and what was he giving him now?
- He prays (verse 9-12)
- Jacob had prayed once before, how does his previous prayer and this prayer compare
- First prayer or vow: arrogant, me-centered, conditional on God's carrying out His promise (Gen 28:20-22)
- Second prayer: humble, others-centered, relies on God's promises (Gen 32:9-12)
- APPLICATION:
- It is okay and good to take action to solve a problem, but it also requires prayer
- The last 20 years have changed Jacob. It took a while but he is different because of what God has been doing
- As you observe this passage, what do you see?
- Jacob is sending a lot
- Jacob seems to be bribing him (but maybe Jacob realizes his deception)
- Jacob is being prudent and prayerful
- This is a very strange story and much of the detail is left out by God as he relates the story to Moses. Consequently, some things are just not important to know
- First, of all, what is Jacob's circumstance as night falls
- He is alone
- He is distressed
- He begins wresting with a man
- Who is the man?
- It is God (verse 30)
- What is the point of the wrestling all night until daybreak?
- Jacob saw his life as wrestling with men (vs 28)
- Jacob really had been wrestling with God all his life (vs 28)
- Jacob wanted material blessings through deceit, now Jacob wanted God's blessing
- Why would Jacob not let go (meaning of the word prevail in this case, Jacob would not release God)?
- Because now he wanted God's blessing and he would settle for nothing less. He was tired of his way of seeking blessing
- The Israelites believed that if you knew a person or thing's name, you could exercise control
- God does not provide his name, because God is telling Jacob that he (Jacob) cannot control God
- "One wonders if 'Why is it that you inquire about my name?' [v. 29] is another way of asking, 'Jacob, don't you realize who I am?'" (Hamilton)
- God does exercise control over Jacob, to the point that God renames Jacob
- No longer, deceiver or trickster -- his original name, but now Israel, the man who struggles with God or God's warrior
- NOTE: When was the last time someone asked Jacob his name? The last time someone asked Jacob his name, he lied (and said he was Esau)
- God gives Jacob a new name and what else? Why?
- Jacob has a limp (it literally changed his walk … this is what any encounter with God should do to us spiritually)
- Reminder of the struggle and who he was really struggling with all those years
- He was never struggling with Laban
- Jacob has always been struggling with God
- APPL: Who are we struggling with? Sometimes it is easy to think it is a neighbor or coworker or boss, but maybe it is God, because we don't want to learn the lesson that God is trying to teach us?
- What had God promised Jacob?
- That he would protect him
- What had God been doing since Jacob left (in Esau)?
- Changing Esau's heart (remember Gen 27:41)
- It is quite possible that Esau might have been a very bitter and angry man, but Esau had changed too. The story of Esau's life is probably a good story as well, but it is not part of the story of God's salvation
- Gen 33: 9, 11 -- both men say that they "have enough" -- both men were content
- APPL: Each of us has a story. And none of our stories are complete, no matter how old we are. If we are willing to walk with God, he can still do tremendous things in our life.
- My nickname in the ministry was "man of war." It was not because of my hobby, wargames, but because of my interpersonal approach to people and their spiritual walk. If you didn't have your bible study done or your verse memorized, I sent you to another room to work on it. I was knowledgeable, but my life didn't reflect God's kindness
- Jacob's vocabulary has changed. What do you see?
- ESV: "God has gracious given (vs 5)" … "God has dealt graciously with me (vs 11)"
- What is Jacob saying?
- I don't deserve it
- I didn't earn it
- For some reason, God was good to me
- APPL: The word "graciousness" became part of my vocabulary after Luke's birth and his sufferings. I began to see God's hand and his work in my life and my family from the perspective of his graciousness. It still brings tears to my eyes today as I think of what God has graciously done in my life
- What is God doing in our lives?
- What are we wrestling with and need to hand over to Him?
- We need to learn how to receive things from others for the other's benefit
- There is a principle in Proverbs which is useful here. Remember, Proverbs are not promises but general truths (otherwise we would all be using bribes)
- Proverbs 16:7 (ESV) — 7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
- A number of things here and I want to be careful to not read too much into the statements, especially when scripture does not comment on it
- Observations:
- At this point in the text, the name Jacob is being used more than Israel
- We are not sure what that means
- We don't know that Jacob's statement means he was going directly to Seir
- We don't know if he changed his mind, the trip had been a very long trip at fast speeds (when fleeing Laban). They really might have been exhausted and decided to rest instead
- As far as we know, Jacob never makes it to Seir
- One thing that does seem to become a pattern from this point onward is that Jacob does not like to make decisions
- Maybe he was trusting in God
- Maybe he was still paralyzed with fear
- Maybe he felt the need to fulfill the command God had given him
- This is the first mention of Succoth. It means booths.
- While the name is the same as the name for the feast of booths, it is not related
- The feast of booths commemorates Israel's Exodus from Egypt and living in booths, the first place being Succoth after Ramses. It is a different Succoth
- Technically, it wouldn't fit anyway since Jacob made himself a house and only booths for the animals
- The feast requires the people to live in the booths
- So, previously Abraham had expressed what when he bought a field to bury his dead?
- He declared that the promised land was now the home of his family
- Joseph would be brought back and buried here
- Hamor's name means he-ass
- Jacob fulfills his promise (partly) by building an altar at Shechem
- The name of the altar is the first use by Jacob of his new name, Israel, calling the place the Mighty God of Israel
Timeline:
|
2236
|
Birth of Terah
|
Gen 11:24
|
|
|
2166
|
Birth of Abram
|
Gen 11:27
|
|
|
2091
|
Abram departs
from Haran
|
Gen 12:4
|
|
|
2066
|
Birth of lsaac
|
Gen 21:2; cf.21:5
|
|
|
2006
|
Birth of Jacob
and Esau
|
Gen. 25:26
|
Jacob's Age
|
|
1966
|
Marriage of Esau
|
Gen 26:34
|
36
|
|
1930
|
Jacob journeys to
Haran (after 1966 but not sure how much; Isaac' eyes are very bad)
|
Gen 28:2
|
76
|
|
1916
|
End of Jacob's 14
year labor for his wives
|
Gen 29:30
|
90
|
|
1916
|
Birth of Joseph
|
Gen 30:23
|
90
|
|
1910
|
End of Jacob's
stay with Laban
|
Gen 31:41
|
96
|
|
1886
|
Death of lsaac
|
Gen 35:28
|
|
Gen
32:1-8 (ESV) Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when
Jacob saw them he said, "This is God's camp!" So he called the name
of that place Mahanaim.
3 And
Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the
country of Edom, 4 instructing them, "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau:
Thus says your servant Jacob, 'I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until
now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I
have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your
sight.'"
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."
a Mahanaim means two camps.b Or camps; vs 7, also in verse 10
c Or camp
d Or camp
and you will serve your brother.
But when you grow restless,
you will throw his yoke
from off your neck.
Gen
32:9-12 (ESV) And 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
kindred, that I may do you good,' 10 I
am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the
faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I
crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me
from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he
may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But you said, 'I
will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which
cannot be numbered for multitude.'"
Genesis 32:13–21 (ESV) —
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.
Gen
32:22-32 (ESV) 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. 24
And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of
the day. 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.
26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob
said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." 27 And he said to
him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." 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." 29 Then Jacob
asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it
that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the
name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and
yet my life has been delivered." 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed
Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of
Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he
touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
a Israel means he struggles with
God.b Peniel means face of God.
c Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
4 But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him
and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Genesis 33:12–17 (ESV) — 12 Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”
15 So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
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