Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau Genesis 32

Transcription

1 Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau Genesis 32 I. Introduction and review A. Last week we saw Laban leaving Jacob and the land where he would settle and return to Padan-Aram 1. Laban left powerless and embarrassed 2. God had intervened and protected Jacob 3. Jacob it seems has two great enemies in his life: Laban and Esau a. Laban is the enemy outside of the promised land b. And Esau is the enemy within c. You are constantly facing two enemies: the enemy without the world system in which we live, and your old sin nature, or the flesh, the enemy within B. Now Jacob turns his face to the land where his father sojourned and his father before him C. The Land God had promised to his family and the millions of descendants which they had been promised D. But now he has to face the enemy within 1. Jacob had left the land to escape the wrath of his brother Esau 2. Esau had planned to kill Jacob 3. Now it was twenty years later 4. Did Esau still intend to murder his brother? Page 1 of 10

2 5. What was Jacob to do? 6. Who had told Jacob to return home? 7. How do you fight the enemy within? II. Jacob reencounters Esau A. [Gen. 32:1-2] As Jacob pushes deeper into the land, God sends angels to meet him 1. Who saw the angels? a. It appears that only Jacob saw the angels b. Why is that? 2. What did they look like? a. Some times angel appear as men b. Here probably not because Jacob immediately recognized tham as who they were angelic beings 3. Why did God send these angels to Jacob at this time? 4. Jacob, seeing these angels, exclaims this must be God s camp a. The word camp needs to be carefully considered b. Most modern translations render this word camp c. Older translations like the KJV render it host d. hn,x]m; machaneh {makh-an-eh'} Meaning: 1) encampment, camp 1a) camp, place of encampment 1b) camp of armed host, army camp 1c) those who encamp, company, body of people e. The KJV translate this word host Why? Page 2 of 10

3 5. The presence of these angels communicates to Jacob that God is with him 6. Angels most often were sent to bring a message to us, to take some kind of aggressive action, or to minister to us a. Remember in Luke 4 after the Jesus had spent 40 days in the wilderness, the angels ministered to Him 7. Jacob names this place Mahanaim a. That means the place of two camps or double camp b. That refers to Jacob s camp with his family and entourage, and the angels armed camp B. [Gen. 32:3-8] After his encounter with the angelic beings, Jacob sends word to Esau that he has come home 1. Was this a wise thing to do? a. Esau will eventually find out on his own of Jacob s return b. This way Jacob can control the when and where much better c. He knows he has emissaries of God with him or standing by him d. Hopefully he learned from the events surrounding Laban s chase, that God will keep His promises 2. The messengers come back and report to Jacob that Esau is coming to meet him with a force of 400 men a. That does not sound too good b. Remember Abraham defeated the four Kings of Mesopotamia with a force of 314 armed men [Gen. 14:14] c. But we also need to consider this matter from Esau s perspective Page 3 of 10

4 (1) Jacob left twenty years ago (2) Jacob left because Esau threatened to kill him (3) How well maned is Jacob now (4) Could he be coming back now because he s finally strong enough to take out Esau in retribution for chasing him away from the family d. How does Jacob respond to the news of Esau s approach he gets scared e. He also devises a plan to minimize the blood shed if there is an attack f. He then makes arraignments for a substantial gift to be sent to Esau (1) these gifts were not intended as a bribe (a) Life Application Bible s note says: He (Jacob) hoped to buy Esau s favor (b) some say that he is untrusting of God s power by calling Esau lord and referring to himself as Esau s servant (c) I do not accept this position (2) instead they were intended as an expression of good will and reconciliation [as their culture would dictate] g. Do these preparations that Jacob made undermine his reliance on his God? (1) Just because you turn a situation over to God and plead for Page 4 of 10

5 His protection and involvement, does not mean you sit and do nothing (2) It is the Master and the servant working together 3. But then he does exactly what he should of done He prays (32:9-12) a. Let s first consider the content of his prayer b. He addresses God first by the name Elohim (1) He refers to Him as the Elohim of his father and his grandfather (2) Elohim is the strong, faithful, covenant keeping God (3) the very one who has made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob c. Then he refers to God as Yahweh (1) the God of sin, judgment and salvation (2) Jacob wants to be addressing the God of his salvation (3) the God who he is obeying by coming back to the land, and thereby putting himself in jeopardy d. He reminds God of the promises that God had made specifically to Jacob: I will prosper you e. He then compares God s greatness with Jacob s unworthiness f. He admits that when he left the land he had nothing, and that all that he has now, was given to him by God g. Then he makes his petition: deliver me from Esau h. He also admits to God his fear of this situation, not just for himself Page 5 of 10

6 but for his family i. the family from which a nation will be made 4. How does God respond to a prayer containing these elements C. Jacob chooses to spent the night alone with God, so he sends all of his family and attendants ahead and across the river 1. That is the river Jabbok a. It s not as much of a river as it is a stream b. Many commentators try to say that Jabbok means to wrestle (1) they don t appear to know Hebrew very well (2) others say that it is related to the word wrestle c. The word Jabbok: qboy: Yabboq {yab-boke'} Meaning: Jabbok = "emptying" 1) a stream which intersects the mountain range of Gilead, and falls into the Jordan on the east about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea d. Some say it is related to the Hebrew word for to wrestle (1) qb;a' 'abaq {aw-bak'} Meaning: 1) (Niphal) to wrestle, grapple (get dusty), bedust e. The focus should be on the main meaning of the the word Jabbok emptying, not on wrestling 2. While alone a stranger arrives a. And He and Jacob get into a wrestling match b. And neither one of them can prevail Page 6 of 10

7 c. They wrestle all night d. In the morning the stranger tries to leave but Jacob seeks to prevent His leaving until the stranger blesses Jacob e. The man then touches Jacob s thigh as He had not touched Jacob before f. Jacob s hip immediately came out of joint g. But Jacob refused to let go of the man h. And so the man blessed Jacob in verses (1) the Lord changes his name (2) He states that Jacob s name will no longer be deceiver (3) but will now be Israel which means laer'f.yi Yisra'el {yis-raw-ale'} Meaning: Israel = God prevails 3. Who was this man and what is this story all about a. It is the Lord Jesus Christ b. Did Jacob have any doubt? [see 32:30] c. The name of the place was now named after Peniel 4. Jacob now walked with a limp a. Would Jacob have traded that night he spent with his Lord for a limp free gate? b. Did the Lord bless Jacob c. What was the blessing? Only Jacob knows and we aren t told. III. Considerations for us Page 7 of 10

8 A. Jacob was clearly fearful when he heard the news of Esau s coming 1. It s not wrong to experience fear 2. The question is what do you do with it 3. For believers you have one of several alternatives a. You can ignore it b. You can give in to it and panic c. Or you can pray, believing God can do something B. Reliance on God is something that Israel has learned 1. If Esau destroys Jacob and his family, then God cannot fulfill His promises 2. Has He made any promises to you that He won t keep 3. Consider: Psalm 112:7 He (the righteous man) will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 4. How far will He have to go to teach you to rely solely on Him C. Struggling with difficult situations, develops strong character D. The godly man prays: 1. Claiming God s promises, 2. Remembering God s goodness, 3. Knowing God s character, and 4. Resting completely on God s covenant 5. No matter what circumstances we face, or what fears may grip our hearts, we can trust God to be faithful to His character and unrelenting when it comes to His word. Page 8 of 10

9 E. God did not change Jacob s name until He had accomplished the change in his life 1. What change was that? 2. God changed the man from being the one who deceives in his own strength 3. To being the man who prevails in the strength of God F. All of God s men and women must, like Jacob, wrestle with God in order to be really blessed by Him. God chose to bless Jacob because: 1. Jacob chose to be alone with God. a. All distraction had been removed so that he could really be alone [32:24] 2. Jacob was hungry for God a. He desperately wanted to receive what God had for him [32:26] 3. Jacob was broken by God a. He allowed God to break him and change him [32:25-28] 4. Jacob was honest with God a. He had stopped pretending, in order to let God work in his life [32:27] b. He admitted to being Jacob, the deciever 5. Brokeness comes before blessing. But now a new day had dawned for Jacob a. He was coming back to the land God had promised to his grandfather, to his father and then to him, Page 9 of 10

10 b. He was coming back with much more than he had left with, c. He now had a new walk, d. And he had a brand new name. Page 10 of 10