So beginning in Genesis 32 at verse 1, 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. 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. 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. 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. So he lodged there that same night and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau, his brother. 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 ewes and 20 rams, 30 milk camels with their colts, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 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 drove, 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 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 fort 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 the 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 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. So 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. Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there Esau was coming, and with him were 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.
And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept. And he lifted his eyes, and saw the women and children, and said, Who are these with you?
So he said, The children whom God has graciously given your servant. Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward, Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.
Then Esau said, What do you mean by all this company which I met? And he said, These are to find favor in the sight of my Lord. But Esau said, I have enough, my brother, keep what you have for yourself. And Jacob said, No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me.
Please take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. So he urged him, and he took it. Then Esau said, let us take our journey, let us go, and I will go before you. But Jacob said to him, my Lord knows that the children are weak and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me.
And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. Please let my Lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me and the children are able to endure until I come to my Lord and see her. And Esau said, Now 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. So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. And Jacob journeyed to Sukkoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock.
Therefore the name of the place is called Sukkoth. Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan Aram, and he pitched his tent before the city. And he bought the parcel of land where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of money. Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.
Amen.
Introduction
So he's on his way back from Pat and Aram. Remember he went on that journey to obtain a wife. He ended up obtaining four wives and then he spent actually 20 years in the service of Laban. 14 for the wives and six years for the cattle. The Lord had, in fact, told him in 31.3, to return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.
So the first obstacle that he had to overcome was certainly Laban. Laban was not keen to watch him leave because Laban had benefited greatly from his slave labor. Well, now another obstacle is Esau, his brother. As I said, back in chapter 27, at the time when it was decided that Jacob would go to Paddan Aram, in Genesis 27, 41, we read that Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him.
And Esau said in his heart, the days of mourning for my father are at hand, then I will kill my brother Jacob. So as we come now to chapters 32 and 33, we see first of all the messengers sent by Jacob to Esau. He initially just wants to find out what's happening. He wants to see what's going on in terms of Esau.
Secondly, the preparation of Jacob to meet Esau. Thirdly, this interesting section where he wrestles with this man turns out to be God, not God literally, because God is spirit and does not have a body like a man. But in the prophet Hosea, we learned that it was an angel, most likely the angel of the Lord, representative of Yahweh, and he wrestles with him. And then that brings us finally to chapter 33, where he actually does meet with Esau.
So in the first place, in chapter 32, verses 1 to 6, we notice that as he is on this journey, he meets with these two angels. Now the text doesn't go into a lot of detail concerning this. It simply reports it in verses 1 and 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. Now one of the lessons that we have seen frequently through the book of Genesis is the doctrine of providence, and we see that God is with his people. God, by these angels, encourages his servant Jacob, and then God, by this wrestling match with Jacob, encourages his servant Jacob. So every step along the way, the Lord God Most High is with Jacob, and that is being reiterated here.
He is being encouraged so that he will not lose heart, but continue in the trajectory that the Lord had purposed. Now he sends these messengers according to verses 3 to 6. He realizes that he is going to meet Esau. He understands all too well that this is going to be the case.
And the reason why he sends the messengers is in verses 4 and 5. He commanded them, these are the messengers, 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. Now, already Jacob is doing something that is quite intriguing and quite contrary to what has been prophesied concerning the relationship.
Remember that it was foretold that the older would serve the younger. Esau came out first. Esau was to be the one that served Jacob, and yet Jacob is using the language that he is the servant. He is the slave and that Esau is the Lord.
He's trying to facilitate a good meeting. He's trying to facilitate restoration and reconciliation so that Esau doesn't kill him, doesn't kill his wives, and doesn't kill his children. Because as far as he knows, that is precisely what Esau wants to do. So then the messengers respond or return, according to verse 6, it says, we came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and 400 men are with him.
Now that's as ambiguous as it could possibly be. This does not indicate anything whatsoever to Jacob about Esau's intention. As far as Jacob is concerned, these 400 men are soldiers and they're ready to do business against Jacob and against his family. So as a result, Jacob is filled with fear according to verses 7 and 8.
And that's what the text indicates. Verse 7 says, 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. So he's already sort of hedging his bets.
He's already planning for the worst. He's going to divide all that he has into two companies, thinking that Esau will only be able to obliterate the one company, and then he actually is left with something. But it is very intriguing that I think that this particular narrative captures the human heart. It captures even the believing human heart.
There are those times and instances in our lives where we see palpably, tangibly, very obviously God's providence in our lives. And I think Jacob has witnessed that. Jacob has witnessed all things work out for his good with reference to Laban. And he knows that God is going to be with him.
God promised him at Bethel in Genesis chapter 28 that he would be with him. He's evidenced that by delivering him from Laban. And yet now he comes to a threat and he's greatly afraid. Now for us it might be the response, well, he shouldn't be afraid because God in His mercy promised to be with him.
God in His mercy delivered him from Laban. There's no reason whatsoever he should be afraid. And then tomorrow something happens to us and we're greatly afraid. even though we have benefited from God's presence in our lives, even though we have witnessed and seen God's providence in our lives, where He has vanquished our enemies, where He has dealt with particular scenarios, but then something occurs and we fall back into that fearfulness and we fall back into that place where we automatically assume the worst. We forget that God has vindicated us and forget that God has delivered us and we respond with fear to the various situations that we are faced with.
So as I've said in the past, you ought to read the Old Testament because the Old Testament really does demonstrate for us the Christian life lived. In other words, it really focuses in on particular peoples and the particular challenges to faith that they experience. This isn't any different than what we face. Now certainly we don't have a Laban in our life, and thankfully so.
We don't have an upset Esau in our life, and thankfully so. But we have issues, and we have trials, and we have difficulties, and God has time and time again proven himself faithful and delivered us from those particular challenges, and nevertheless we fall into another, and we respond not with faith always, but with fear and with panic. So I'm not suggesting that Jacob is the biggest wretch on the face of the earth, but I am suggesting that we ought to learn something. God's already encouraged him on his journey by delivering him from Laban, by giving him this visitation of two angels according to verses 1 and 2, and now he fears to the death with reference to his brother Esau.
But
Jacob's Prayer of Faith
this promotes in Jacob, and I think this is God's purpose and plan, we get faced with these particular hardships or difficulties or trials or challenges, and how do we respond? Hopefully we respond like Jacob does in this very passage, because he moves from this place of fear to prayer. Verses 9 to 12 is a prayer of Jacob, and it really does demonstrate some spiritual maturity on the part of Jacob. Jacob is growing by leaps and bounds in terms of his commitment to the Lord God Almighty.
Again, he's not a perfect man, he is not a spotless and holy and harmless and undefiled man, because only Jesus Christ is that, but he's certainly growing, and this fear doesn't give way to absolute paralysis, but rather it lends itself to an urgency at the throne of grace on the part of Jacob. So that is one of the reasons why, practically, we do fall into these various trials, we do fall into various hardships, we do get confronted with various challenges in our Christian life. Because if we didn't, we would probably never pray again. There is something analogous to this with reference to riches, where the wise man said, give me neither poverty nor riches.
Why? Because if I'm rich, I'll forget all about God. If I'm poor, then I'll go out and steal and dishonor God. Well, if we had a life without affliction, we had a life without challenge, we had a life without any hardship or difficulty whatsoever, then likely we may never pray again.
It's often the, you know, I don't want to get, you know, psychoanalytical here, but it's the Esau's in our lives that drive us to prayer. It's the Laban's and the various difficulties that we face that bring us to the throne of grace, and that's precisely what we see here with reference to Jacob. Now
Four Parts of Jacob's Prayer
there's four parts to this prayer. In the first place, he acknowledges God's command, according to verse 9. Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, the covenant Lord, the God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac is reminiscent of that reality. And the fact that he uses the covenant name Yahweh is reminiscent of that reality as well.
But he says, who said to me, return to your country and to your family and I will deal well with you. He acknowledges that he is obeying God's command. In other words, when we are doing what God calls us to do, it is not wrong for us to say, Lord, enable me to be able to do it. God calls us to a particular command, and we say, Lord, grant me the grace to comply with this command.
That is perfectly acceptable, and that's the way we ought to pray. The will of God must be done, and we need help by God's grace to actually fulfill that. Secondly, he demonstrates humility. Notice in verse 10, as I said, one of the things, an overarching theme in this section is that Jacob is growing spiritually.
He is not the arrogant thief that he was previously in his life, but rather notice his statement in verse 10. 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." I'm not worthy of this. Here's a man who understands reality.
He's not saying, God, you need to deliver me because I'm great. God, you need to deliver me because I'm excellent. You need to deliver me because I never do anything wrong. That's not his posture at the throne of grace.
Pride is a seriously debilitating obstacle at the throne of grace. It's much better to own your nothingness before Yahweh than to go into his presence and assert why he should bless you based on your own competency. That is not what he does in this instance. Thirdly, he petitions the Lord for deliverance in verse 11.
He says, 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. You see, he's honest at the throne of grace, too. He fears Esau, and he doesn't shrink back from declaring that to the Lord. But the specific petition of his prayer is, Lord, deliver me from him.
I want to get back to Canaan to comply with your command. I want to go back to my family and assume that position of the inheritor of the promised land. But there is this obstacle, and his name is Esau, so please deliver me from this. And then finally he acknowledges God's promise, that covenantal promise that was made to Abraham, Isaac, and now is confirmed in Jacob.
Verse 12, 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. See, that is, yes, an acknowledgment of God's promise, but it's also a reason for the petition. You see, he says, deliver me from Esau. Why?
Because you promised to give me this land. If you don't deliver me from Esau, then the promise of God is going to be shipwrecked. And so it's the integrity and the honor and the glory of God that is at stake as well. So Jacob's deliverance from Esau is uniquely caught up in, or tied up in, the glory of God Almighty.
And this is good praying. You see this through the Psalms. The psalmist often prays in terms of God's glory being realized. See, he's not saying initially, oh, just deliver me because I'm me and I want to have a good life.
That's not the legitimate way to go to the throne of grace. Better is to say, Lord, you have said, I will surely treat you well and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. The Psalms of Asaph, as I mentioned, Asaph is one of the psalmist that prays this way. In Psalm 74, At verse 20, the psalmist says, have respect to the covenant, for the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of cruelty.
But in the context, he says, remember this, that the enemy is reproached, oh Lord, and that a foolish people is blasphemed your name. Oh, do not deliver the life of your turtle dove to the wild beast. Do not forget the life of your poor forever. Have respect to the covenant.
So he argues from God's covenant, God's majesty, God's glory. God's glory is uniquely tied up in Israel. And so the psalmist prays that God's glory be vindicated by him crushing the enemies of Israel. Spurgeon comments on this statement, have respect to the covenant.
He says, here is the master key. Heaven's gate must open to this. In other words, when we go back to Jacob's prayer, he is praying and arguing or petitioning and then arguing based on God and his glory. You said, I will surely treat you well and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. saying this simply so He can be the benefactor, but so that the God who promised will indeed fulfill what He has promised.
That's the way we pray with reference to God. We bring His glory to bear as an argument for the petitions that we present. Now notice,
Gifts Prepared for Esau
He then prepares these gifts to give to Esau. You say, well, he prayed, so therefore that takes care of everything. God's covenanted or promised to be with him at Bethel in Genesis chapter 28. He's already demonstrated that he's with him and the vindication or liberation from Laban.
He's already sent these angels to meet him along the way. Now he's prayed to God. She should just go lay down on the couch and wait for the Lord to sort of make everything right. No, he doesn't do that.
He prays and he keeps his powder dry. That was a famous saying by Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, pray and keep your powder dry. In other words, pray and use the means. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, Solomon says, but victory is of the Lord.
Well, just because victory is of the Lord doesn't mean we don't prepare the horse for the day of battle. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, one waters, another sows, but God gives the increase. Well, we don't conclude in a hyper-Calvinistic fashion, well, if God gives the increase, it doesn't matter who sows and it doesn't matter if we water. No, absolutely not.
God uses means, and one of the means that Jacob sees as a fitting means is to give his brother a gift so that it will not be the case that his brother kills him and his family. John Gill says, though Jacob prayed to God, committed himself and family to him, and left all with him, yet he thought it proper to make use of all prudential means and methods for his safety. God frequently works in and by means made use of. That's the reality and that is on display in this particular passage.
It doesn't undermine his prayer. It doesn't mean that he's faithless. It doesn't mean that he's wretched. It rather means that he prays and he keeps his powder dry.
He's going to attempt to use lawful means to try to stay his brother's hand from going after him and his family. There is a description of the gifts Specifically, in verses 13 to 15, Jacob, according to Wenam, made five herds of goats, sheep, camels, cattle, and donkeys. In total, 550 animals, a princely present. So this does acknowledge Esau as a great man.
This does show that what Jacob is doing is submitting. It may be indicative of the fact that he is being a vassal and underscoring or highlighting that servant-master relationship. It also might be the case that Jacob is trying to undo what he did in Genesis chapter 27. I mean, he stole Esau's blessing, right?
That's a tough bell to unring. And yet, nevertheless, it seems that that might be a driving motivation. If you look at the language of 3311, 3311, Jacob says, please take my blessing that is brought to you because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have enough. He uses that language of blessing, perhaps reminiscent of the fact that he stole that blessing from Esau.
Perhaps it is the sign of repentance in the life of Jacob that he wants to make things right. He wants to, as far as he is able, correct that prior sin, what he sinned against his brother Esau. And so there is that description of the gifts. And then the reason for the gifts is very clear in verses 20 and 21.
Verse 20, in the middle, it says, 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. So it makes sense, right? He's going to send this present to Esau with the hope that Esau says, thank you Jacob, go ahead and have passage, head back to the land of Canaan, and everything will be hunky-dory.
Well,
Wrestling With the Angel
then we move to this, again, interesting passage of Scripture. I'm not sure that I could fully explain or understand all that's happening here in verses 22 to 32, but it is this wrestling with this man. Notice first in verses 22 and 23.
Jacob Crosses the Jabbok Alone
He transports his family. It says it, verse 22, he arose that night. Again, the biblical author in this instance doesn't always tell us everything. He doesn't always say, okay, Jacob had a lot of anxiety and he was very fearful and all that sort of thing.
But the fact that he does this at night may intimate that. He couldn't sleep. I mean, the thought is that Esau is gonna kill him. The thought is that Esau is gonna kill his wives and kill his 11 children.
So there might've been an uneasiness about him. And so he couldn't sleep. So he undergoes this at night. So he takes his family, that night, took his two wives, his two female servants, and his 11 sons, and crossed over the fort of Jabbok.
Now, he had a daughter, Dinah, as well. The fact that she's not mentioned doesn't mean that they're not woke, or it doesn't mean that there's big problems in the biblical narrative. More often than not, simply the men are mentioned. That's just the way it goes.
Verse 23, it says, he took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone. This seems to indicate that he takes his family across the fort at Jabbok, and then he himself goes back. That's why he's alone at this particular place.
And why he does this, again, the text doesn't specify, though it does set the stage for this wrestling match with this particular man. So,
The Wrestling Match at Peniel
Jacob is alone at this particular point, and then according to verse 24, it says, "...a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day." Again, this man was likely the angel of the Lord. In the prophet Hosea, chapter 12, verses 3 and 4, it's rehearsing the faithfulness of Jacob, and it says, "...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. And of course, after the contest, Jacob says in verse 30, I have seen God face to face. Now again, this is in the manner of man.
This is what's called a theophany. It's a manifestation of God, but it doesn't mean that God is a man. God demonstrates or God manifests himself in several ways in the Old Testament. When God comes to Moses in Exodus chapter 3, we aren't supposed to think that God is actually a burning bush.
It's not that when we get to heaven we're going to go into the presence of the burning bush. No, it's a theophany, it's a manifestation of God through means by which the creature can hold on to this. And so Jacob understands the significance of this particular meeting. Now, the man did not prevail against Jacob, according to verse 25.
It says, now, when he saw, this is the man, that he did not prevail against him. Now, this wasn't because Jacob was stronger than God. It wasn't because Jacob was more mighty than God. Matthew Poole says, not through impotency, but in design, the angel suffered himself to be conquered to encourage Jacob's faith and hope against the approaching danger.
Whatever we say about this wrestling match, this much is clear. It is preparatory for Jacob for the next phase of his life, to meet Esau, but then to return back to the land of Canaan and take his rightful position as the patriarch and the inheritor of the land and seed promise that God had given him. Notice as well,
Renaming and Blessing of Jacob
the man wanted to conclude as the day was breaking, according to verse 26. And he said, let me go back for just a moment. Again, interesting thing. 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.
This is probably another indicator to Jacob that he's not dealing with a regular man. Because the touching, the language here has a touch. It's not a strike. It's not a touch with a blunt force trauma.
It really is just a touch. And so he understands that typically men can't just touch hip sockets and break them or dislocate them. So this is another indicator, perhaps, for Jacob that he's dealing with something other than a normal man. And so the man says, let me go for the day breaks.
And I guess the realization here or the idea here is that the man didn't want light to shine and Jacob to see more or others to see more as well. Again, it's kind of an enigmatic sort of a puzzling passage that we try to do the best with. But then Jacob says, I will not let you go unless you bless me. He wants a blessing.
And that brings us to verse 27. He said to him, what is your name? He said, Jacob. Now, when he said Jacob, yes, that's his name, but it's also sort of a confession because Jacob is not the best of names.
It's a planter. It's a deceiver. It's one who has lived up to the reputation of that name in his own life. And so it's at this place that God renames him.
And according to verse 28, He said, your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed. And I would suggest that's sort of the key to the section. It's sort of the theme of the entire section is that he has struggled with God and with men and has prevailed. In other words, Jacob is God's man.
He has been elected for this particular purpose. He is the descendant of Abraham and Isaac. Everything is rightfully his. He has prevailed with God and with men.
And so his name is going to be Israel, which means prince with God or one who prevailed with God. And then Jacob asks, saying, Tell me your name, I pray. And he said, Why is it that you ask about my name? And he blessed him there." Turn to Judges for just a moment, Judges chapter 13.
There's a sort of a parallel passage to this in the life of Manoah. Manoah was the father of Samson. He meets with God, and the same sort of answer is given by God in that instance. In chapter 13 of Judges, beginning in verse 17, well, verse 16.
And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, though you detain me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord. For Manoah did not know he was the angel of the Lord. Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, What is your name, that when your words come to pass, we may honor you?
And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful? So the same sort of response is given here. We might wonder why God doesn't say, I am Yahweh, Lord of of heaven and earth and all that sort of thing. But at this particular juncture, at this time and with Manoah, God does not want to answer.
He does not want to disclose that. And the text is silent in terms of the significance behind that. But then at verses 30 to 32, we see where
Significance of Peniel
Jacob understands the significance of the place. He calls the name Peniel, which is also Penuel, 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. The fact that he limped on his hip indicates that it wasn't a vision, it wasn't a dream, it wasn't some sort of a phantom apparition, but it was a real wrestling match, and he sustained a lifelong injury.
Now, verse 32 is interesting because you find no biblical command to avoid that part of an animal when it comes time to eat. It comes up later in Jewish writing, but at this particular instance, it simply tells us, 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. And I think Wenham is right. He says, like the right of circumcision instituted when Abram's name was changed and the other food laws, this custom was a reminder of the nation's election.
By refraining from eating this sinew, the Israelites were constantly reminded of Jacob's meeting with God and the promise of ultimate victory and blessing he wrung from God then. So it became not a superstition, but a time, or a cause, or a means by which they remembered that election, this account when Israel prevails with God and men, and this would be beneficial to the nation as a whole, so therefore they did not engage in eating that part of the animal. And then in terms of the significance, we see the presence of God with Jacob, and then the power of God in Jacob's life. And again, I want to quote from Wenham, because I think he has this sort of section very well.
He says, the Peniel episode has delayed the climax of the narrative, the reunion of the brothers, but has at the same time prepared the way for it. In other words, here's the significance. He says, Jacob is now a new man, Israel. His encounter with God has prepared him to meet Esau, as Jacob himself stresses by comparing Esau to God.
He does that in verses 10 and 11. He's not saying Esau is God, but the fact that he sees Esau and Esau doesn't want to kill him means that he is seeing favorably God Most High smiling upon him. He says the new character of Israel is soon apparent. Courage replaces cowardice as Jacob himself strides ahead of his family to meet Esau.
Humility takes the place of arrogance as he bows down seven times before his brother. And penitence prompts him to attempt to give back the blessing out of which he had cheated Esau. Through this penial experience, Jacob has been reborn as Israel. So that's the significance there in 32, 22 to 32.
He's been reborn as Israel. He's a new man. Again, not a perfect man, not a spotless man. We go on in the rest of the book of Genesis.
He's got his issues. He's got his problems. He's got his difficulties and his challenges. But this is a turning point in the life of Jacob here at Peniel.
And
Reconciliation With Esau
that brings us finally to this meeting with Esau. in chapter 33 as a whole. Notice the approach, he sees Esau. Verse one, now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked in there. Esau was coming and with him were 400 men.
Again, he doesn't know what these 400 men are for. He doesn't know if they are soldiers ready to kill him and his family and everything that he possesses. We know because we've read that Esau is using these 400 men to serve as an escort for Jacob and his entourage to get to where he's going. But Jacob doesn't know that.
He simply sees Esau and he sees these 400 men. And then notice what he does, and it reflects what we've seen up to this point in terms of Jacob's priority and in terms of his love. It says, he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.
He does that because Rachel is his favorite. He does this because he esteems and loves her the most, and Joseph. So he puts the maidservants out in front, and then he puts Leah, and then he puts Rachel. Now, I don't think we're supposed to infer from this that he hated the maidservants and that he hated Leah.
That's not the point. The point is that he's thinking strategically, he's thinking tactically, and he's thinking in terms of, I am fully invested in Rachel. That's why I did 14 years of hard service for Laban. But the beautiful thing is that according to verse 3, he goes out ahead of them.
He doesn't hide behind Rachel and Joseph. He isn't engaged in that cowardice, but rather courage has now replaced it. According to verse 3, he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother. So courage, in the language of Wenham, replaces cowardice, and humility takes the place of arrogance.
You see that? He's reborn. I believe that if he wasn't converted prior to the Bethel experience in chapter 28, He's converted in chapter 28, but he's certainly growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, at this particular juncture, because all those things that previously defined him have fallen by the wayside, and now he's emerging as a man who's taking leadership. Remember that instance when he's basically multiplying and filling the earth with the two maidservants and the two wives?
He doesn't say one word. I mean, he says one word in verse 2, but that's it. He just goes from place to place to place doing exactly what he is told. Here he's taking leadership.
And then notice the change in Esau. It's not just that Jacob has been reborn. It's not that only Jacob has had dealings with God, but Esau, in language that sounds like was in the Lord's mind in the parable of the prodigal son. I mean, when that father sees the son, he falls on him and he kisses him and he rejoices in him and that's precisely what Esau is doing here.
Verse 4, Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they wept. And then Esau asks about the family. Esau asks about what's happening in terms of Jacob's status. Now
The Seed and Redemptive Purpose
I think it's important for us to remember at this particular point, if I did not have this on, I would ask this question. I would ask, what have I emphasized throughout our traveling through the book of Genesis in terms of the patriarchs? And you would dutifully answer, the seed. It's all about the seed.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the men from whence the Messiah would come. So in this instance, God isn't just protecting Jacob. God is ensuring the salvation of the world. Because if Esau is not changed, if Esau is engaged in a murderous rage, and if Esau gets his hands on young Judah, and he terminates Judah, then the hope of salvation is gone.
I speak as a man, obviously. because God is able to obviously protect and keep that from happening, but he's affected Esau in such a way that Judah is safe, all the other children are safe, the 12 tribes of Israel are safe, and God's redemptive program or plan is in full swing. It's all about the seed in the book of Genesis, and that seed is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the promised one, and the book of Genesis shows the family from whence he comes, and all the day in and day out, sort of earthly, temporal things that affected them. I mean, the servant going to fetch a wife for Isaac in Genesis chapter 24, what's the 66 verses I think it was?
I mean, as I said, the very beginning of Genesis you go from creation to fall to to flood, to babble. I mean, these massive, cosmic, world-shaking sort of events. And then at the call of Abraham, the narrative slows so way down. And now we focus on one family and the various ins and outs that affects that one family, because that one family is the one from whence the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come.
So Esau asks about all of this, and Jacob certainly tells him what's going on. And then in verse 8, notice that Esau says, What do you mean by all this company which I met? And he said, These are to find favor in the sight of my Lord. But Esau said, I have enough, my brother, keep what you have for yourself.
So we see that God's promise to Esau has been fulfilled as well. He would be a leader of sorts. He would be over tribes. He would be over peoples.
He would have blessings in the temporal realm and he affirms that. And then in verse 10, Jacob says, no, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand in as much as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God and you were pleased with me. Again, it's not that he has seen God's face in Esau's. Poole says, it is in a manner as pleasant a sight to me as the sight of God himself, because in your reconciled face I see the face and favor of God thus manifested unto me.
So when he sees these good things happening, it is the evidence and the manifestation that God is in fact with him. So he confers, or he converges upon him in verse 11, please take my blessing that is brought to you because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have enough. So he urged him and he took it. So then Esau takes it.
And then the invitation, basically what 12 to 17 is, is that Esau brings the man to serve as an escort for Jacob to take Jacob where he is going. Now Esau, or rather Jacob doesn't want to go to Seir. Jacob doesn't want to go to Seir. The command is to go back to Canaan, to go back to the land of promise, and Seir is not there.
So some have suggested that he lied, that he deceived when he said, essentially, I'll see you in Seir. Well, some suggest that maybe he did go. Some suggest that, for other reasons, he was detained. He had purposed or planned to go, but he didn't.
But the point is, is that Esau wants him to go to Seir, but rather Jacob needs to go to Canaan as God had commanded him. So
Jacob Settles at Shechem
that brings him to Sukkoth according to verses 16 and 17. So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir, and Jacob journeyed to Sukkoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore, the name of the place is called Sukkot. Now, if you were looking at the map, he's in what's called Transjordan.
He's still on the east side of the river Jordan. He hasn't technically entered into the promised land at this particular point. How long he is in Sukkot, we don't know. The connection, I mean, there's got to be about an eight or nine year period. between what happens at the end of Genesis 33 and what happens with reference to Dinah.
Because Dinah's probably about 6 in Genesis chapter 33. When we get to Genesis 34 and she's raped, Dinah is most likely around the age of 14. So there was a period of time that passed, whether it was in Sukkoth or whether it was when he came to Shechem, and there was some period of time before Dinah was raped by these wretched men that we'll see next week. So time at Sukkoth and then verses 18 to 20 is when he does return technically to the land of Canaan.
Now I say technically because when they distribute the land there are three tribes or two and a half tribes that do take space or position on that Transjordan side. So they're on the east side of the River Jordan. So it is technically the promised land. They got that as their allotment.
But technically, it's usually seen as within the Jordan. And so here they cross the Jordan and come safely to Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan. Verse 18, when he came from Paddan Aram, and he pitched his tent before the city, and he bought the parcel of land where he had pitched his tent from the children of Amor, Shechem's father, for 100 pieces of money. Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.
So he does exactly what Abraham and Isaac had done before him. He settles in Shechem. He then purchases the land. Remember when Sarah died, Abraham was offered land in order to bury Sarah, but Abraham insisted on paying for it.
Why? Because it's ownership. See, God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob this land of Canaan, but presently there were Canaanites in it. So they couldn't just set up shop and say, well, we own this because the God of Israel gave it to us.
So by bits and pieces, they are securing the land. Obviously, the full security comes when the Holy War is commanded, and they go in and dispossess the land of the Canaanites. That's when the promise of God is brought to fruition. They don't do that fully.
They don't do that purely. They don't do that absolutely in accordance with God's provision there in Deuteronomy 7. But nevertheless, that is the formal occupation of the land by Israel in a strictly literal sense. Here, he does this.
He purchases land so that he has ownership of it, and then he builds this altar. Waltke says, here he walks in the footsteps of his grandfather Abraham, staking his future in the promised land. He sets up an altar where Abraham had, purchases land and faith, and though not stated here, digs a well. John 4 tells us that this well was there at the time of Jesus, and according to Waltke, you can still see it today if you go to Israel.
So that's the exposition. We see how God again delivers his servant, Jacob, makes good on the promise in Genesis chapter 28 that he will be with him. He is with him via angel. He is with him via theophany.
He is with him via providence. The Lord protects him. The Lord is present with him. The Lord preserves him.
And the Lord as well prepares him for the various things that he is going to confront. That wrestling match with God in 32, 22 to 32, is absolutely crucial in the life of Jacob going forward. So he is reborn now, not physically, not in some sort of a Buddhist reincarnation sense, but God has renamed him. He is Israel, he is a prince with God, and he is over the nation, and he's back in that nation where he is going to take up residency.
Well, let's close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for Your providence and for Your presence with Your people. Not just Jacob in the Old Testament, but You're with us now, and we give You praise and glory for that. And I pray that we would learn good lessons from this chapter in terms of prayer and in terms of waiting upon the Lord. using means that are good in Your sight. And Father, help us as well not to shrink back with great fear over every circumstance and situation that confronts us.
Help us to find our refuge and our safety and our peace and our comfort ultimately in the God of heaven and earth. We ask that You would go with us now. We pray that You would continue to watch over us in the rest of this week. We pray, Father, for those in our midst that need prayer, that You would encourage their hearts and strengthen them with might in the inner man.
And we pray these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.