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Genesis 33: 4-7: An unexpected turn of events.

^“4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. ⁵ Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” ⁶ Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down.⁷ Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.” NIV

This reminds me of the story in Acts 12, where the church was praying earnestly for Peter to get out of prison, but could hardly believe it when he did! Jacob had prayed desperately to be saved from the hand of his brother (32:11), but it appears he didn’t have too much faith. There is something quite human and touching about these honest accounts, both in Genesis and Acts.  But we must believe prayer did make a difference, and it should encourage us as we ask for mountains to be moved today. God still changes the hearts of people. I need to be reminded of this fact just now, do you?

‘Many things, like this meeting with Esau, are worse in anticipation than in actuality…The holy transactions of the previous night had induced this change in the atmosphere…We must win power with God, by yielding to him, before we can have power with our Esaus and prevail.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.27.

Genesis 33: 1-3: Respect.

“Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. ² He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.” NIV

Jacob thought (or at least feared) that Esau came to meet him as a foe. We are all capable of creating monsters in our imaginations. However, it does seem Jacob would have had every reason to fear his brother but for God answering prayer (32:11,12).

However, note the respect Jacob showed Esau. I believe we should treat everyone with esteem, and especially those we might regard as enemies of the Christian faith. We don’t have to agree with them, but let us endeavour to treat them with the utmost respect.

Genesis 33:1-3: Leaders lead.

“Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. ² He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.” NIV

I heard about a senior Australian officer who said, ‘The problem with Australian soldiers is that they don’t like to take orders. But, if you step out of the trenches first and say, ‘’Follow me lads’’, they’ll be with you heart and soul.’

The way Jacob organised his family reflected his priorities. His greatest love was for Rachel and Joseph, and it appears he placed them where he imagined they would be safest – at the back. One of the main lessons I learned, when part of a creative writing group, was, ‘show rather than tell.’ This is what the writer is doing. We can see who Jacob most wanted to protect.

But note that ‘He himself went on ahead…’ (3). Leadership has to go out in front. We have to lead by example; we must step into the ‘danger zone’ first. As a general rule of thumb, leaders cannot ask followers to take risks; to make sacrifices; to do difficult things they themselves are not prepared to do. Leaders lead. They go over the top first.

PRAYER: We pray, Lord, for the leaders in your church, that they may lead with wisdom and courage.

Genesis 32:22-32: Broken.

^“22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. ²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” ²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” ³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,  and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.” NIV

Here are some final thoughts on this passage from Tom Hale:

‘If we too would hope to know God in this way, we must not try to approach Him on our own terms. We must allow Him to ‘’disable’’ us, to ‘’break’’ us. We cannot develop an intimate relationship with God without first being broken, without first allowing our self-will and self-centredness to be made ‘’lame’’ by God. Only then will we be able to gain God’s deepest blessings and to know Him ‘’face to face’’….To be ‘’broken’’ by God is one of the deepest experiences of our Christian faith. We cannot be the kind of people God wants us to be without having been broken. God has to break us before we will surrender to Him; He has to break us before He can mould us and fill us with His Spirit. As self-centred human-beings, we naturally resist such breaking; this was what Jacob was doing when he struggled with the angel. But God in His mercy did not let Jacob keep on struggling; He touched Jacob’s hip (verse 25). Suddenly all the things in Jacob’s earthly life were no longer so important: he had been touched by God. Instead of struggling for earthly blessings, Jacob now sought the highest blessing of all, God Himself: ‘’I will not let you go unless you bless me’’ (verse 26). Each of us needs to pass through our own Peniel, where we can meet Jesus face to face and be transformed from self-willed strugglers to Spirit-filled channels of blessing to the world.’ ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p. 179.

Genesis 32:22-32: Earnestly seeking.

^“22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” ²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” ³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.” NIV

This is a rather strange story at one level. As we noted last time, a ‘’man’’ wrestled with Jacob, yet Jacob was clear that he had met with God. We have to conclude that God manifested Himself as a human being on this occasion.

Although strange in one way, the story has resonated with believers through the years, as having to do with intercessory prayer. Jacob earnestly sought the blessing of God, and received it. He learned that through faith and prayer he could ‘’overcome’’ (28) – that he could prevail with God. Jacob was also given the assurance in this experience that he would prevail, not only with Esau, but in all the struggles that still lay ahead of him.

‘In recognition of Jacob’s new status as a wrestler with God – a ‘’prayer warrior’’ – God gave him a new name, Israel, which means ‘’he struggles with God.’’ Not only did Jacob struggle with God, but in that struggle he overcame.’ Tom Hale: ‘The applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.178

Jacob was blessed right there (29), just after receiving a new name. It was the name of a new nation also. All his life he had struggled for blessings, first with Esau, and then with Laban. But now God blessed him.

PRAYER: Lord, please put in me a determined spirit to pray through to breakthrough!

Genesis 32:22-32: Earnestly seeking.

^“22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” ²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” ³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.” NIV

This is a rather strange story at one level. As we noted last time, a ‘’man’’ wrestled with Jacob, yet Jacob was clear that he had met with God. We have to conclude that God manifested Himself as a human being on this occasion.

Although strange in one way, the story has resonated with believers through the years, as having to do with intercessory prayer. Jacob earnestly sought the blessing of God, and received it. He learned that through faith and prayer he could ‘’overcome’’ (28) – that he could prevail with God. Jacob was also given the assurance in this experience that he would prevail, not only with Esau, but in all the struggles that still lay ahead of him.

‘In recognition of Jacob’s new status as a wrestler with God – a ‘’prayer warrior’’ – God gave him a new name, Israel, which means ‘’he struggles with God.’’ Not only did Jacob struggle with God, but in that struggle he overcame.’ Tom Hale: ‘The applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.178

Jacob was blessed right there (29), just after receiving a new name. It was the name of a new nation also. All his life he had struggled for blessings, first with Esau, and then with Laban. But now God blessed him.

PRAYER: Lord, please put in me a determined spirit to pray through to breakthrough!

Genesis 32:22-32: Solitary Refinement.

^“22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. ²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” ²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” ³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.” NIV

‘’So Jacob was left alone…’’ (24). Times alone with God can be life-changing. It will be, if we really engage with Him, and don’t just go through religious motions. Extended times of prayer are important. This one lasted through the night it appears. I’m not arguing that you have to pray for hours to be a good Christian, but I do want to say that if we will give God unhurried time, good things can happen.

…and a man wrestled with him until daybreak’’ (24). Although the text says ‘’a man’’, it quickly becomes clear that Jacob met with God. Note then how God took the initiative in this ‘prayer time’. Even though there was something Jacob wanted from God (blessing), even more important was what God wanted for Jacob.

Initially, in the wrestle, Jacob was struggling against God. In a way, it was the story of his life. But he ended up clinging. That is where God wants each one of us.

Genesis 32:22-32: Save me from myself

^“22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. ²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” ²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” ³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,  and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.” NIV

We’re going to spend a day or two in this pivotal section in Genesis. It records a major turning point in Jacob’s experience with God. Prayer changes people: both the one who prays, and the ones being prayed for. I believe it changed Esau. I think that is the inference. But even when others don’t change (or don’t appear to; or don’t change immediately) we who pray for them tend to be changed in a real encounter with God. Jacob was. There are two key references to prayer in this chapter. The first one is shorter (9-12), and then we come to this longer passage. Through prayer Esau’s heart was changed; but Jacob was also transformed.

‘Jacob was broken to be healed and weakened to be strengthened. When he surrendered, he won and became a ‘’prince with God.’’ His limp would be a constant reminder that God would be in control of his life. ‘’God fights against us with His left hand and for us with His right hand,’’ wrote John Calvin. When we let God have His way, it is the dawning of a new day (v.31).’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.38.

Prayer: Oh Lord, may I not merely ‘say prayers’, but meet with you deeply in the place of prayer, so that I am forever changed.

Genesis 32:13-21: The schemer – again!

^“13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.” ¹⁷ He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’” ¹⁹ He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” ²¹ So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.” NIV

I remember how painful a time it was when I fell out with my best friend, John, at junior school. It was no doubt a ridiculous quarrel. I can’t remember the details now, but I do know that the distance between us hurt. I seem to recall lying in my bed, dreaming up ways I might reconcile with him. I think, in the end that all proved unnecessary, for we quickly shook hands and made peace!

Prayer does not rule out the need for action, but the best kind of activity is that which is born in prayer, whereby you are doing something because you sense God is leading you that way. Here it seems like Jacob is still the schemer; that he concocted this ingenious plan to ‘’pacify’’ his brother. The idea was to send ahead of him carefully spaced groups of different animals as gifts for Esau. It seems he intended that his estranged sibling would encounter these groups one by one and gradually be won over. As we will see in the next chapter, it wasn’t Jacob’s plan that won Esau over; it was rather that God changed his heart, in response to Jacob’s prayer.

‘One minute Jacob prayed for God’s help, and the next minute he devised some new way to appease his angry brother. He reminded God of His great promises and then acted as though God had never spoken. This is the conduct of a believer who needed to be broken before God. He prayed to be delivered from Esau (v.11), but his greatest need was to be delivered from himself.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.38.

‘’I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me’’ (20b).

Many people seem to treat God this way. They try to win Him over, to get into his good books, by the ‘’gifts’’ they send ahead: the gift of their church attendance; the gift of their charitable deeds, and so on. But God cannot be bought off in that way. He simply calls us to trust in the Saviour, Jesus, and His work on our behalf at the cross.