When Jacob left 20 years earlier for Syria, it was because he stole the blessing from his brother and his brother wanted to kill him! Remember? Well, Esau was still alive!
Genesis 32:3-5- And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
Jacob was hoping that Esau wouldn't be mad any more after all these years.
Genesis 32:6- And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
Esau was bringing 400 men! What do you suppose he was bringing them for? What do you think Jacob thought?
Genesis 32:7-8- Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
Jacob was scared! He divided his family into two groups and thought that if war broke out maybe one group would escape.
When we are scared, or worried, what do you think we should do? We should pray!
Genesis 32:9-12- And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
Jacob thanked God for the blessings that he had already given him. He told God exactly what he was afraid of, and he reminded God of the promises that God had made to him.
When we pray, it's a good thing to do the same. Thank God, tell him what's wrong, and remind him of the promises in His Word!
Does God forget His promises? Nope! But, it's nice to remind ourselves about His promises!
Genesis 32:13-18- And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.
Oh, Jacob! He's trying to manipulate the circumstances again! He thinks that sending presents to his brother will make everything better. The biggest problem Jacob has is that he doesn't really trust God.
Genesis 32:22-23- And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
Jacob sent everyone over the brook and then he had some alone time with God.
Genesis 32:24-26- And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Jacob is wrestling with an angel. And he won't let the angel leave until he gets a blessing from God. The angel even handicapped him!
Genesis 32:27- And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
God always takes us back to where we first disobey him. Jacob knew he was sinning when we went in to steal the blessing. That's why Esau was after him. His dad asked him who he was, and he lied.
Now, this angel wants him to get right what he did wrong all those years ago! What is your name? And Jacob tells the truth!
I think if Jacob had lied that he wouldn't have gotten the blessing that this angel had for him. How many times do we miss out on blessings from God because we don't want to admit we were wrong and get the thing right?
Genesis 32:28- And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Jacob gets a new name! Jacob means supplanter or deceiver. But God blesses him with a new name- Israel which means Prince of God.
What a blessing! Now when people ask he doesn't have to say my name is deceiver, he can say my name is prince of God!
Genesis 32:29- And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
Jacob wants to know the angel's name. The angel wanted him to realize that wasn't the important part. The important thing was that Jacob had been blessed!
Genesis 32:30-32- And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.
