In verses 1,2 Jacob goes on his way and is met by the angels of God. Jacob announced that “This is God’s camp” and he called in Mahanaim. If this is consecutive to the previous chapter, Jacob is on his way to Canaan with his family when he has this appearing. He recognises that this is God’s camp, he was in the presence of God, in 31:3 God had promised to be with him, and this was proof that He was. He had been there all the journey but now Jacob is given the opportunity to see God’s angels.
There have been instances of angels being present even though usually man cannot see them. One instance is recorded in 2 Kings 6:15-17 where Elisha asked God to open his servant’s eyes and when He did, he saw angels all around protecting them. Billy Graham in his book called Angels relates similar stories, one where missionaries were surrounded by hostile natives wanting to drive them out of their mission premises. They prayed all night and next morning their attackers had gone. It was reported that a year later their chief became a believer and insisted that the family were surrounded by ‘warriors’ that night, certainly angels.
Jacob then sends messengers to Esau his brother in the land of Edom (v3-6). He wanted to make peace with Esau who had threatened to kill him twenty years before. The messengers returned saying that Esau was on his way to meet Jacob with four hundred men. This caused him great fear because he thought that Esau was coming with an army to destroy him. Jacob divided the people who were with him and the flocks and herds into two companies (v7,8). He should have trusted God and had soon forgotten about God’s camp protecting him not long before.
Esau had every human right to get his revenge on Jacob because of how Jacob had deceived his father into blessing him and Jacob was afraid that this would happen.
How often did Jesus say to His disciples, “Fear not”. We used to sing a chorus many years ago, ‘With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm, as we go sailing home’. Jacob had no reason to fear, God had promised to be with him, but he soon forgot and tried to plan his own schemes.
Then Jacob’s fear caused him to do the right thing, he prayed, (v9-12) “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.’”
His prayer contained God’s words, His promises to Abraham and Isaac and then to himself. He remembered what God had said to him. Many writers have said that our prayers must contain God’s word, so we need to read it, study it and memorise it. He came in humility – ‘I’m not worthy of the least of the mercies and truth shown to Your servant’. He came in thanksgiving for all that God had done for him. Then, he pleaded for God to deliver him. He had faith that He would.
Jacob plans to try to appease Esau by sending gifts on ahead. He stayed the night where he was and took 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 milk camels and their colts, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 foals as a gift for Esau. The passage says he took what came to hand, as if they just happened to be there. It shows what possessions he had, and he had not yet reached a permanent destination, they were still travelling. If that didn’t appease Esau and his 400 men, what would?
Jacob split them up into at least three droves (v13-21) led by servants. Jacob had prayed and asked God for help, but he is still planning his own schemes, and he sends servants ahead of each number while he came behind. As it turned out Esau said that he didn’t need all these gifts, so in a way it was needless, although later Jacob persuaded Esau to take them. The gifts went on ahead and he stayed in the camp.
A significant event took place that night (v22,23). During the night he took his two wives, two female servants and his sons (I presume his daughter too) and crossed the ford at Jabbock and then sent them over the brook together with what he had. This would have left himself alone. It seemed that God wanted to get Jacob on his own so that He could deal with him. It is good to spend time alone with God, essential at times. This turned out to be what was the turning point in his life and for his nation. I don’t believe that this a mere dream nor was it a nightmare – we read that a man wrestled with Jacob until daybreak (v24,25). This was the Angel of The LORD, some say another pre-incarnation appearance of The Lord Jesus. Jacob was fighting earnestly, and the man could not overcome him, so he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip and put it out of joint. This was a physical fight. Jacob was obviously doing very well, and the man asked Jacob to let him go because it was daybreak. Jacob was persistent and said he wouldn’t let him go unless the man blessed him (v26). The angel could have defeated Jacob at any time, but God wanted his willing surrender. Jacob fought so hard that God had to disable him in His love and mercy.
Jacob received a blessing, more than he could have imagined (v27-29). The man asked Jacob what his name was. As we have seen before, I don’t think for one moment that the man didn’t know Jacob’s name. Jacob knew his reputation had gone before him, a deceiver and, to use a biblical word – ‘supplanter’ – one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another. He was honest with the man and the man said to him “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” His new name is a complete change, from deceiver to one who struggles with God. Jacob received a new name but also a new power, which, sadly he didn’t always exercise as we shall see later.
Jacob prevailed, it is said by losing. Jacob asked the man his name, but he refused to give it to him, however, it transpired that he already knew who he was. He received an amazing blessing the change of his name from Jacob to Israel.
Jacob called the name of the place Peniel meaning ‘Face of God’ and he said, “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (v30-32) Evidently, he did know who the person was with whom he wrestled, God. Jacob knew that to see God meant death thus it was only by God’s mercy that he lived. As he crossed over Penuel it was sunrise and Jacob limped because of his hip being put out of joint, a limp he would have for the rest of his life. The place name was a memorial to all that Jacob had met with God, but that was not the only ‘memorial’, his limp.
