Jacob fears meeting Esau, but he needs to deal with his own heart first and so must wrestle with the Lord first. Then freedom truly begins.
Genesis 32: Jacob Fears Esau
1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2 And when Jacob saw them he said, "This is God's camp!" So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,
4 instructing them, "Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, 'I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now.
5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favour in your sight.'"
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him."
7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,
8 thinking, "If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape."
9 And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,'
10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children.
12 But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"
13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau,
14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
16 These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove."
17 He instructed the first, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?'
18 then you shall say, 'They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.'"
19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, "You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him,
20 and you shall say, 'Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.'" For he thought, "I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me."
21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.
24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
27 And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."
28 Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."
29 Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him.
30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered."
31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Genesis 33: Jacob Meets Esau
1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants.
2 And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all.
3 He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
5 And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, "Who are these with you?" Jacob said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant."
6 Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down.
7 Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down.
8 Esau said, "What do you mean by all this company that I met?" Jacob answered, "To find favour in the sight of my lord."
9 But Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself."
10 Jacob said, "No, please, if I have found favour in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.
11 Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." Thus he urged him, and he took it.
12 Then Esau said, "Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you."
13 But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die.
14 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir."
15 So Esau said, "Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me." But he said, "What need is there? Let me find favour in the sight of my lord."
16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.
17 But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.
18 And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city.
19 And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent.
20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
Things to think about…
1. Consider Genesis 32:1,2. Just because you meet with angels does not mean that your life is delivered from troubles. Jacob still has to face his brother whom he supplanted all those years ago. Is there anything that needs reconciling in your past that you are running away from? Christ calls us to peace wherever possible.
2. Esau responds to Jacob’s messengers by coming to meet him with 400 men. Esau is a worldly man and Jacob knows his brother will only be appeased by worldly goods. I believe at this point Esau still had anger and vengeance in his heart. Jacob therefore tries to placate him with gifts. Consider this list of animals in Gen 32:14, 15. Jacob was still paying for his deception twenty years before. Let’s never be held back by guilt and fear. For the Christian it is all nailed to the cross of Jesus and we are now free from condemnation, Rom 8:1. We are called to love in Christ’s freedom.
3. After all his planning in attempting to try and appease Esau, Jacob is left alone with the Lord, the only One who can help him. He wrestles with God, and now cannot walk in his own strength, Gen 32:22-32. He wrestled with God only to come out broken in body. But also changed in spirit. The Lord’s people if they are truly His need to be humbled to the point where their dependence is placed upon the Lord alone. Growing older tends to play a big part here – especially if the years have been blessed with the Lord’s presence.
4. The story of reconciliation with Jacob and Esau as a wonderful example of the Lord’s work of restoration where sin and mistrust have ruled for years, Gen 33. Grace working on the heart by the Lord’s Spirit allows this to be possible. Pray that old wounds within families and churches would be healed, especially among the Lord’s people. “When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Prov 16:7.
5. Jacob had learned his lesson when asked to stay a while by Esau and be distracted off course. Esau asks him to journey with him, Gen 33:12-15, but Jacob knows the Lord has called him back to his inheritance in Canaan. If the Lord has called us onto a certain path – what right do we have to step aside and go in a different direction? Once you have found the Lord’s will for your life don’t be distracted away from it.
6. Jacob is indeed back in Canaan, but he buys land in Shechem, Gen 33:19. Where did God ask him to return to, where he also made a vow to God and return? Bethel. So why is he here in Shechem? Jacob has more lessons to learn as we shall see in tomorrow’s reading.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups are encouraged to do alpha at church on Wednesday night 6:30pm at church. Be encouraged and join us.
Prayer Points
1. Pray ministries as they begin again this term.
2. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
3. Pray for a blessing for the church this Sunday at the community event and alpha as it begins again this week.
4. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved.
5. Pray for Rosie and Kids@church, pray for continued growth of this ministry.
6. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for worship and message on Sunday
2. Praise God for new people.
3. Good ministry after the service. Continue to pray for this blessing to increase.
4. Some encouraging signs of those wanting to consider who Jesus was. People asking about baptism.
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Church community Day after church Sunday 8th Oct.
2. Alpha begins this Wednesday – 6:30pm at church.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for October...
Q. 13. Can God do all things? A. Yes - God can do all His holy will.
