Jacob’s faith in God continues to get stronger, and after dealing with Laban and his sons, he now has to face his brother Esau. The last time Esau saw Jacob, he told him that if he saw him again, he would kill him, Genesis 27:41.
And Jacob, be very aware of his brother’s threat, went on his way, but he was met by the angels of God, Genesis 32:1 / 2 Kings 6:17 / Hebrews 1:14. Some commentators suggest that this is a vision, but the text doesn’t say so.
The word ‘Mahanaim’, Genesis 32:2, means two camps. Later, a city was built here, and God’s priests would live in it, Joshua 21:38. Jacob’s camp, which is his family and God’s camp, which is the angels surrounding him for protection. In other words, he wasn’t to be afraid of meeting Esau because God was with him, and He sent His angels to protect him and his family.
Mathews, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Although outside the land of promise, he was not outside the hand of promise.’
Jacob wants to reconcile with Esau and sends messengers to Esau in the land of Seir, Genesis 32:3. The messengers are to tell his lord Esau that Jacob, his servant, has been staying with Laban and has remained there till now, Genesis 32:4.
The messengers are to tell Esau that Jacob has livestock and male and female servants, and Jacob is sending this message to find favour in Jacob’s eyes, Genesis 32:5.
It seems Jacob is honest enough with himself to recognise that he needed to explain his past sins to his brother, and so, the offering he makes to Esau is basically an offering seeking forgiveness and to demonstrate his repentance.
Thomas, in his commentary, says the following.
‘He knows that there can be no peace and quiet until his relations with Esau are assured and put on a proper footing. Not until that matter was settled could Jacob feel certain of his future.’
After hearing the news that Esau is coming to meet him with four hundred men, Genesis 32:6 / Genesis 27:40. Notice that Jacob is greatly afraid and distressed, this is because of what he had done to his brother in the past, and so, he must have thought that the four hundred men were sent to him as some kind of punishment, Genesis 32:7.
Remember that Jacob’s mother told him to stay away from Esau until it was safe to return, Genesis 27:45, but it seems that Jacob never received that message. Jacob is scared and has forgotten about God. He splits the people and animals into two groups, Genesis 32:7.
This was to provide a way for some of his people to escape, Genesis 32:8. His favourite people were at the back so that if anything happened, they could maybe escape.
Jacob realises that he needs God and prays to God and quotes what God had told him earlier, Genesis 32:9 / Genesis 31:3. Jacob wasn’t worthy to have God do what he did but relied on God to do it for him, Genesis 32:10 / 1 Corinthians 15:9. He only had his staff when he crossed the Jordan, but now he has become two camps, Genesis 32:10.
Morris, in his commentary, says the following.
‘He realised that they would require God’s protection, and he fully intended to call on the Lord. But he realised it was wise, as well as in keeping with God’s will, to take what natural precautions were opened to him as quickly as possible, after which he could pray in good faith, knowing that he had done all that he could and that the Lord would have to take over the rest of the way.’
Jacob obviously knows he and his family couldn’t outrun four hundred men, and so, he turns to the Lord for help and places his trust in Him, Genesis 32:11. Notice the phrase, ‘the mothers with their children,’ Genesis 32:11 / Hosea 10:14.
Aalders, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This was a proverbial expression descriptive of a total annihilation from which no one would escape. It is equivalent to our statement with no survivors.’
Jacob’s prayer is answered, but his real enemy was his own worldly nature, not Esau. God told him that He would prosper and make his descendants like the sand of the sea, uncountable, Genesis 32:12. As Christians, we too, need to claim God’s promises not because we deserve them but because God promised them.
Jacob now prepares a huge gift for Esau; there are literally hundreds of animals, which are going to be given to Esau, Genesis 32:13-15. He put them in the care of his servants, and he told them to go ahead of him, keeping some space between himself and the animals, Genesis 32:16.
The servant who was leading the animals was told what to say when Esau met them and asked them who they belonged to, where they were going and who owned all the animals, Genesis 32:17.
They are to tell Esau that all the animals belong to Jacob, and they are being sent to his lord Esau as a gift, Genesis 32:18. All the other servant leaders were to say the same thing when Esau meets them, Genesis 32:19.
They were to make sure that they tell Esau that his servant Jacob is coming behind them, Genesis 32:20. Jacob sends many gifts to Esau, and it’s evident that he’s doing everything he can to try to appease what he thought was the coming onslaught from his brother, Genesis 32:20.
He did everything he could to seek forgiveness from his brother so that their relationship could be mended and the two of them could be reconciled. Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he spent the night in the camp, Genesis 32:21.
This is surely one of the most amazing and yet very complex texts within the Scriptures. Jacob now leaves the camp he was in, takes Leah and Rebekah, two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crosses the ford of the Jabbok, Genesis 32:22-32.
Morris, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The Jabbok is a stream that flows west into the Jordan, entering it about halfway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.’
After all his family and servants crossed the stream, he sent all of his possessions over, Genesis 32:23. This is Jacob’s last night on his own on this side of the camp, Genesis 32:21, but notice that Jacob wrestled with a man until daybreak, Genesis 32:24 / Hosea 12:3-5.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘From Hosea 12:4, we may learn that the wrestling of Jacob, mentioned in this place, was not merely a corporeal exercise, but also a spiritual one; He wept and made supplication unto him.’
When the man saw that he couldn’t overpower Jacob, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was dislocated, Genesis 32:25. The man asked Jacob to let him go because it was daybreak, but despite having a dislocated hip, Jacob refused to stop until he received a blessing from the man, Genesis 32:26 / John 15:5. It was at this point that Jacob was weeping and begging, Hosea 12:4.
Jacob is determined not to let go of the man, and when asked, he openly admits his name is Jacob, Genesis 32:27, which means deceiver, and because he wouldn’t give up his name, it was changed to Israel, which means ‘he struggles with God’, Genesis 32:28.
Josephus, in his writings, says the following concerning the name Israel.
‘It means one who struggled with the divine angel.’
A name change usually signifies a change of identity and character. When his name is mentioned as Jacob from now on, this is an indication that he’s returning to his old self. When his name is mentioned as Israel from now on, this is an indication that his mind is set on God.
Jacob had struggled with God and with humans and had overcome, Genesis 32:28. Jacob then asks what the man’s name was, but the man asks why he wants to know, and then he blessed Jacob, Genesis 32:29.
Notice that no answer was given to Jacob’s question concerning the man’s name, Judges 13:18. Later in Bethel, his name is revealed to Jacob, Genesis 35:9-15 / Hosea 12:5.
Hamilton, in his commentary, says the following.
‘One wonders if ’Why is it that you inquire about my name?’ Genesis 32:29 is another way of asking, ’Jacob, don’t you realise who I am?’
I’m sure we’ve all had times when we struggle in prayer with God to bless us or others around us. Jacob didn’t know exactly who he was struggling with, but he did name the place, ‘Peniel,’ Genesis 32:30, which means ‘face of God’.
Jacob calls the place Peniel, because he saw God face to face, and yet his life was spared, Genesis 32:30. In the Scriptures, people believed that anyone who saw God face to face would die, Genesis 16:13 / Exodus 33:20 / Judges 13:21-22.
The Hebrews understood that no one could see God in the fullness of His glory and live, they understood that sinners can’t see God in His full glory, Exodus 3:2 / Exodus 33:22 / Exodus 13:21 / Genesis 20:3 / Genesis 28:11-13 / 1 Kings 3:5. Sin and holiness just don’t go together, they can’t coexist in the same place, Isaiah 59:2. He possibly named it this because he didn’t know the man’s name.
This is the turning point of Jacob’s life. He wanted a blessing because he knew now that he needed God. The blessing was the passing of his old life and the coming of his new life. Before any of us can face our enemies, we must first of all face God.
Notice that Jacob now has a limp, Genesis 32:31. This is the second constant reminder from God that the tendon would not be touched, Genesis 32:32. The dislocated hip was to be a permanent reminder to him of this occasion, Genesis 32:32.
Not only was his hip dislocated in order for him to remember the occasion, but it is also dislocated to remind him that this whole wrestling match was real and not some kind of dream or vision. Kind of like Paul’s thorn in the flesh, 2 Corinthians 12:8-9.
If we simply take the text, it’s clear that this person is a man. However, some believe it was an angel, and others believe this is a Christophany, which suggests that this is a preincarnate appearance of Christ.
How can we know? A little Scripture detective work will really help us identify who this man is. When we read Hosea 12:3-5, we begin to notice some parallels. Notice that although Jacob asked for a name, the man didn’t give him one, Genesis 32:29.
It seems that Jacob came to the conclusion that the man he wrestled with was actually a representative of God because he damaged Jacob’s hip joint with a single touch, Genesis 32:25, and because this man knew everything about his past, Genesis 32:28.
The man said Jacob has wrestled with God, Genesis 32:28 / Hosea 12:3, and Jacob says he has seen the face of God, Genesis 32:30. As a man, Jacob struggled with God, Hosea 12:3 / Genesis 32:28, but he struggled with ‘the angel,’ Hosea 12:4.
Note Hosea doesn’t say ‘an angel’ but ‘the angel’. Notice that Jacob overcame him, Hosea 12:4 / Genesis 32:25, and begged for his favour, Hosea 12:4 / Genesis 25:26.
We see that Jacob wanted a blessing from the man and wanted to know the man’s name, Genesis 32:29. He received the blessing, but not the name, Genesis 32:29.
However, Hosea said that Jacob received the blessing but found the name of his benefactor in Bethel, Hosea 12:4, and it was there it was revealed that the blessing came from LORD God Almighty, Genesis 35:9-15 / Hosea 12:5.
To summarise what we’ve discovered so far, we read in Genesis 32:24-30 that the person is described as a man. In Hosea 12:3, we read that Jacob wrestled with God, in Hosea 12:4, and we read that Jacob wrestled with ‘the angel’.
We now move from the question of who this man is, to who is this angel? In Hosea 12:5, the angel reveals His Name as the LORD God Almighty. Who is this angel? This is the pre-incarnation appearance of the Christ. He is the angel of the LORD. Remember the word ‘angel’ in Hebrew is ‘malak’, and it simply means messenger.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This was doubtless the Lord Jesus Christ, who, among the patriarchs, assumed that human form, which in the fullness of time he really took of a woman, and in which he dwelt thirty-three years among men.’
Haynes Jr, in his commentary, says the following.
‘A study of these passages reveals that the Angel of the Lord appeared in human form, Genesis 18:2 / Genesis 22:1-18 / Hebrews 13:2, and performed normal human functions, Genesis 32:24 / Numbers 22:23 / Numbers 22:31, yet he was an awe-inspiring figure, Genesis 32:30 / Judges 6:22 / Judges 13:22, exhibiting divine attributes and prerogatives including predicting the future, Genesis 16:10-12, forgiving sin, Exodus 23:21, and receiving worship, Exodus 3:5 / Judges 13:9-20.’