Review of Genesis 32

— by Victor Fawole

We have studied Jacob’s life, and up till this chapter, one would hardly find a single reason for God to have chosen him as a carrier of the covenant. He had several moral flaws. If we set up a panel to select a father for the nation of Israel, Jacob would not even meet the cutoff. Yet, God chose him and transformed him. Grace! Let us review together:

1. FACING ESAU

Gen. 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.

Flashback to chapter 27, Esau had sworn to kill Jacob (Gen. 27:45). So he had to flee. As far as Bile is concerned, that was the last time Jacob saw his mother. Now that he was returning back to Canaan, and would be meeting his brother, he had every reason to believe that Esau was still mad at him. Esau already had 400 men under his command, and there was no way Jacob could fight 400 men on his own. This was a perplexing situation.

Are you also faced with a distressful situation that seems to have no way-out? I recommend that you feed your soul with these sermons:

• You Are Not Alone!
• Jesus, My Very Present Help
• Fear Not (Part 1-3)

“Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed…” Hmmmn… The problem overwhelmed Jacob so much that he succumbed to fear. His response of fear is wrong in many ways. He appeared to have forgotten that:

• God had sent angels to him to protect him (Gen. 32:1-2).
• God delivered him from the hands of Laban.
• God had already promised to be with Him.
• God was not dealing with him based on his own (un)righteousness.

A response of fear and distress is not appropriate for anyone under God’s protection. As believers, when troubling situations rock our boats, we need to respond with faith and confidence in our God.

However, a moment of fear and distress does not write us off. Jacob did not end his response on the note of fear and distress. Rather, it led him to:

• heartfelt prayer of faith.
• a review of his life in humility and thanksgiving.
• deep devotion to God.
• remember the promises of God.

Gen. 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.

This prayer reminds me of Pastor Dammy’s sermon titled: “Yet Not I — Part 1”. Jacob’s posture at this point was a “Yet Not I” posture.

• He saw his NOTHINGNESS: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies…
• He said his BLESSEDNESS: “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.”
• He showed his ACTIVENESS: “…with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.”

He went from being bitten by the guilt of his past sins to basking in the grace of his ever-present Saviour. The lessons for us as believers are that:

• We should entertain no fear if we are in the centre of God’s plan for our lives
• We should draw strength from remembering God’s faithfulness and goodness to us in the past
• We should put our trust in the unfailing promises of God

2. FACEOFF WITH GOD

Gen. 32:24-25 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.

On a closer look at these verses, we’d see that it wasn’t Jacob that wrestled with the Man. Instead, the Man wrestled with him. This was not an ordinary man. This was another special (pre-incarnate) appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. Jacob didn’t start out wanting anything from God. It was God Who wanted something from him. God wanted all of Jacob’s pride, self-reliance and fleshly scheming, and He came to take it. If necessary, by force.

As the self-reliant man that Jacob was, he struggled so hard and refused to submit. He had been wrestling since he was in the womb with Esau. (Gen. 25:22).

Hos. 12:3-4 Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him

God could have dealt with him once and for all, but He really needed to take Jacob to the point where his human strength would get exhausted and fail him. Then God hit him at his strength. The hip joint is generally known as the pivot of a wrestler’s strength. It plays a crucial role in generating power and stability in wrestling. The hips are the “engine” of the body, and in wrestling, they are essential for producing force, balance, and agility. God had to strike him there!

“I will not let thee go, except thou bless me…” God had overcome Jacob, and as we read in Hosea 12:3-4, Jacob “wept and pleaded” for this blessing. It was not some arrogant “decree and declare” prayer. It was not a “command your angel” situation. He knew he had been defeated, yet he desired a blessing from God. He was already at the point of exhaustion. He came to a point where he knew that he needed mercy and grace and he prayed for it.

God blessed Jacob there, and the practical way was to change his name to Israel – from “Jacob supplants” to “God prevails”. The first name acknowledges his struggle with men, while the second points to his encounter with God. Jacob represented his past – as a deceiver and supplanter. Israel represented his future, as God would now be dealing with him and all his sons.

Dear Gogolights, rather than being filled with pride and self-sufficiency, let us come to that point where we relax our muscles and submit in complete dependence on God’s grace and resources. This is the way to enjoy our walk with God.

Grace to you, Church!