And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. Ver. 1. _Angels of God met him._] Sensibly and visibly, as servants meet their masters, as the guard their prince. Oh, the dignity and safety of the saints! who are in five respects, say some, above the angels. (1.) Our nature is more highly... [ Continue Reading ]
And when Jacob saw them, he said, This [is] God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. Ver. 2. This is God's host.] So called, for their number, order, obedience, strength, &c. God hath a complete host of horse and foot. Angels, and heavenly bodies, are his horse, as it were; "horse... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom._ Ver. 3. _And Jacob sent messengers._] Means, he knew, was to be used by him, though well assured of safeguard. God must be trusted, not tempted: means must be used, but not trusted. Jacob was "as... [ Continue Reading ]
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: Ver. 4. _Unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob, &c._] This was not baseness of spirit, much less a renouncing of his birthright and blessing; b... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 5. _And I have oxen, and asses, &c._] This Jacob mentioneth in his message, that Esau might not think that he sought to him for any need; but only for hi... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 6. _And four hundred men with him._] Four hundred cut-throats, as appears, Genesis 32:8. And here, good Jacob is brought again into the briars. When he was... [ Continue Reading ]
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; Ver. 7. _Then Jacob was greatly afraid._] This was his weakness, and may be ours in like case, as looking to the present peril, and "forgetting the... [ Continue Reading ]
_And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape._ Ver. 8. _If Esau come, &c._] It is a point of prudence, if we cannot keep all, to save what we can.... [ Continue Reading ]
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: _Ver 9. The Lord which saidst unto me._] Promises must be prayed over. God loves to be burdened with, and to be importu... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 10. _I am not worthy of the least, &c._] In prayer, we must avile ourselves before God to the utmost; conf... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._ Ver. 11. _And the mother with the children._] It seems to be a metaphor taken from birds, when fowlers take away the young and the dams... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 12. _And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good._] So Jacob interprets that promise, "I will be with thee": Gen 28:15 which, indeed, hath in it whatsoever heart can w... [ Continue Reading ]
And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; Ver. 13. _And took of that which came to his hand, &c._] Or, that was in his power. Such as he had, he sent. Silver and gold he had none; cattle he had, and of these he made no spare: for he... [ Continue Reading ]
Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Ver. 14. _Two hundred she-goats, &c._] A very great present for a private person to send. Five hundred and fifty beasts, of sundry sorts, for store. He spares no cost, that he may buy his peace, and enjoy his birthright.... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 16. _Every drove by themselves._] That Esau, having occasion of viewing the present, questioning the servants, and hearing... [ Continue Reading ]
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? Ver. 17. _Whose art thou? &c._] Short questions, such as great ones used to ask _a_ _See Trapp on "_ Gen 33:12 _"_ a _Impe... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 18. They be thy servant Jacob's.] "A soft answer turneth away wrath": Pro 15:1 _a_ "but grievous words stir up anger." And it is easier to stir strife than stint i... [ Continue Reading ]
_And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me._ Ver. 20. _Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us._] This he requires them all to insist on, l... [ Continue Reading ]
So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company. Ver. 21. _And himself lodged that night._] But lay upon thorns, and had little rest. “ Eις εστι δουλος οικιας, ο δερποτης ” The master is the greatest servant in the house, and hath most business. This verse did so... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._ Ver. 22. _And his eleven sons._] Together with his only daughter Dinah: but females are not so much observed in Scripture.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. Ver. 23. _Sent them over the brook._] Which he would not have done had he not been, upon his prayer, well confirmed and settled in his mind concerning the Lord's protection.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. Ver. 24. _And Jacob was left alone._] Purposely, for secret prayer: so the Church gets her into "the clefts of the rocks"; Son 2:14 Isaac, into the fields; Daniel, to the river's side; Christ, into the mount;... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 25. _And when he saw that he prevailed not._] He, that is, "the angel" (Christ) "that redeemed Jacob from all evil," Gen 48:16 and h... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. Ver. 26. _Let me go, &c._] Pugna suum finem, cum rogat hostis, habet. Jacob, though lamed, and hard laid at, will not let Christ go without a blessing: to teach us, as our Saviour did, by the pa... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said unto him, What [is] thy name? And he said, Jacob. Ver. 27. _What is thy name?_] As if the angel should say, Thou art such a fellow as I never met withal. Titles of honour are not worthy of thee. Kneel thou down "Jacob," rise up "ISRAEL": Thou art a conqueror, if ever any were. _Factus e... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 28. _No more Jacob, but Israel._] That is, not only, or not so much Jacob as Israel. Both these names he had given him, of striving and struggling. All Go... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 29. _And he blessed him there._] That was a better thing to Jacob than to answer his curious request of knowing the angel's name. So w... [ Continue Reading ]
And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. Ver. 30. _I have seen God face to face._] Christ would not tell Jacob his name, to lift up his mind above what he saw of him, and to insinuate that his name was "Wonderful," his essence incomp... [ Continue Reading ]
And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. Ver. 31. _He halted upon his thigh._] Yet had the blessing. So God's people are promised a hundredfold here, with persecution; that is tied, as a rag, to the profession of Christianity. Christ, our Captain, had a bloo... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 32. _Therefore the children, &c._] This custom, Josephus saith, continued till his time. A cere... [ Continue Reading ]