God’s *angels did not give any message to Jacob, but Jacob saw them. So Jacob knew that God was guarding him. ‘Mahanaim’ means ‘two armies’ or ‘two camps’. Perhaps he meant God’s army and his own people. His own people were not strong enough to defend themselves against Esau. But if God’s army campe... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD’S ANCIENT PEOPLE GENESIS _ALUN OWEN_ CHAPTER 32 JACOB PREPARES TO MEET ESAU V1 Jacob continued his journey. God’s *angels met him V2 and Jacob saw them. He said, ‘This is God’s army!’ So he called that place Mahanaim. V3 Jacob sent some of his servants to take a message to his brother Esau... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Edom’ was another name for Esau. ‘Edom’ also means Esau’s *descendants. And it also means the country where they lived. This country is south and east of *Canaan.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jacob did not know whether Esau was friendly to him or not. Perhaps Esau was bringing 400 men so as to kill Jacob and all his people. V9 And Jacob said, ‘God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! You said to me, “Return to your country and to your relatives. I will do good things to you.” V... [ Continue Reading ]
‘You said to me, “Return.” ‘ (See Genesis 31:3.)... [ Continue Reading ]
Jacob was greatly afraid. (See verse 7.) But he had learned to trust God. So he prayed. These are the parts of his prayer. We might use them as a pattern for our own prayers. • He speaks to God. He says, ‘My father’s God’. We might say, ‘Our father in heaven’. • He repeats God’s promise. (See the... [ Continue Reading ]
God said these words to Abraham. (See Genesis 22:17.) He said a similar thing to Jacob but he mentioned dust instead of sand. (See Genesis 28:14.) But the meaning is the same. V13 So Jacob stayed there that night. And he chose from his possessions a gift for his brother Esau. V14 He took 200 female... [ Continue Reading ]
Jacob chose the gift after he had prayed. That was the right thing to do. We should pray before we decide. Perhaps God will answer our prayer by helping us to make the right decision. Jacob believed that God would protect him. But he also did sensible things so that Esau would accept him. These wer... [ Continue Reading ]
Jacob’s servants gave messages to Esau. The messages told Esau that Jacob was friendly to him. And Esau had enough time to think about those messages before he met Jacob. JACOB FIGHTS WITH GOD V22 During the night, Jacob got up. He crossed the stream that is called the Jabbok. He took his two wive... [ Continue Reading ]
The Jabbok is a stream that flows into the river Jordan from the east. It is shallow and one can cross it easily. It divides the region that is called Gilead in two parts.... [ Continue Reading ]
This was God, who appeared as a man. We know that from verse 28 (‘struggled with God’) and from verse 30 (‘seen God’s face’).... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The man saw that he did not win.’ God is powerful. He can do anything. But he did not overcome Jacob, because he used only a man’s strength.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jacob’ may mean ‘one who cheats’. (See Genesis 25:26 and the comment.) ‘Israel’ probably means ‘God struggles’ or ‘he struggles with God’. God said to Jacob, ‘You shall be called Israel.’ But after this time he had two names. He was sometimes called Israel and he was sometimes called Jacob. And ev... [ Continue Reading ]
God had appeared as a man. See the comment about verse 24. Many Bible students believe that it was Jesus who met Jacob.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Peniel’ and ‘Penuel’ are both names of the same place. They both mean ‘God’s face’. ‘Penuel’ became the usual name of that place but its meaning is not quite clear. The meaning of ‘Peniel’ is clear, but it is not the usual name of the place. To understand this, use English words to make the name.... [ Continue Reading ]