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| 1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. |
And Jacob – Being at this time 97 years old and having been absent 40 years. R1634:3
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| 2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. |
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| 3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. |
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| 4 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: |
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| 5 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. |
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| 6 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. |
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| 7 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; |
Afraid and distressed – Representing the present fears of the Jewish people as they near the time of their restoration. R3970:3
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| 8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape. |
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| 9 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: |
And Jacob said – The first recorded prayer in the Bible; a perfect prayer as measured by the standard of the Lord's prayer, and following the same general lines of adoration to the Almighty, humiliation in his presence, petition for divine care and protection, and repetition of the divine promises as the ground for faith and hope. R3969:2
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| 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. |
I am not worthy – An excellent example of earnest, persevering prayer. R5481:1
With my staff – Without other possessions. R3969:3, R5481:1
Over this Jordan – When fleeing from home. R2864:3, R5481:1
Became two bands – Referring to his large possessions of herds, etc., which he had divided into two bands. R3969:3, R5481:1
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| 11 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. |
The hand of Esau – Type of natural Israel and Christendom. D15; F172
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| 12 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. |
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| 13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; |
And took of that – Jacob was not content merely to pray, but labored also to set his affairs in the best possible order for the difficulties ahead. R3969:6
A present for Esau – Despite the fact that he had previously abandoned to him all the immense wealth of Isaac, which was his by birthright. We should not be sticklers for full justice and the last penny in earthly matters. R2865:4
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| 14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, |
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| 15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. |
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| 16 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. |
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| 17 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? |
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| 18 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. |
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| 19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. |
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| 20 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. |
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| 21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company. |
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| 22 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. |
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| 23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. |
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| 24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. |
And Jacob – Type of his faithful ones, the New Creation. F172
Was left alone – To continue his prayer. The account which follows fitly represents our Lord's experiences in the garden of Gethsemane. Our Lord agonized for long hours and finally got the blessing. R3970:1
Wrestled – Permitting Jacob to get into an earnest attitude. We need not wrestle with God, we already have his special blessing. R5835:6
A man with him – An angel in human form. R3969:6
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| 25 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. |
Of his thigh – Probably the sciatic nerve. R2866:5
Was out of joint – Probably remained so the balance of his life as a reminder that he owed everything he possessed to the Lord's blessing. R2866:5
Wrestled with him – The blessing being withheld until he should more and more feel the need of it and struggle to obtain it. R3970:1
God would have us thus "strive to enter in." (Luke 13:24) R1634:5
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| 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. |
Will not let thee go – Representing the Jewish people when the Lord shall shortly "pour out upon them the spirit of prayer and supplication." (Zech. 12:10) R3970:3
"Men ought always to pray and not to faint." (Luke 18:1) R2865:6
Thou bless me – Similarly our prayers should be for the Lord's blessing, not for temporal prosperity. R2865:6
Jacob was full of faith in the power of God and in his promise to protect him and make of him a great nation. R5481:2
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| 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
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| 28 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. |
But Israel – Meaning "Mighty with God," or "A prince with God." R5481:4, R5832:3, R2866:2; OV66:1
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| 29 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. |
After my name – The angel seemingly had no desire to flaunt his own name and have it handed down to posterity. He desired the praise to be given to God. R3970:6
Blessed him there – The darkest seasons of Jacob's life were the special occasions for the manifestations of divine favor. R1635:1
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| 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. |
Peniel – Meaning "The face of God." R5481:5
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| 31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. |
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| 32 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. |
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