Genesis 32:6 – And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.”
There are times in life that it feels like we are in an exhausting battle. Sometimes we even battle with God – struggling to accept His will, unwilling to agree with His word, or fighting to get our own way and not do things His way. In this scene of Genesis, Jacob literally wrestles with God in a way that ends up being a good blessing for His future. Jacob left home as a single man and now returns home as a husband and father who has been toughened up by years of abuse under his father-in-law, Laban.
After 20 years away, Jacob’s homecoming journey was interrupted by two angels who met him at the border of the Promised Land. Not knowing if his brother Esau, whom he had not seen for 20 years, still wanted to kill him, Jacob sent messengers ahead to notify Esau that he sought peace and wanted to bless him with gifts intended to at least, in part, make up for the blessing he stole. The messengers returned to inform Jacob that Esau was coming…with four hundred men who were either an entourage to welcome Jacob or an army to slaughter him. Understandably worried for the worst, to protect his household, Jacob split his people and animals into two groups hoping that one could flee and survive if attacked.
In Genesis 32:9-12, we then see the faith of Jacob, which has been apparently growing slowly over the 20 years since he first encountered God personally, as he prayed to God in faith that God would be faithful to His covenant promises to bless and protect him. Jacob then compiled a very large gift for Esau and had it delivered to his brother. Tomorrow, we’ll read about a surprising encounter with God which Jacob had before reuniting with his brother, Esau.
How is Jacob’s life basically an illustration of 2 Timothy 2:13?
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