Genesis Sermons (written)

Genesis 34:1-12
For Best Results, Stick to the Blueprint

Introduction: The 31 verses of chapter 34 will show us the impetuous nature of a man named Shechem. His actions failed to follow the right blueprint in how to handle his relationship with Jacob’s daughter Dinah. In the end, by not following the blueprint, he found only disaster.

The chapter also shows the brutal and unmerciful nature of two of the sons of Jacob. What they did was an offense and can in no way be condoned. I have to be honest though, like many times in the past until I prepared for this sermon, I had no idea why this passage was included.

Yes, it’s an interesting story, as they all are, but without having a purpose for its inclusion, it is just that – an interesting story. It doesn’t really give us anything to work with other than the story itself. What is God telling us? Why this story?

And the commentaries about this chapter didn’t really help with what is being pictured. So as I studied each verse, I was in prayer. Like the story on the two daughters of Lot, I realized that I had completely misunderstood this passage even on a basic level.

Unfortunately for you, until we finish the chapter, you’re not going to see the full picture. The reason is, unlike many other chapters which are divided into smaller sections, this story is a complete unit.

So, if you want to have an understanding of the chapter, you’ll have to stick it out through all 3 sermons. I will do my best to make it interesting each time, but the overall picture is both fascinating and very saddening at the same time.

What this is showing us became rather clear and it troubled me when I realized what it is. But this is the Lord’s word and therefore, I must present what I believe He intends for us to see.

As an advanced clue for you, and maybe to help you think this through as we go, it needs to be noted now that throughout this entire chapter, until the 30th verse, right at the end, Jacob is never quoted as say anything, in any way.

He’s mentioned 12 times as Jacob and once as Israel, but it’s always speaking about him, not quoting him until that 30th verse.

Jacob, as he has thus far, pictures the Lord. And therefore, the Lord is also certainly silent during the process of what this pictures.

And one more thing which is lacking… The Lord is never mentioned in this passage, nor is he prayed to for guidance. It is a passage devoid of what is needed in many ways. If these verses hurt my heart, how much more His…

Text Verse: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8, 9

God has done great things for the people of the world through His Son, our Lord Jesus. What God offers is a gift. It can’t be earned nor can it be purchased. It is something that also comes not by man’s will but by an act of love from the Creator.

When we get things out of order with God, confusion ensues. Along with confusion comes unhappy results as we find ourselves stuck deeper and deeper in a theological quagmire. God makes it simple for us, but we… we muddy the waters.

In everything, there is to be an order and there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. For example, if we want to marry a lady, there is an order in how we handle the process. When we get those things out of order, only trouble can result. This is the way things are in most avenues we take.

If we want to build a house, we don’t build a roof before we lay the foundation. Instead, we lay the foundation, put up the walls, and then put on a roof. During the building, we make sure we’ve put in the electric wires, the plumbing, and the other necessary things, each in order.

God’s gift is just that, it is a gift. We need to make sure we receive it and then work on the relationship, not the other way around. In order to be saved, in order to build a house, or in order to marry a beautiful young lady, we need to follow the proper plan and use the right blueprint.

The Bible tells us how to be saved. The Bible shows us about the house that God is building. And the Bible gives us right instruction on how to handle relationships between men and women interested in getting married, or staying married. All of these are found in God’s word and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Shechem’s Love for Dinah

The story we’re about to look at is not a one-for-one comparison of what is being pictured. These pictures never are or what is told would simply say what is intended. Rather, God is using real events that happened to show us spiritual truths, and so we have to infer things.

When a young girl has physical contact with a man, it obviously doesn’t translate directly into the spiritual realm, but the outpouring of the love because of the act does. We need to remind ourselves of this as we go through the verses and when we see the overall picture of what is being presented.

¹ Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.

Dinah is the only recorded daughter of Jacob, but it’s an error to say she’s the only daughter. Elsewhere, the Bible mentions his daughters in the plural and so it’s likely that he had more. The sons are recorded because the name and inheritance travels through the males.

Dinah alone is recorded, certainly because the events of this chapter and what they ultimately picture. Here in the first verse, it notes that she is the daughter of Leah. Leah, as we have seen since her introduction, pictures the Old Testament law. Dinah’s name means “Vindicated.”

These pictures continue in this passage. In Genesis 30, Leah, who pictures the law, had her final three recorded children. Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah. Each of them pictured the final workings of Christ as He fulfilled the law for us. Issachar means “He is wages.” Zebulun means “Glorious dwelling place.” And Dinah as noted means “Vindicated.”

Paul tells us the fulfillment of her name in 1 Timothy 3:16 – “Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”

Jesus Christ prevailed over the law, He is our wages (Issachar) unto eternal life, He entered the glorious dwelling place (Zebulun) with His own blood, and He was vindicated (Dinah) by the Spirit – the proof is the resurrection.

The law was fulfilled and New Testament grace, pictured by Rachel could now be bestowed upon the people of the world. This is something we need to remember in the chapter ahead.

This girl, Dinah, is probably about 13 right now, and at the most no more than 15. Although this is considered young by our standards, the Jewish commentators of a later period fixed the earliest age of marriage for a female at 12 years and 1 day.

We can figure her age because she was born right around the same time as Joseph. Joseph will be 17 when he is sold by his brothers, which is seen in Genesis 37:2. So that means that Jacob has been living in this area and the place he came from, Sukkoth, for about six or seven years.

Here in this verse, it says that she “went out to see the daughters of the land.” The reason isn’t given, but the Jewish historian Josephus says that it was because it was a time of festival in the land and so she went out to see the finery of the women of the country.

If it is a festival time, then the ladies would be wearing their best outfits. Being a curious young lady, as most young ladies are, she took the opportunity to see the newest fashions. TV hadn’t been invented yet and so she had no choice except to go see for herself.

A lot of commentators find fault here because such a young lady is out alone, but this is no less common in today’s world and elsewhere in the Bible as well. After having lived in the area for some amount of time, the family would know the level of safety and would have known how to act concerning this.

We can’t find any real fault here. But the Geneva Bible still gives us a good thought on the matter – “This example teaches us that too much liberty is not to be given to youth.” I have to agree, having been that age myself and knowing all the things I did then, I think it would be good to keep youth locked up until at least 25 or 30.

² And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.

As has happened far too often in human history, what shouldn’t have been done has happened. Shechem who is the son of Hamor, the ruler of the surrounding area, saw what wasn’t his, took it, and brought about what will be a heap of trouble.

Here in this verse Hamor is identified as a Hivite. Way back in Genesis 10, the Hivite is identified as a son of Canaan, who is the son of Ham. Canaan was the one cursed by Noah when Ham did something perverse to his father Noah. These would be a gentile people as opposed to the Hebrews in Jacob’s clan.

I don’t want to go too far off base and introduce things that aren’t true, but one commentator, Pirke Eliezer says that Dinah in fact got pregnant because of what happened and that child was eventually taken to Egypt and was brought up by Potiphera’s wife as her daughter Asenath.

Asenath, eventually will become Joseph’s wife and bear two sons – Ephraim and Manasseh who will be included in the sons and tribes of Israel. The name Asenath is Egyptian, but if the story is true, it very well may have been adapted from a Hebrew word – ason.

Ason is a word used prior to and after the Egyptian years and it means mischief, evil, or harm. And this is exactly what occurred in order for Dinah to have born a child. Like I said, I don’t want you to think this is true, but it does reveal a pattern which makes sense.

Because certain names are given, I will explain their meaning here. We need to understand them to know later what is being pictured. The name Shechem comes from a verb which means to “rise early” and a noun which means “shoulder.” The two words indicate the wisdom and diligence of a person.

Shechem’s father, Hamor, means “he-ass”, a male donkey which is a beast of burden. It gets its name from its reddish color. A donkey is an unclean animal, just as gentiles are considered unclean to the Jews. So maybe this clue will help you think this chapter through.

Donkeys are beasts of burden, they have value, and under mosaic law the firstborn had to be redeemed by a clean animal – a lamb – or they were to have their neck broken. (Exodus 13:13)

Finally, Hamor is noted as a Hivite. The term Hivite probably means “villager.” It is related to the noun meaning village and the verb which means to prostrate oneself, or worship. These three names are given to connect us to Dinah and what will happen.

³ His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman.

Shechem was the son of the ruler and probably felt that he had the right to do what he wished. He saw a beautiful young lady and he took her. Whether he felt anything more than a passing fancy is unknown, but after he had been with her, he felt a strong attraction.

The Bible notes that he loved her and so he spoke kindly to the young woman. Every commentator of this verse notes the same thing. The original translation says that Shechem spoke to the heart of Dinah – in Hebrew v’daber al lev.

In other words, it seems to imply that he truly loved her and wanted her to love him. But it also seems to imply that he needed to do this because what he did to her was forced. He speaking to her heart was intended to get her to love him after the fact, not before the act.

In the fickleness of human relations, these things go wrong more often than they go right. Sometimes we do what’s wrong and then work to make it right, and sometimes we do what’s right and then turn around and make it wrong. This is because we put emotions above commitment.

Invariably, when we do this, we get it wrong. Emotions are to be a result of commitment, not a basis for it. If we get this wrong, when the emotions change, there is no support for the commitment. This is the case with Shechem and it is seen again later in the Bible as well.

⁴ So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

What this is implying is that he was looking to his father to get him out of any mess he’d gotten into and to use his authority to arrange a marriage between them. Several commentators note that this shows that even at early times and among pagans, it was right to get parent’s consent before getting married – both sets of parents.

That’s a pretty big leap for this one verse and it ignores the pre-marital sex which was forced on Dinah by Shechem. As you can see, if you have something in your head already because of your cultural surroundings, or if you hear something from an authority, then you’re more likely to believe it.

But both are, as I tell you every chance I get, the wrong way to approach the Bible. You leave what you already believe behind and you disregard commentaries until you have a reason to accept them. Shechem forced Dinah and now he is trying to get out of it because he has fallen in love with her and doesn’t want to lose her.

II. Hamor’s Offer

⁵ And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter.

There’s no note of how Jacob heard. It could have been from Dinah personally, but later it says that the brothers will come and take her from Shechem’s house, so maybe she never left there after she was violated. It could be one of Dinah’s friends found out and told him.

Or it could be that Shechem’s father came over and told him and waited around for the family to gather together to hold counsel. One way or another he found out and kept calm. Were this me, I would have flown off the handle, but Jacob was restrained.

^{5 (con’t)} Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came.

If Dinah is about 13, that would make the oldest son Reuben about 19, give or take. If you go to Israel today, you can see really young children, no more than 15, tending to flocks in the middle of nowhere. They start early and it is as common as cucumbers.

By now all of the boys in the family are old enough to tend to flocks because Joseph is right around Dinah’s age. This is their job as shepherds and they are busy in the field’s attending to their duties. Jacob isn’t recorded as saying a word or showing any anger.

⁶ Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him.

If Hamor was the one to tell Jacob what happened, then Jacob probably told him he’d talk to the boys whenever they came home and then he’d call him. Because Jacob has four wives, it would be right to call the brothers of Dinah who were born to Leah and at least talk to them.

This would include Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Probably after such a meeting, then they called Hamor, Shechem’s father, to meet again and come to a decision in everyone’s presence.

⁷ And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it;

Apparently, there was no need to wait for them to return on their own timing. Someone sent a message to them in the field and as soon as they heard the news, they came in directly, probably stewing all the way home over what happened.

^7 (con’t) and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

After stewing all the way home, it says they were grieved and very angry. There is a time for anger, but in the process of anger, we need to step back and make sound judgments. It’s hard to disconnect the two, but when we let our anger take over, the battle – whatever battle – is already lost. Such will be the case here.

This is the fourth time the name Israel has been mentioned in the Bible, but it is the very first time it’s been used in the collective sense of the family of Jacob who is Israel and thus the people of Israel. In Hebrew the term used is b’Yisrael. Albert Barnes finds the translation “in Israel” hard to accept. He says –

“The land, afterwards generally called Israel, was not as yet so named; and the sons of Jacob were neither called Israel, Israelites nor Jews, till long after this. How then can it be said that Shechem had wrought folly in Israel?”

In order to resolve this, he says that b’Yisrael should be translated “against” Israel, not “in” Israel. Both Israel and Jacob are mentioned in the sentence and so he says it’s indicating an offense against God, and so Israel is named, and against Jacob as a father, and so that name is used.

His idea, “against Israel” is possible, but this isn’t the intent at all. It is the sons who are angry in this verse. They carry the offense, not for their father, but for themselves. The offense is against the family, not just the man. b’Yisrael then is a standing phrase for the whole family, and thus the people, Israel. Albert Barnes, I believe, got this one wrong.

This term b’Yisrael will be used from this verse forward in connection with the unity of the people and family who come from Israel. Offenses may come from without or within the family, but the offenses are against the name and integrity of this special and select group of people formed by God for His purposes.

And so the entire term nebalah asah b’Yisrael is used here – “a disgraceful thing in Israel.” Nebalah is the word translated as “disgraceful act.” In Deuteronomy 22, it is used to identify a woman who was found to not be a virgin on her wedding night.

In Judges, it’s used to describe one of the most noted transgressions in Israel’s history when a man named Aachen took an accursed thing into his home that should have been destroyed as an act of devotion to God.

It is also used by Abigail, the future wife of King David, to describe her husband Nabal. She made a play on his name to indicate the type of man he was Nabal shemo u’nebalah immow – “Nabal is his name and folly is with him.”

When we read Shakespeare, we appreciate it as much for its style as its content. The same is true with Hebrew. It is tragic how much beauty is lost in translations, but believe it or not, I believe some things are actually gained in translation if it is done properly.

This is the wonder of God’s word. We can learn from it by understanding it in any of the languages that He created for us. Each will certainly carry something special to give us insights into His precious heart. Keep reading, keep learning, keep loving this precious word.

⁸ But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife.

This goes back to verse 4 which said, “So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” He could clearly see that his son was completely smitten with Dinah and so here he is asking in good faith for this to be worked out in a favorable way.

The implication is that even if he did something wrong, he’s willing to make it right and he’s doing it in love. She won’t just be vindicated, as her name Dinah implies, but she will be cared for in the process.

⁹ And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves.

In order to get the sons of Jacob to become more amenable to the proposal, he brings in a long standing agreement. The first part of which is that marriages would be welcome between them. Most, if not all, of the sons are neither married nor have children.

And yet he says that the giving of daughters between the two parties would be welcome. This tells us that Jacob does in fact have other daughters. As they have children, then their children would inter-marry and become one united group of people.

This might not sit well with Jacob. Abraham ensured that his servant got a bride for Isaac from his home and family, not from Canaan. Isaac and Rebekah in turn were unhappy with Esau’s Canaanite wives and Jacob was sent to get a wife from the family tribe as well.

However, there are now 11 sons, daughters, and servants in Jacob’s home. Things could no longer progress as they had in the past and all of this would probably be on Jacob’s mind. And as a demonstration of this, eventually Canaanites will marry into the family. Two noted Canaanite women – Tamar and Rahab – will both become ancestors of Jesus.

¹⁰ So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”

Hamor’s talking is the fanciful dream which will never happen, but his intent is good and his desire for his son’s happiness is evident. Every word he’s spoken has been one which desires peace and harmony between the two parties. He cannot change what has happened, but he can ensure that the future will be different.

He’s offered everything as if they were family – daughters, the land, trading, and livelihood. Everything necessary to be established and prosper in a land is made available to Jacob’s clan.

III. A Dowry is Offered

¹¹ Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give.

The father finished his petition and it included everything one would expect between members of a family united. But now the offer of a husband for a wife has be made. Shechem’s words are directed to the father who has ultimate say and to the brothers who were both offended by his actions and who have the right of input concerning their sister.

He says, let me find favor, or grace, in your eyes. The word is khen and it is the same word, for example, that speaks of God’s favor on Noah in Genesis 6:8 – “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Where there could be wrath, Shechem asks for reconciliation.

He also adds in that he will meet whatever their demand is for a dowry. However, by offering it after the fact, his brothers will take it in a completely different way than he intends. He’s violated their sister and he’s hoping that payment will appease them.

In essence, and as we’ll see in the very last verse of the chapter, to them it would be as if they sold her as a whore. The impetuous act of violating her and the words he has used in an attempt to pacify the brothers will carry a high price. Grace is the last thing he will find. However, the lack of grace by the brothers will cost them too.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 says this – “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools.”

¹² Ask me ever so much dowry and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”

In his zeal to have Dinah, Shechem tells them that whatever bride-price they asked, he would be willing to pay it. He could probably see on their faces that they were still unhappy, even after the father’s offer and he was willing to add any amount to it.

Without going through all the details of what these 12 verses picture, let’s review a few things for you to think about. When we go through the next sermons, keep thinking about them and how they all fit into New Testament theology concerning our relationship with Christ.

Dinah, means “vindicated” and was used to picture the power of the Spirit as evidenced by the Lord’s resurrection. She is the daughter of Leah who pictures the Law. Hamor and Shechem are gentiles who are looking to become united to the family of Jacob through marriage.

Hamor has offered the two clans be united and Shechem has offered to pay for the girl he has experienced and now wants as his own. Next week we’ll continue through this chapter and see new conditions brought in by the sons of Jacob.

Remember as we go on that Jacob has said nothing yet, nor will he until the account is over. Also, the Lord hasn’t been invoked by name or in prayer during the account as well. We’ll see where it all leads in the sermons ahead.

Before we leave today though, as I always do, I want to make at least one petition with clarity instead of in the veiled pictures we’re looking at. I’d like just a couple more minutes to talk to you about Jesus – why He came, why it’s truly important to you, and how you too can be a part of His family and reconciled to God through Him.

Closing Verse: ¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19, 20

Next Week: Genesis 34:13-24 (Blueprint? We Don’t Need No Blueprint!) – Make sure to read and study those verses.

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and a purpose for you. So call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Not Following the Blueprint

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah
Whom to Jacob she had borne
Went out to see the daughters of the land
Maybe to see the fashions that they had worn

And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite
Prince of the country, saw her
He took her and lay with her, doing what was not right
He violated her, something that would bring trouble for sure

His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah
For the daughter of Jacob he yearned
And he loved the young woman
And spoke kindly to her, as his love burned

So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying,
“Get me this young woman as a wife.” For this I am praying

And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter
Now his sons were with his livestock in the field
So Jacob held his peace until they came
Then together the matter would be revealed

Then Hamor the father of Shechem
Went out to Jacob to speak with him
And the sons of Jacob came in from the field
When they heard it, their attitude was quite grim

And the men were grieved and very angry
Because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel
By lying with Jacob’s daughter
A thing which ought not to be done, as you can tell

But Hamor spoke with them, saying,
“The soul of my son Shechem for your daughter longs
Please give her to him as a wife
Instead of anger, let there be wedding songs

And make marriages with us
Give your daughters to us as well
And take our daughters to yourselves
Let there be not just one wedding bell

So you shall dwell here along with us
And the land shall be open before you
Dwell and trade in it, you shall do thus
And acquire possessions for yourselves – this you can do

Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers
“Let me find favor in your eyes
And whatever you say to me I will give
She to me is the greatest prize

Ask me ever so much dowry and gift
And I will give according to what you say to me
But give me the young woman as a wife
I love her deeply, even more so, as you can plainly see

There are right ways and wrong ways
To do the things we do in life
Following the blueprint all our days
Will keep us from unhappiness and from strife

In our relationship to God we have been given a plan
It is our guide and our help to know Him better
It is the word of God a gift bestowed upon man
So let us cherish its words, and even each letter

The book as a whole tells us about our Lord
There we learn of our Savior, in His holy word

And so let us read it and follow it all of our days
Learning to love Him and to shower Him with all our praise

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 33:18-20
God, the God of Israel

Introduction: The life of Jacob has and will continue to picture things ahead in the Bible and in history itself. It was true of the time before he left Canaan and it will be true as we see new things unfold after his return to Canaan.

The time from his departure from home, the events just before leaving the land of Canaan, and all of his time away from there have painted a beautifully detailed panorama of redemptive history – of Israel as a people, of the flock which is the church, and of Jesus as the fulfillment of their hopes and aspirations.

Every story has been selected by God to show us this wondrous display as it works toward a beautiful end – one of peace. We’ll see more of this in today’s three verses which sum up these things in a short, concise picture of what is coming.

When we finish today, we’ll be able to more readily grasp the mission of Christ and how He so beautifully completed it for those whom He has called and whom He so dearly loves. We’ve talked about the doctrine of dispensationalism. It is a doctrine which many deny, saying that Christ is done with Israel and all prophecy has been fulfilled.

But the Bible doesn’t teach this. A time is coming when Christ will return and will rule from Jerusalem for 1000 years. In fact, Revelation 20 says this explicitly six times. One has to deny a literal reading of the Bible to deny this truth – a truth which stems from anti-Semitism. It dismisses the truth which God has revealed concerning Israel’s future.

Today’s story will confirm what dispensationalism teaches as clearly as anything could. We saw the five dispensations prior to Christ’s coming in previous sermons. In last week’s sermon we saw the sixth dispensation the church age. Today we will see the seventh and final one as the life of Jacob is used, yet again, to show us this truth.

Text Verse: Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Revelation 20:6

The nations have sought Him and they still seek Him out today. Someday, some glorious day in the future, there will be a time of unmatched peace and blessing on the face of the earth. Jesus will rule from a city of peace and joy. The world will be much different than it is now as the law proceeds to the nations from His throne. Even the six days of creation and the seventh day of rest are used to display this pattern concerning the seven thousand years of man’s time on earth.

The place where we can go to be reminded of these things is to this beautiful treasure that He has given us called the Holy Bible. So let’s go there now and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Once again in the Promised Land

¹⁸ Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram;

Just in case you use a different translation of the Bible, I’d like you to see another way this can be translated. Let me read them both –

Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan… (NKJV) //// And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan… (KJV)

As you can see, there’s a difference in how the two read and it’s not small. The word Shalem implies that he arrived safely, but it can also be the name of a city that’s being referred to. The word means, “complete”, “safe”, “at peace.” Together, they imply “wholeness.”

In the New Testament, in John chapter 3 we read about a place with a very similar name –

²² After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. ²³ Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. (22, 23)

So it could be that the name of the town is correct. Or, this verse could be referring back to chapter 28 where Jacob made his vow to the Lord and which is being confirmed as fulfilled here –

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.(20-21)

Or, what is a third possibility is that this is the fulfillment of chapter 28’s words, and so the land Jacob is going to buy will be named after what happened. In other words, the fact that he arrived in peace becomes the name of the town.

I prefer this option because it’s the one I thought of… and because it shows the fulfillment of what’s been. The naming of the city like this is something that happens many times in the Bible.  Names are given in conjunction with the actual occurrence. This then is Jacob’s “City of Peace” based on his arrival home in peace.

This Shalem is called “a city of Shechem.” The name Shechem comes from a verb shakam which means to “rise early” and the a noun shekem which means “shoulder.” The two words indicate the wisdom and diligence of a person.

To rise early is indicative of having a good start to the day – as Benjamin Franklin said, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Carrying a load on the shoulder also shows wise diligence. In Isaiah chapter 9, we read this about the coming Messiah, pointing to what we’re talking about –

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (6)

So, after giving the name Shechem, this verse says that it is “in the land of Canaan.” Canaan means either “merchant” or “servant.”

This name, Canaan, is tied to the Hebrew verb kana meaning to be humbled or subdued. About this verb, HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament says, “It denoted bringing a proud and recalcitrant people or spirit into subjection.” Two examples will help us see the intent. The first is from Leviticus 26 –

“…and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—⁴² then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember;” Leviticus 26:41, 42

The second example is the famous passage that everyone takes out of context, but citing it makes us feel helpful in a world which is falling apart around us. It’s found in 2 Chronicles 7 –

“…if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (14)

In both of these verses, the verb kana, the root of Canaan, is used to show that humility is a key condition of God’s blessing. Along with these, the Bible notes repeatedly of a peaceful state of humility which is seen in the return of exiles to the land of Canaan. All of these together show that humility is something favored by God. I’ll give you an example from each testament –

For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15

Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:4

So far in this one verse, we’ve looked at the names of three places – Shalem, Shechem, and Canaan. But God included a fourth too. It notes that this is where Jacob came to after he came from Padan Aram. It was many sermons ago that we learned Padan Aram means “elevated ransom.”

A ransom is a price paid to redeem something. If something is in a pawn shop, it can be redeemed or ransomed by paying a set price to get it out of hock. The Bible’s idea of a ransom is that we are sold under sin and that we must be brought out of that state in order to be reconciled to God.

There was a high cost to redeem fallen man and Jacob’s travels to Padan Aram showed that to us. Jacob left his home and went to the place of elevated ransom in order to someday be reconciled to his brother Esau. Jesus left the dwelling of the Lord to come here and pay a high price to redeem fallen man, thus reconciling us to God.

This verse also shows a dual picture concerning the nation of Israel. Jacob was in a type of exile from the Promised Land resulting from his wrong actions in deceiving Isaac, but he is the one who held the birthright, the blessing, and the promises. This picture is seen in Israel as they have twice been sent out of the land for evil-doing despite having the promises and the blessings.

^{18 (con’t)} and he pitched his tent before the city.

The last thing noted in verse 18 is that Jacob “pitched his tent” before the city. He probably did this because he had so much livestock and so many people living with him. Cities at that time were walled structures. All of the agricultural work was done in the fields outside the city. Because he is a shepherd, it makes sense that he would stay in the outer areas and not move into the city.

To “pitch one’s tent” means to come and reside. Jacob is picturing Jesus. Therefore, this is a picture of Christ’s coming again to reside in the city of peace, Shalem. Is anyone seeing it yet?

II. A Purchased Possession

¹⁹ And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.

Because the fields surrounding a city are where the city grows its crops, it was right for Jacob to pay for the land he camped on. If he didn’t he might be seen as a freeloader on the people who had built the town in the first place. Although this purchase is made and recorded, it doesn’t imply that he wanted to settle down.

Instead, he’s simply dealing honestly with the people around him, maintaining peace and harmony with them, and keeping them from making any claim on his flocks and wealth by them later by saying they were derived from them.

This piece of land is where Joseph, Jacob’s 11th son and future vice-reagent of Egypt will be buried when he dies many years later. That’s recorded in Joshua 24:32 –

The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph. Joshua 24:32

This is also the spot where Jesus will sit by a well in Samaria after a day of traveling and speak to a woman about the living waters which will flow from Him –

⁵ So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. ⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. ⁹ Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” ¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” ¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:5-14

This is an important spot in the pages of the Bible and a great deal of our spiritual heritage is derived right from these three verses. It is this spot which Jacob bought from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father. Hamor means “he-ass.” A male donkey which is a beast of burden. It gets its name from its reddish color.

It’s the same word used to describe the animal the Messiah rode into Jerusalem during His triumphal entry, found in Zechariah 9 –

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey. (9)

So Jacob purchases the field from the children of Hamor for one hundred pieces of money. The word for “money” here is the Hebrew word qesitah. It indicates, interestingly, a lamb. This is based on the Greek translation of the Old Testament which translates the word as amnos – a lamb which is used in sacrifices.

Some people think one qesitah was the value of one lamb and that’s why they are called lambs. Rather, a qesitah was a coin stamped with a lamb, a very popular motif. The name is given to the coin not because of its value, but because of its marking. We do this with our own money even today.

III. El Elohe Israel

²⁰ Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

All the time that Jacob was out of the Land of Canaan, there is no record of him having built an altar. But his time of exile is over and he has been returned to the land of his fathers just as God promised him. There on the land, he built an altar.

Before he left Canaan 20 years earlier, he made a vow to God that he would do something if God would protect him and return him home safely. In chapter 28 when he erected a pillar to God, he said, “And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” (22)

The purchase of the land and the building of the altar are tied together by these verses and so the purchase of the land may be a partial fulfillment of the vow. This is an interim step on his way to Bethel. This makes the naming of the place Shalem correct.

He was provided peace and in fulfillment of that, he named the place in honor of the peace that was given. “All is safe, and there is peace – Shalem.” In honor of this, he names the altar El Elohe Israel – God, the God of Israel. Thus as a fulfillment of the vow, the land on which the altar is built is set apart to God.

The name El Elohe Israel signifies the all-powerful God who fulfilled his word to Jacob and brought him back to the land of promise safely after 20 years of perils. It also acknowledges the new name he was given, Israel.

This new name was given to him during his encounter with the Angel of Lord in the wrestling match by the Jabbok River. In acknowledgment of the name and in honor of this mighty God, he gives the altar its name, El Elohe Israel.

Curiously, this is just the same spot that Abraham came to first after he entered the Promised Land. We saw that way back in Genesis 12 –

⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. ⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Just like his grandfather more than 250 years earlier, Jacob enters the land and builds an altar. The land is again consecrated to the God of promise and the God who fulfills His promises.

IV. The Millennial Reign of Christ

So here we are with three verses which stand alone after Jacob’s encounter with his brother Esau and before a tragic event which is coming in the next chapter. It can’t be said that these verses fit with the account of Esau. And they certainly don’t fit in with the coming story about his daughter Dinah.

They are set off by themselves and they therefore ask us to reflect on why they were included by God in His word. In order to understand them we have to go back and look at everything that’s happened since he left Canaan.

We’ve traveled though sixteen sermons which encompass 20 years of Jacob’s life. He left the land and arrived in Padan Aram where he met Rachel at a well. That account showed us what would occur in the life of Jesus in order to procure people from the world from all groups – Jew, Jew/Gentile mix, and Gentile.

It pictured His work culminating in the resurrection, symbolized by the removing of the stone from the mouth of the well. The next account showed us the work Jacob did for his wives. Seven years of work for Leah and then seven for Rachel. They pictured going from the Old Testament Law to New Testament Grace.

After that we saw the birth of the first four sons to Leah, including the fourth – Judah – through whom would come Christ. After this came the addition of two more wives for Jacob. These two wives pictured, as clearly as could be, the two exiles of the people of Israel. The Babylonian and Roman exiles.

The next account was the birth of two more sons and a daughter to Leah and a son named Joseph to Rachel. Each child reflected the work of Christ culminating in the naming of Joseph. The dual significance of his name showed us the work of Christ. The word asaph indicated taking away and the word yosef indicated to add.

Jesus took away the reproach of the law and added us to His fold through His grace, symbolized by Rachel. From there came the account of building his flocks. The flocks symbolize the people of the church age during the time of Israel’s second dispersion. Then after that we saw the account of how this was done.

Jacob used peeled rods, placing them in a watering trough to grow his flock of specially marked animals. The rods pictured the writings of Paul – the apostle to the gentiles. Through understanding and accepting the work of Christ described by him, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and set apart as members of Christ’s flock.

No sooner was the flock – which pictures the church – built, then Jacob was told by God to return to the land of Canaan. This portion was given to show us the world’s treatment of Israel during their exile which occurred during the church age.

Right after this came Jacob’s flight. It was at this time that Rachel took her father’s idols. This account pictured the preparation of Israel for return to their own land once again. During this story, the stealing of the idols set up the next account where the father, Laban, would finally catch up to them and search their camp.

In that account, Laban came to search for the idols in the tents of the family members. The order of the search confirmed the two exiles of Israel. It also showed that they will someday be found guiltless. They will turn to the Lord completely and no longer be a people disposed to idolatry. As a reminder, all of this is clearly laid out in the rest of the Bible.

These pictures are given in a specific order to show us what will happen and in a manner which will be understood when they occur. Anyway, once the search was over, the next account showed us a picture of the Bible itself. What its structure would be like, how it came about, and that it centers on Christ.

This happened on Mount Gilead, the Perpetual Fountain, showing us that the Bible comes from the throne of God – His fountain. After this was another picture of Israel – the two camps. It pictured the division of Israel and its eventual reuniting as a single group.

The next four verses were Jacob’s great prayer which came about before he met up with his brother Esau. Then came the preparation for the encounter – five gifts sent in advance of the meeting which represented the five dispensations leading up to Christ’s coming.

After that was the story of Jacob wrestling in the night with the Man. It showed the faithfulness of God and His necessity to preserve Israel based on His own moral character. For Israel to be defeated would mean a defeat for Him. His reliability to perform His word is tied up in Israel as a people and His Son as our Lord.

In the next account, Jacob finally met up with Esau. In this meeting we saw the reconciliation between the Lord and fallen man. God is dwelling with man by dwelling in man. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit was is reflected in the place Jacob moved to and stayed at – Succoth, or tabernacles. God is tabernacling or dwelling with man. This was the sixth dispensation.

After all of this, which is far too brief of a recap, we come to today’s three verses and what we are to learn about the glory of the story. It is given to sum up the life of Jacob during these past 20 years and for us to reflect on all that has occurred. In one sense, it pictures God’s faithfulness to return Israel to their land after their period of exile. This is true.

They were twice exiled and twice returned to land sworn to their fathers. While out of the land, there have been no sacrifices and no altars. But that changed after the first exile when they built a second temple. It is getting ready to happen again after this second exile. The temple implements are ready for use and a temple will be built – coming soon to a tribulation period near you.

However, despite this minor picture, we have a larger one. Jacob is picturing Christ fulfilling His dispensational timeline. He left the true Promised Land and came to earth to perform His work. During that time, He fulfilled the law and redeemed people from every nation, tribe, and tongue for Himself.

He built a flock and has given us His word to live by. He accomplished everything He set out to do, thus reconciling fallen man to God. His deeds have replaced what Adam did and have brought us new life. The enmity between Esau and Jacob ended and the enmity between Adam and Jesus has ended.

In the three verses today, we see the millennial reign of Christ. The seventh and final dispensation of man’s time on earth. Jacob came to Shalem a city of Shechem. Shalem as I said means “complete,” “safe,” or “at peace” – in essence “wholeness.” It is the same word used to describe Jerusalem twice in the Bible –

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. Genesis 14:18

In Judah God is known;
His name is great in Israel.
² In Salem also is His tabernacle,
And His dwelling place in Zion.
³ There He broke the arrows of the bow,
The shield and sword of battle. Selah  Psalm 76:1-3

If you read this psalm, it is surely speaking of the dwelling of Christ in Jerusalem after the tribulation period. It ties so perfectly with what is being shown in this picture from Jacob’s life that the psalm and the account are in essence inseparable. It says, in Salem also is His tabernacle, His sukkow. It is the millennial reign with Christ dwelling in Jerusalem in garment of flesh!

After all of what Jacob has pictured in the work of Christ since he left Canaan, there is a time when the work is done and it is time to rule over His family and flocks in the land of Canaan.

Shalem is said to be a city of Shechem. This city’s meaning indicated wisdom and diligence. It is the city where those who are wise and diligent will dwell. It is those who have been redeemed by Christ. They have understood His gospel message and been diligent to receive it. And Shechem is noted as being in Canaan.

We saw that the name Canaan reflects humble ones; those who humbled themselves and have sought the Lord’s face and turned from their wicked ways. They are those whom God has heard from heaven and forgiven their sins; He has healed the land. No longer boastful or proud, they are those who have come under His care.

This return to Canaan was noted as after his time in Padan Aram – the place of elevated ransom. Jesus left heaven for the world of fallen people in order to pay a truly high ransom. In Isaiah 51, we read about those who are ransomed to return to Zion for this time of the millennial reign –

So the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 51:11

It was His life for our sins. He paid that debt, left, and is now returned to the land after His time away – all pictured by Jacob returning to Canaan and dwelling in Shalem – Jerusalem. There in Canaan, he purchased the piece of land. This is a place where his family and his flocks could stay.

These pictured Israel and the church in those past stories and they are with Him now. Jesus has reserved a spot for those He has redeemed. This land was purchased from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. Hamor is introduced here, but the land wasn’t bought from him… The Bible says it was bought from his sons.

His name, meaning Donkey, indicates a beast of burden. One that carries a load. The reason he’s introduced this way is to show that he is representing the world at large. He is a picture of those whose burden is heavy and whose life is toil.

The reddish color of the donkey takes us back to Adam. Toiling in soil, eyes downward, working in thorns and thistles. A purchase is made from this group of the sons of the world. And the purchase is for 100 qesitahs or “lambs.”

One Bible scholar named Parkhurst rightly sees these coins as typifying the Lamb of God, who “in the Divine purpose” as he says, “was considered as slain from the foundation of the world, and who purchased us unto God with his own blood.”

Parkhurst’s thoughts come from two New Testament verses. The first is Revelation 13:8 which speaks of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The second is found in Acts 20:28 –

Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

This is what is being pictured here. The finished work of Christ; work that was actually finished before the foundation of the world in God’s mind, but which was prefigured and pictured by the selected life events of a man named Jacob who left the Promised Land, went to a place of an elevated ransom, and now is returned the City of Peace – Shalem – with his people.

After the payment for the land, both in gratitude to God for the completion of his journey and as an interim fulfillment of his vow, Jacob erected an altar to the mighty God who had watched over him, tended to him, and brought him safely home again.

This altar pictures the temple and worship which will be in Jerusalem during the millennial reign. It is referred to many times in the Old Testament and in the book of Revelation as well.

By proclaiming the name El Elohe Israel, he’s acknowledging his understanding that the Man he struggled with is that God. He is the one who gave him the new name. He is the Man by the river, He is Lord of the Covenant, and the keeper of promises.

He is the One who stood above the ladder in his dream, the One who is the Ladder, and He is the Rock on which he placed his head. He is the giver of the Spirit, the payer of the ransom, the defender of His people, the One to fulfill the law, and the One to bestow God’s grace – He is Jesus.

He is the true Israel, who bestowed upon Jacob that sacred name as an indication that he struggled with God and prevailed. He is Jesus. Everything we’ve seen in these past many sermons has led to this point today. It has all been laid before us to show us the work of God in Christ as pictured by selected events in the life of Jacob.

Jacob is in Shalem in the land of Canaan with his children and flock. In the Millennial Reign, Christ will be in Jerusalem ruling over His as well. As a testament to this time of peace which is ahead, we read these words from Isaiah 11 which are speaking of the this 1000 year reign –

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.
¹⁰ “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”

This is why the name El Elohe Israel is given. It is telling us in this story from almost 4000 years ago, that God, the God of Israel is the Man who will dwell in Jerusalem, the City of Peace in the seventh dispensation of man’s time on earth.

Whether you know it or not, you are one of the people pictured in this story. You’re a son of Adam, pictured by Hamor, whose life is one which is marked by separation from God, or you are one of the redeemed of God in Christ who has the absolute assurance of eternal life in the heavenly Promised Land.

If you have never made a commitment to this wonderful Lord, please give me just another moment to tell you how it can happen…

Closing Verse: ²⁰ In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. ²¹ Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 14:20-21

Two Weeks From Now: Genesis 34:1-12 (For Best Results, Stick to the Blueprint) (84th Genesis Sermon) Make sure to read and study those verses.

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

God, the God of Israel

Then Jacob came safely
To the city of Shechem
Which is in the land of Canaan, you see
When he came from Padan Aram

And he pitched his tent before the city
His flocks in the fields must have looked so pretty

And he bought the parcel of land without a bother
Where he had pitched his tent
From the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father
For one hundred pieces of money, he spent

Then he erected an altar there on the land
And called it El Elohe Israel, let us understand

He is the mighty God, the God of Israel
The One who tends to and watches over us
He is the one of whom all these stories do tell
He is our Lord, our Savior, our God – Jesus

Let us always and forever praise and exalt His holy name
And proclaim His deeds among the world’s people
Into the stream of humanity this marvelous One came
Let His praises be proclaimed from every church steeple

Thank You Lord for Your care and tending to us
And receive our praises Lord – our praises for Jesus

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 33:1-17
Jacob Meets Esau

Introduction: There’s a war which wages between the people of the world against the message of God in Christ. There’s no doubt about it. Christians are martyred for their faith by the hundreds of thousands and even millions while the world turns a blind eye.

If you have the stomach to read accounts about this type of persecution, there is a website and a magazine called the Voice of the Martyrs which details many instances which continue unabated in the world today. If you need a boost in your faith, it’s a great place to go in order to see what others are willing to face for the honor of bearing the title “Christian.”

The reason for this enmity is as old as the span of man on earth. Man rebelled against God and was separated from Him. Now there are two paths for Adam’s fallen seed to take. One is, as Jesus said, a broad path leading to destruction. This path rejects God’s provision and attempts to reconcile with God by man’s effort.

The second is the narrow path which leads to life. It acknowledges that there is no thing that we can do to be restored to God. Instead, it accepts what God has done as all-sufficient for our healing and our reconciliation. It is Jesus – His life, death, and resurrection. God says it is the only way we can be saved.

Every human must come to Christ individually. We can remain defiant and we can continue to be at war with Him, or we can accept His provision and receive His offering where peace between God and man is restored.

Today’s passage shows us pictures of this restoration between God and man in the reconciliation between two brothers who had been separated for such a long time.

Text Verse: ¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Titus 2:11-14

Jacob finally appeared to Esau after sending five droves of gifts before their encounter. In the same way, Christ finally appeared to Adam’s race after providing five dispensations which each worked to prepare us for the meeting. The Genesis stories shows us time and time again that God has a plan and how it will come about. Each story gives us particular insights into this overall plan and today is no different. And so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Joyous Reunion

¹ Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men.

We begin chapter 33 with the anticipated meeting between Jacob and Esau finally coming about. After 20 years of separation, the meeting is now moments away. Jacob had deceived Isaac and stolen the blessing from Esau. Esau had threatened to kill him at the death of their father and so Jacob fled.

Now these many years later, still before the death of Isaac, Jacob is returning as directed by God. It’s an important encounter, especially considering that Jacob is never mentioned as meeting with Isaac after his return. Therefore, there is a reason why God included these details while not mentioning any reunion with Isaac.

Once again, the specific number of Esau’s men is mentioned, 400. This detail is included because God wants us to search out why. Otherwise, it could have just said, “the men who came with Esau.”

As noted a few weeks ago, the number 400 is the product of two other numbers – 8 and 50. Eight is the Hebrew word sh’moneh, which comes from the root shah’meyn which means to “make fat” or cover with “fat.” This gives the impression of superabundance.

When shah’meyn is used as a participle it means “one who abounds in strength.” As a noun it is “superabundant fertility,” or “oil.” So that as a numeral it is the superabundant number.

Fifty is the number of jubilee or deliverance. It points to deliverance and rest following on as the result of the perfect consummation of time. And so 400 is the product of 8 and 50. It is a divinely perfect period resulting in rest.

The number 400 here is pointing to the entire time of man’s history as a people, from his time in Eden, all the way through the kingdom age, the millennial reign which is still future to us now. As noted, it is a divinely perfect period resulting in rest.

^1 (con’t) So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.

In an attempt to break up the family in case things don’t go too well, Jacob makes three divisions of the mothers and children. It’s good to remember what these picture or we can miss why God is including the detail.

Jacob pictures Christ Jesus, Leah pictures the law, Rachel pictures grace, and the two maidservants picture the two exiles of Israel. The children are the people Israel.

² And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.

Adam Clarke, the great Methodist theologian and commentator says this about verse 2 –

“There is something so artificial in this arrangement of Jacob’s family, that it must have had some peculiar design.”

The answer is obvious when you know who each pictures. The least favored go first, followed by the most favored. Obviously, captivity or exile, pictured by the maids is least favored, then the law whom Leah pictures comes next, and finally an encounter with God’s beautiful grace, pictured by Rachel, comes last.

³ Then he crossed over before them

Jacob, picturing the Lord, went before them. This is beautifully reflected in Micah’s words concerning the restoration of Israel –

The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, Pass through the gate, And go out by it; Their king will pass before them, With the Lord at their head.” Micah 2:13

^3 (con’t) and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

The type of bowing, instead of complete prostration on the ground, would be a deep oriental bow, such as the Japanese do. It was a sign of respect to Esau as the elder brother, but it may also have had the purpose of petitioning God for a friendly meeting.

I would suggest to you that these seven bows, which are recorded here for a reason, are the same symbolism as the five gifts he had sent earlier. The five gifts pictured the five dispensations prior to Christ’s coming. These seven bows picture all seven dispensations of history, including the two after Christ’s first coming.

This story, as you will see, is showing us man’s reconciliation to Christ at any point in history. It is when we see Him as individuals and run to him. Therefore, it is a picture of any of us at that moment.

⁴ But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

In an act reminiscent of Jesus’ parable about the prodigal son, Esau ran to meet Jacob. Esau represents, as we have continuously seen, Adam – fallen man. This meeting is picturing man’s meeting with the Lord, and the peace and restoration found between the two.

In this verse is something very unusual in the original Hebrew text. It is a writing tool called a puncta extraordinaria. Above the words “and kissed him” which in Hebrew is vaiyishshakehu, there are a series of dots or points which provide emphasis.

It is said that these are placed there to draw the attention of the person reading the account to the change that had taken place in Esau. The change is in Esau, not in Jacob. It is Esau who receives his brother. It’s obvious that this is picturing the change in us when we receive and accept Jesus as our Lord. It is our moment of salvation.

Having seen this though, it says that both wept; both Esau and Jacob. This is the heart of God and the glory of the gospel. That the Lord is so moved by a repentant sinner that the same emotion floods Him as floods us.

⁵ And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So he said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

This verse pictures the biblical account in a nutshell. Presented to man are the Lord, the people of Israel, the law, the captivity of the Israelites, and the coming of God’s grace. All of this is symbolized, coming in a special order, to be presented before man. It is God’s way of dealing with us in a manner which we can understand.

The children were, as Jacob notes, given to “your servant.” Jacob subordinates himself to Esau, just as Jesus subordinated Himself to Adam by coming as a descendent of Adam, because the fathers are considered greater than the son. It’s all here and noted for us to see what God is doing for us through Jesus.

If you notice, Jacob’s reply only mentions the children and not the wives. The reason why is because the children are sons of Adam whom, as it says, God had given to Jacob.

The picture is perfectly clear that these are Israel’s redeemed of the ages, from under the law, whether during times of freedom or captivity, and those under grace during the church age. They are Esau’s kin by nature, born to Jesus by the workings of God.

⁶ Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down.

Captivity and captivity’s children come first before Adam, just as these maidservants and their sons come first before Esau.

⁷ And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.

In order then come Leah and her children, picturing the law and those born under the law, and then comes Rachel, picturing grace and those born under the New Testament grace found in Jesus. Of all the children of Israel, only Joseph is mentioned by name in this encounter, and he is mentioned prior to Rachel.

If you were here during the sermons on the births of the children, you might remember that Joseph pictured Christ at that time. His name was given in conjunction with two words – asaph meaning to “take away” and yosef meaning “he shall add.”

The mentioning of Joseph and especially before Rachel is to show us Jesus’ coming under the law, just prior to the age of grace, the Church Age. He has taken away the reproach of the law and has added to God’s fold through Jew and Gentile in the age of grace, pictured by Rachel.

This is the answer that Adam Clarke wondered about concerning the peculiarity of the order in his commentary that I read above.

II. God Has Dealt Graciously With Me

⁸ Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?”

Esau is referring to the five droves of gifts which were given to him by Jacob as they neared each other. He already knew what they were because the servants who brought them told him. However, he asks Jacob again directly so that he can have an opportunity to refuse them.

^8 (con’t)And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.”

In the same way that Esau can refuse the gifts, Jacob will know he found favor in Esau’s eyes if he accepts them. If you were here during that sermon, you know that these five droves of animals picture the five dispensations until the coming of Christ, Innocence, Conscience, Government, Promise, and Law.

These were given by God to work reconciliation between God and man until the point that Christ came. And they were each given by the words of God through God’s messengers. Again, there is so much symbolism tied up in this encounter between two brothers.

⁹ But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”

Esau’s response is that he already has enough. The word rav is used indicating abundance. He has more than enough to satisfy himself. And it is true, man was given abundance on this earth without God adding any extra.

We have food from the earth, animals and sea life to eat, cotton and wool for clothing, we have mountains full of metal, forests full of trees; we have sunshine and lollipops. Man can say to God, I have enough, keep what you have for yourself, but in the end, everything we have is temporary and earthly. What God offers is spiritual and eternal.

¹⁰ And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand,

Jacob explains the gift and Esau’s need to accept it, “If I have found favor in your sight.” If he accepts the gift then reconciliation is made between the two and he knows it. And it is the same with what this is picturing. If man accepts God’s provision as presented in the work of Christ through each dispensation, then man has favored what God offered.

^{10 (con’t)} inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me.

Jacob uses an idiom found elsewhere in the Bible. Someone’s face being compared to seeing the face of God is to say that just as God favors a person when His face shines on them, so it is when a person favors another person. The high priestly blessing of Israel includes this thought – יָאֵר יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ – ya’er adonai panav eleyekha v’k_hoonek_ha, “The Lord make His face shine upon you.”

Matthew Henry explains it this way, “Jacob saw God’s favour to him in Esau’s: it was a token for good to him that God had accepted his prayers.”

Once again, we can see our relationship to Jesus in this verse. If we have received Jesus and His gifts to us, then our receiving of it is a token to Him that the Father had accepted His work. The premise of Jesus and His work is that it is to bring reconciliation between God and us. Again, all of this is pictured in this beautiful story.

¹¹ Please, take my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” So he urged him, and he took it.

In the last verse, Jacob’s offering was called a present, minkhati. Now it is termed his blessing, birkhati. The gifts presented are, in fact, intended as a blessing. This is exactly what has been intended for man during the five dispensations leading up to Christ’s arrival. They are blessings of divine favor from the Lord.

Bible translations almost consistently note that Jacob says he has “enough.” But this isn’t what he says. Instead, only Young’s Literal Translation correctly reads, “I have all things.” The word is kol – all. This is included by God because it’s true in what it pictures.

Jesus has all things. He is the possessor of heaven and earth. Jacob had many temporal things, but he also possessed the spiritual blessing and the birthright. God was his covenant God and protector, Christ his Redeemer, and the Spirit was his sanctifier.

We’ve seen all of this in our past sermons. Jacob has all. And he pictures Jesus beautifully in this respect. To Jesus is all honor and He is the Heir of glory. This is the intent of what we read here.

III. All in God’s Timing

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”

In a sign of both acceptance of the gift and of a happy relationship restored, Esau offers to travel with Jacob, leading the way and helping him as they traveled. This must surely picture man’s willingness to participate in the Lord’s work when He came.

But time and again, He had to redirect those around Him to show us that God’s way are not man’s ways. I’ll give you two examples of Jesus following a unique path, which is reflected in Jacob’s words to Esau –

¹⁸ And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. ¹⁹ Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” ²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Matthew 8

Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” ²³ But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16

God is working out things in a unique way. Despite Esau offering to lead Jacob, he turned him down. And despite people thinking they have Jesus’ path determined for Him, He shows that God alone controls the route.

¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die.

Jacob’s response to Esau’s offer is in regard to the children and the flocks and herds which were nursing. The obvious thing that would happen if they tried to keep up with Esau would be that they’d fall dead from the trip.

In the same way, it would be beyond reason to ask 400 men to dally along on a journey going at a snail’s pace and stopping continuously for one thing after another. Esau’s gracious offer, like those made to Jesus, were unreasonable.

Jesus’ plan is one of length, preciseness, and which tends to the needs of His people – of both Israel and the church, all pictured in this verse. We are impatient and call out, “Come soon Jesus,” but His plan concerns more than just desirous you and impatient me.

¹⁴ Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, are able to endure, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

Here Jacob implores Esau to go at his own pace and he will follow. The term he uses for the pace of the livestock and children is le’regel, meaning “at the foot.” The speed he will take will be at the pace of the slowest of the bunch. It will be at whatever pace keeps everyone alive. He is in no hurry at all. LIFE APPLICATION

At the end of this verse, he says “until I come to my lord in Seir.” There is no record of him ever going there, but it doesn’t mean he lied or never went there. As I said earlier, there’s no record of him having gone to see Isaac, and yet we can be sure that he did.

The Bible isn’t recording a detailed life of Jacob, it’s recording details of the life of Jacob. It’s a huge difference and the details are selected to show us small pictures of what is ahead, not broad panoramas of what is behind.

Jesus is leading on, and slowly. He is taking His time as He builds, tends to, and leads His flock. His children are being well cared for and that is all we need to know. He is a wise, careful, and gentle keeper of His sheep. Jacob probably did go visit Esau, but it’s not a part of what’s important for us to know.

If a second encounter with Esau is expected, as the Bible indicates, we aren’t given any clues as to when it will happen. Likewise, Jesus will return on His own schedule and we don’t need to worry about the timing. Instead, as He instructed His disciples, we are to go out and be His witnesses until He returns.

¹⁵ And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”

Because Jacob declined the first offer, Esau offers to leave some of his men with Jacob. This would be as a gesture of protection and help on his journey, but Jacob declines again. He has all the help and servants he needs and the Lord is His protector as well.

The evident picture here, and it should be evident, is that as Jesus and His servants are tending to His flocks, we don’t need secular man’s help in the process. It is His flock, His people, and His responsibility. If the church can’t sustain itself, it needs to close.

If the mission isn’t productive, it needs to be ended. There is no reason that we should have to rely on the secular world to have our spiritual business accomplished. This is the Lord’s flock and those who aren’t a part of it have to understand this, and so do we.

¹⁶ So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.

On the same day they met for the first time in 20 years, Esau departed for home. Both were probably immensely relieved at the reunion and the ended animosity that had driven them apart for so long. And isn’t this the same feeling that we have when we finally call on Jesus?

The tension is gone, the past is behind us, and friendship with God is restored. We now have a new hope, a new direction, and a new attitude on life. Esau returned to Seir, the land which means “hairy.” As I’ve noted in several previous sermons, hair in the Bible denotes awareness.

It is man’s place to be aware. We are sentient beings, ever in search of more knowledge and experience. Esau returns to the land of awareness, but he has a new awareness. He is reconciled to Jacob. Man, likewise, after his meeting with Christ has a new awareness.

We have a new knowledge and a greater experience than we ever could have imagined. We are reconciled to God through this meeting, all divinely orchestrated by the God who sees and knows all things and which directs them for His purposes.

¹⁷ And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

After the happy reunion and the subsequent departure, it says Jacob journeyed to Succoth. This place gets its name from the account, something often seen in the Bible. Even though the title or name is given first, it is actually a result of the story.

This place is east of the Jordan river. There it says, he “built himself a house.” This then is a permanent dwelling, in Hebrew bayit. We’ve seen the five dispensations leading up to the coming of Christ. Then we saw the meeting between Jacob and Esau which pictures Christ coming and meeting with man.

In this verse we’re seeing Christ returning and building a house, pictured by Jacob’s building of a house. The place Succoth is named in honor of the building of these tabernacles for his livestock, not his house! In Leviticus 23, we will see this recorded as an observance for the people of Israel, one of the seven Feasts of the Lord –

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. (v.34)

The word translated as “Tabernacles” is the word Succoth. This feast of the Lord is picturing the dwelling of God with man; it is the church age. Jesus came and, as John chapter 1 tells us, dwelt, or “tabernacled” among us. He put on a temporary tent of flesh.

He departed, but now His Spirit dwells in our temporary shelter, our Succoth. The house Jacob built pictures the church and the shelters, or booths for his flocks, are our residences with Him – our bodies sealed with His Spirit. This is the lesson we’re to see in this beautiful account of two brothers being reconciled to each other.

The enmity is over, the past is gone. There is now a peace which is restored between Jacob and Esau, between Jesus and Adam. God is now building a house, as the New Testament tells us, of living stones. We who have called on Christ are those living stones. In one verse, we’ve gone from the law to the next dispensation, the church age.

While we are here on earth, we are dwelling in temporary shelters, or Succoth, but someday, Jesus will return and we will be given eternal bodies, bodies that will never wear out, never tire, never die. We will experience a new type of existence that we cannot yet fathom. All of this is sure, as sure as the sun is in the sky.

If you’ve never received the gift of eternal life which is offered to Adam’s children. If you’ve never been reconciled to the Lord and made peace with Him and kissed Him and received Him, let me explain to you why it’s important and how you can…

Closing Verse: Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen. 1 Peter 5:14

Next Week: Genesis 33:18-20 (God, the God of Israel) (83rd Genesis Sermon) – Make sure to read and study those verses.

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Jacob Comes to Esau/Jesus Comes to Adam (Man)

Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked then
And there, Esau was coming
And with him were four hundred men
Will it be peace or war drums drumming?

So he divided the children among Leah, it does tell
And Rachel, and the two maidservants as well

And he put the maidservants and their children in front
Leah and her children behind
And Rachel and Joseph last in order for Esau to confront
These positions he assigned

Then he crossed over before child and mother
And bowed himself to the ground seven times
Until he came near to his brother
Making it hard for me to make suitable rhymes

But Esau ran to meet him
And embraced him, yes it is so
And fell on his neck and kissed him
And they wept, two brothers reconciled, you know

And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children
And said, “Who are these with you?
“The children whom God has graciously, then…
Given your servant, my beautiful family crew

Then the maidservants came near
They and their children, and bowed down
And Leah also with her children so dear
And they bowed to Esau, their uncle of renown

Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near
And they bowed down, who were to Jacob so dear

Then Esau said, “What do you mean
By all this company which I met?
And he said, “These are to find favor as you have seen
In the sight of my lord whom I once upset

But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother
Keep what you have for yourself, or give it to another

And Jacob said, “No, please
If I have now found favor in your sight
Then receive my present from my hand
Inasmuch as I have seen your face, I am filled with delight

It’s as though I had seen God’s face
And you were pleased with me here in this place

Please, take my blessing that is brought to you
Because God has dealt graciously with me
And because I have enough, it’s true
So he urged him, and he took it, willingly

Then Esau said, “Let us our journey make
Let us go, and I will be before you on the path we take

But Jacob said to him, with these words
“My lord knows that the children are weak
And so it is with the flocks and herds
Which are with me nursing, of them I speak

And if the men should drive them hard one day
All the flock will die, yep, they will pass away

Please let my lord before his servant proceed
I will lead on slowly at a pace
Which the livestock that go before me can heed
And the children, are able to endure, it’s not a race

Until I come to my lord in Seir
We’ll meet up again sometime, do not fear

And Esau said, “Now let me here leave
With you some of the people who are with me
But he said, “What need is there, none I believe
Let me find favor in the sight of my lord I plea

So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir
And Jacob journeyed to Succoth that day
And built himself a house over there
And made booths for his livestock to stay

Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth
This is the name of the place that the Bible does note

Time and again we see hints in each story
Of the coming of Christ and of His great glory

He has come to bring reconciliation to us
Yes, He has come to meet with Adam’s seed
To be born again is now possible through Jesus
And with that gift comes eternal life, indeed

Let us not fail to accept this glorious gift of God
Which will allow us in His presence to trod

For ever will God lavish His grace upon us
A glorious gift made possible through our Lord Jesus

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

Genesis 32:22-32
He Struggles With God and Man

Introduction: Normally I type a sermon and then later type the introduction, making it longer or shorter, as necessary in order to reflect what we will talk about, how it may apply to us, what may be hinted at in the coming verses, or whatever.

I also do this so that the introduction will bring us to a sermon consistent in length to other sermons. Today though I first typed this introduction because I didn’t care how long or short the sermon turned out to be. I’ve waited for 80 sermons to get to where we are.

And before I started typing, I must have said “Thank You Lord” out loud 20 times. I take sermon typing seriously and it is the most important part of my week, not giving the sermon, but typing it. I am preparing an analysis of God’s word. Before typing this one, I actually cried. Oh God, how could you allow me to present your word to others?

Today’s passage is, regardless of how the rest of the sermon actually comes out, one of the most important passages in the entire Bible to me. Though we have seen Jacob grow into a family, today is the true establishment of Israel. It is a story which will continue on in joy, beauty, kingship, amazement, and glory for a people who strive with God.

It will also continue on in disobedience, punishment, woe, wrath, consuming anger, and unbelievable carnage for a people who in a different way strive with God. When we hear the name Israel, we are hearing a name which is closer than any other to the mystery of the apple of God’s eye, the joy of His heart, and the focus of His eternal covenant.

Text Verse: שְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל:  יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, יְהוָה אֶחָד.  – “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4, 5

When asked what was the greatest of all the commandments, Jesus turned to this verse and repeated it to the people of Israel. This is your command and this is your warning. You can strive with this God and be in His favor or you can strive with this God and be the object of His wrath.

The meaning of the name Israel is a double entendre. He strives with God – either on His behalf or against His will, but either way Israel strives with God. This people, beloved of God and with whom continues the everlasting covenant promises, are the people who ushered in the Messiah, and to whom this Messiah will return again someday when they call on Him as Lord.

This is the people Israel and today we will see the renaming of Jacob to reflect the coming struggles with God. And so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Alone in a Struggle With God

²² And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.

The context here demands that we remember who these people picture. There are two wives – Rachel and Leah. Leah pictures the law, Rachel pictures grace. The two female servants are Bilhah and Zilpah who picture the two exiles of the people of Israel.

The children picture the people of Israel as a collective whole. Jacob is taking all of them in the night and preparing them for what lay ahead by having them cross over the ford of the river Jabbok. Jabbok means “pouring out.”

Jabbok is named here because it shows what will come to this group of people. And it will be just like the name Israel, a double entendre. There will be pouring out of God’s favor upon them – love, grace, mercy and the like – even the Holy Spirit. But there will also be a pouring out of God’s wrath upon them.

In the years ahead for this group of people, God will deal with them in a singular and unique way. It will be a relationship distinct from all other peoples on earth and it will show to the world God’s immense love and His covenant keeping faithfulness.

²³ He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

The Hebrew here says he caused them to pass over. In other words, he is sending the family across the Jabbok while he will remain on this side alone. He is preparing himself for what may be the

greatest struggle of his life and he will do it in a way which will allow him to seek God’s face uninterrupted by others.

²⁴ Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

Alone on the north bank of the river, a Man is suddenly introduced into the story without an introduction of the Man. Jacob is going to be given a new experience, one which will prefigure the nation who comes from him – Israel. It will also show us about our relationship with God as well.

In order to bring about such an event in any of us, God will begin with our senses. We are physical beings and so He will use our physical experiences. But we are also rational beings and so He will come to us through our memories, our reason, our logic.

And finally we are spiritual beings and so He will come to us by communing with us on a spiritual level. This is how He meets with Jacob; this is how He deals with Israel; and this is how He deals with us. So who is this Man? There can only be one answer. We will see that He is God, and if God be a Man then the Man is Jesus.

Regardless of how you perceive Him at this point in human history, it is none-the-less Jesus. He walked with Adam in the Garden. He closed the door of Noah’s Ark. He walked up to Abraham with two angels and had a meal with him. All these were given the title of Jehovah. If Jehovah be a man, then He is Jesus.

He appeared inside Lot’s house before the destruction of Sodom and took him by the hand as it began. Time and time again, He has appeared visibly and physically to His chosen line. Entering His own history and shaping it so that it will lead directly to Him. I am unashamedly of the opinion that the term “pre-incarnate Christ” is a logical contradiction.

Either it is Christ Jesus or it isn’t. And so, as I speak to you, I assert the unusual belief that this is the risen and eternal Christ who had already gone to Calvary’s cross and who ascended as the Master of time and space. How… how He can appear in His own genealogy is a mystery, but that He did is a truth I can’t deny.

Now He meets Jacob. Jacob has been a man of self-determination. He bartered with his brother – the birthright for a bowl of soup, and he conspired with his mother to obtain his blessing. He set up a pillar and made a vow to God before leaving Canaan and then obtained two wives, a family, and wealth from his father-in-law.

Now on his return, he has taken wise measures to ensure his brother will receive him favorably. All the time God has been with him, but he hasn’t been fully dependent on Him in the truest sense.

In wrestling with this Man, Jacob will learn what it means to be reliant and dependent on God in a new way. Again, and don’t forget this fact, this struggle of Jacob is reflected in Israel’s struggle with God, and it also reflects our struggle with Him too.

If we lose sight of this, then the story becomes a mere curiosity in a book of much curiosity. This cosmic wrestling match which occurred a bit less than 4000 years ago was remembered by Hosea when he reminded Israel of their responsibilities to God –

“The Lord also brings a charge against Judah, And will punish Jacob according to his ways; According to his deeds He will recompense him. ³ He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God.  ⁴ Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, And there He spoke to us—⁵ That is, the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is His memorable name. ⁶ So you, by the help of your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually. Hosea 12

The struggle at night is a struggle all of us need to remember and reflect on all our days as we live in God’s presence.

²⁵ Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him,

The match continues throughout the night and it is a well balanced match; neither getting the upper hand upon the other. One would wonder why, if this is the Lord, He couldn’t defeat Jacob. Well, Jacob was a man of strength even before his birth. In the womb, Genesis 25:22 tells us he struggled with his brother.

And he had been struggling with man and nature ever since. His life was one of meeting and defeating adversaries. Whether they be an antagonistic brother or a large rock over the mouth of a well. He was exceptionally capable as a physical being.

^25(con’t) He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.

The Man – Jehovah, the LORD – seeing he can’t prevail over Jacob, uses His knowledge of the human form, which He created, to complete His spiritual development of Jacob through a physical reality. He touches him right at the socket of his hip in order to reduce him to a state of complete dependence.

Interestingly, and something that would be a mistake to miss, is a connection between the name of the river Jabbok, in Hebrew Yabbok, and the act of wrestling which has been mentioned twice. The word for “wrestle” in Hebrew is abaq. The placement of the match and the match itself are being tied together.

The term abaq is one which indicates dust. The idea is that when one wrestles, dust is raised into the air. Everything is being tied together in this struggle to show us the work of Christ which results from the struggles of Israel from whom Christ came.

There is a struggle in each person which is reflected right here. There is the dust which reflects man. Man was raised from the dust of the earth to become a living being. But man fell. He is still of the dust but lacking true life. Jacob’s struggle are man’s struggles.

The struggle of Jacob and Esau in Rebekah’s womb is the struggle of God and man. Jesus came after Adam, but He prevailed over Adam. This was pictured by Jacob coming out of the womb after Esau, but grabbing his brother by the heel as he came.

Jacob has the birthright and the blessing; Jacob has the promise and the vision; Jacob has the wives who picture the law and grace. He has the sons which each tell a story of the coming Christ. He has the flock picturing the Church. We’ve seen that all of this and so much more is looking to the coming Christ – all of it.

And now Jacob, a man of the dust is struggling with God by a river call the Pouring Out. Suddenly his hip is wrenched. In the Song of Solomon, chapter 5, we read these words describing Solomon –

His legs are pillars of marble Set on bases of fine gold. (15)

The very pillar of man’s strength which are his legs have now lost their ability to hold Jacob up. He can no longer rely on them as he once did. He can no longer prevail in this struggle as a wrestler relying on His own strength. With a single touch by the Man of mystery, he is utterly dependent on Him to stand.

This One has become his only hope. Are any of you seeing Israel in this? Are any of you seeing yourself in this? There is an utter dependence on this Man by the man of the dust. The life of Jacob, the moment in this cosmic wrestling match, the span of Israel, and the span of your own existence turns on this one definitive act of God – a touch in your mortal weak spot.

There is a time when we no longer can rely on ourselves, but must rely wholly on Another. Until that comes, we remain of the dust. But when it is realized, the pouring out, represented by the Jabbok river, changes us from an earthly existence to a heavenly promise.

The name of the river came from the match between these men. In the same way, the pouring forth is a result of the man’s struggle with God and it will come no other way. This pouring forth began in Israel after the resurrection, and it happens often in many individuals each day as their weakness is traded for His strength.

The Geneva Bible says, “For God assails his with the one hand, and upholds them with the other.”

II. The Day Breaks

²⁶ And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

Jacob wrestled with the Man who created him and he overpowered Him. Now this Man pleads for His leave. “The day is breaking, let Me go.” This is no doubt a picture of the true Israel, Jesus, who went to the grave but received His leave from it as the day broke. And unless the Spirit returns to you, oh man of dust, you will remain in the eternal grave.

The man of the dust, which is His body as it lay in the grave, was to depart from that place. The symbolism of the battle in the dust between Jacob and God is beautifully realized in Jesus’ resurrection. The return of the Spirit into the body of the Man.

It is seen in Jesus as our Lord, it is seen in each of us when we acknowledge that fact, and it will be seen in Israel when they call on Him as a nation. All of this is tied up in this mysterious match. In Zechariah 12, we see the final pouring out on Israel pictured by this struggle between God and man. Something future to us now –

¹⁰ “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10

NOTE THE CHANGE FROM ME TO HIM

This pouring out on Israel hasn’t happened yet, but it is coming. All will be as it should and the heavenly drama will be seen in the people Israel who have struggled with God for so very long.

^{26 (con’t)} But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

It is completely evident to Jacob that this is a divine being. He knows this for a multitude of reasons. God promised to be with him and keep him when he had his vision in Bethel. He saw God’s camp, Mahanaim, next to his camp there by the river.

Even the conduct of the match itself has led him to know that this is a divine being. And so he asks for a blessing because he knows that this is a heavenly messenger. His grasp will remain firm until the blessing is received. In this moment, his disability has revealed the secret… of a new power.

The power of the weak who is totally reliant on God is that God simply will not resist the honest plea of His helpless child. If nothing else is to be taken away from this passage, this is a key you should never forget.

A faithful petition for blessing when you are at your most helpless moment will result in the bestowal of the blessing. The plea has become a prayer of faith in the strength of God, and the strength of God is revealed in answering the prayer – the Pouring Out.

This is truly Jacob’s moment of salvation. He has become a man wholly dependent on God and so he has reached out to Him for His gift. God has met Jacob in the form of a Man and He has come to us in the same form.

In fact, it is this form which we can cling to above all others. Jesus is the One to whom we are totally dependent for our blessing. We have to remember that our sermon two weeks ago dealt solely with Jacob’s prayer for deliverance from his brother Esau.

And we have to remember that Esau pictures man – made from the dust of the earth. This struggle is our struggle. That prayer is our prayer. The answer to the prayer is the wrestling match. Before we come to the Lord as our brother, we need to realize that we have first met Him as an enemy.

Man’s true opponent isn’t other men, it is God Himself. Until we realize this, peace can’t be made with Him. And I’m not just pulling this out of the theological wind. God tells us this in His word –

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10

We are told this repeatedly in the Bible. We are at war with God, we are children of wrath by nature, we are His enemy because of sin. Only after the battle can we sue for peace. And that battle starts at birth as David tells us in the  Psalm 51:5 –

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

²⁷ So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.”

By asking his name, it is an indication that He is granting the request. He already knows the name, but it establishes the basis for the blessing. This is no different than being asked to state your name in court. I assure you, they know your name if you are there, but the basis for the testimony is the stating of the name.

Jacob gives his name – the only one he has ever had – Ya’akov or heel grabber. His name has reflected his life and now his life will take a new direction.

²⁸ And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

The Man now tells Jacob something amazing, you have struggled with God and men. The Lord above the ladder is the Man who has wrestled in the dark. Jacob struggled with man throughout his life and he prevailed. He now struggles with God and the same is true.

The change in name reflects the change in character. The actual name of Israel isn’t easy to define. Some say Prince of God, some God Persists or God Preserves and some “He Struggles With God.”

Because struggling is tied in to the giving of the name, the last is correct. “You have struggled with God and with men.”

A detailed evaluation of the name Israel by Abarim sounds almost blasphemous at first, but it does reveal what we see in history and in our own salvation and so I will read you their conclusion –

“We can not say with certainty what the name Israel is supposed to mean, although it seems to reflect a certain inability of the Almighty God, namely the not being able to defeat a man like Jacob. We can be sure that God doesn’t lack the physical strength to eradicate any human being, so we must conclude that the destruction of Jacob would go against the very nature of God. Perhaps the name Israel denotes God’s continuous effort to keep Jacob going, even though Jacob continues to fight God.”

Right there is the evident reason for the whole scope of the plan of salvation, as well as for the continuation of both the people known as Israel and the continued salvation of sinners such as you and I. It would go against the nature of God to destroy Jacob because Jesus comes through Jacob based on a promise given at the fall of man.

It would go against the nature of God to destroy the people of Israel for the same reason – they have been brought under God’s covenant protection. And it would go against God’s nature to remove a believer’s salvation, even after continuous failings in His presence; because He has sealed us with the Holy Spirit.

I said some sermons ago that Israel is more than a people. Israel is a concept of uniting and restoring God to the people of the world. The faithfulness of God is tied up in Israel. The plan of God is tied up in Israel. The glory of God is tied up in Israel.

When we say nothing is impossible for God, we mean that from a human perspective. God cannot do what is logically impossible, such as make a triangle which is a circle, or make an odd number that is even. God can’t do what is morally wrong either. He cannot violate what makes Himself God, such as being unjust.

And God cannot defeat Himself when He is aligned with you. The struggle of Jacob and this Man has revealed this. When you call on Jesus as Lord, God truly is – once, forever, and completely going to be your Lord, whether you struggle with Him, for Him; or struggle with Him, against Him.

And as a testimony to this, all we need to do is look at the change in names of Abraham and Sarah. Once God changed their names, their old names were never used again. But with Jacob, for the rest of the Bible both names – Jacob and Israel – are used commonly and interchangeably, sometimes even in the same sentence.

Jacob is the flesh and blood man who still walks in a fallen world. Israel is the hope and promise of the life in Messiah. As Albert Banes notes, “both names have a spiritual significance for two different aspects of the child of God, according to the apostle’s paradox.” A paradox which is stated in Philippians 2 –

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (12, 13) EXPLAIN IN RELATION TO JACOB

III. The Face of God

²⁹ Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

Asking for a name is asking for an understanding of the individual. By asking for the name, Jacob is looking to understand the nature of the Man who is God. But the Man returns with a question which is in itself an answer. “Why is it that you ask about my name?”

The answer is that no answer will be given. And the answer is that the nature of the person, which is reflected in the name, should already be understood even if the name isn’t known. In other words, “You don’t need my name, you know already who I am.”

The giving of a name implies ownership of a person or thing. Just as God changed Abraham and Sarah’s name, the Lord changed Jacob’s. The ownership is understood in the act. Following the question, the blessing is given. God has blessed the man because He is pleased when a man dependent on Him requests a blessing.

³⁰ So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

Peniel means “Face of God” and the explanation is given for the name – ki raiti elohim panim el panim; “For I have seen God face to face.” There is a place where man can see God and not die, which sounds contrary to the very words of Scripture.

The Lord told Moses in Exodus 33:20 that, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” When God united with humanity, He was no less God, but the humanity of Jesus allows for what is otherwise not possible. The eternal Christ wrestled with Jacob in the dust and spoke to him face to face, and Jacob lived.

John did the same – “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—”

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

³¹ Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.

Here again is another picture of the coming Christ. What has happened is showing what is coming later in us. The sun is rising on Israel just as he crosses Penuel. Penuel means the same thing as Peniel, but they are spelled differently. They both mean Face of God, but they aren’t at all speaking about the same thing.

In the previous verse, it says he named the place Peniel – the location. This verse with Penuel isn’t speaking of the location, it is speaking about the relationship between him and the God-Man he encountered. Jacob has crossed over the Face of God. He is now, like Abraham, a Hebrew – one who crossed over.

To completely understand this, you’d have to go back to Genesis 14 where the term is used for the first time in the Bible. “Hebrew” is connected to the name of Abraham’s great-great-great-great grandfather Eber. Jacob has now crossed over because of his interaction with the God-Man.

And the fulfillment of this for you and me is seen from Paul’s hand in 2 Corinthians 4:6, 7 –

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (PENUEL). ⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

Paul is tying the spiritual light of Christ in to our salvation because of Jesus – our weakness, His power. It is the same spiritual light Jacob is prefiguring by the shining of the sun on him as he passed by the Face of God – Jesus. In Malachi 4, on the last page of the Old Testament, we read these words –

“But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.”

Jacob had a new relationship with the Lord and the Sun of Righteousness arose upon Him. The inclusion of this verse definitively ties the Man he wrestled with to the coming Redeemer. It is a surety for all who would later call on and revere His name.

Anyone who does becomes a part of the commonwealth of the spiritual blessings of Israel. Jacob’s healing, like ours, may not be so much physical as it is spiritual. In fact, our affliction may become a part of our salvation. One commentator says it this way –

“In the greatest of these spiritual victories which, through faith, any of God’s people obtain, there is always something to humble them.” Paul found this out as have so many since. Christ shines all the more gloriously through our weakness.”

³² Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.

The muscle that shrank is a tendon or sinew, not the meaty part around it. This was obviously a tradition in Israel at the time of the law, because it is mentioned at the time Moses received the Torah. However, the prohibition is a tradition and not something that was later prescribed in the law itself.

The fact that it is recorded means that the intention was to pass the knowledge on, but there is nothing beyond this sentence to say any more about it. Surprisingly, this is where the account and the chapter ends. It is a note of reverence for the power of God over the man who struggled with God.

And it is a note of vindication that the man who was physically defeated in his fight still prevailed. Not in the sense that he defeated God, but in the sense that God could not defeat Himself by destroying the man who continued to struggle against Him.

There is nothing contradictory here. What God proclaims must always come about. What God has ordained is eternal and unchanging. Though Israel fight against God, God will keep Israel going. And though you continue to fight against God, if you are His, He will likewise keep you in His grasp.

The strength of Jacob was reduced to weakness through this tendon and so the people of God, in remembrance of this, removed the tendon from their meals. In a similar acknowledgment, the people of God now have their own remembrance.

The power of God is revealed in the weakness of the human Life bound up in the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, and so in acknowledgment of His work we participate in His spiritual strength through the taking of communion. The work of Christ is a marvelous mystery of God’s interaction with His creatures.

It reveals God’s power and yet it shows us that our uniting with Him is a bond which He Himself will not break because He cannot break it. It is an eternal and inviolable part of His very being. If you have never become a part of this eternal and sacrosanct relationship, please give me just another moment to tell you how you can and why it’s important to you…

Closing Verse: But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. Isaiah 43:1

Next Week: Genesis 33:1-17 (Jacob Meets Esau) (82nd Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

A Blessing Upon Israel

Jacob arose that night and took his two wives
His two female servants went along also
And his eleven sons, all these precious lives
And over the ford of Jabbok they did go

He took them, over the brook they were sent
And sent over what he had, before the night was spent

Then Jacob was left alone after he sent them away
And a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day

When He saw that He did not prevail against him to this point
He touched the socket of his hip
And the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint
As He wrestled with him, and his mighty grip

And He said let Me go for the day breaks, you see
But he said, “I will not let you go unless You bless me!”

So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob” – it’s always been the same

And He said, Your name shall no longer
Be called Jacob, but Israel
Struggling with God and with men, you were found stronger
You have prevailed, yes you did excel

Then Jacob asked saying, yes he did proclaim
Tell me Your name, I pray
And He said, “Why is it that you ask about my name
And He blessed him there that day

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel
“For I have seen God face to face
And my life is preserved, I am alive to tell
Of my struggle with God here in this place

Just as he crossed over Penuel, resuming his trip
The sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip

Therefore to this day the children of Israel
Do not eat the muscle that shrank
Which is on the hip socket, the nerve cell
But to God they do thank

Because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip
In the muscle that shrank, during this amazing trip

The struggle of Jacob is our struggle as well
It is one against God until it becomes with Him instead
This is the meaning of the name Israel
We struggle with God, for or against Him until we are dead

But through the marvel of Christ the struggles does end
As God grants us His Spirit when we believe
The enmity is ceased when on Christ we depend
And into our lives, Jesus we receive

Thank You, O God, for our wonderful Lord
And thank You, O God, for Your precious word

Give us wisdom to pursue You alone for all of our days
And fill us with Your glory as we sing to You our praise

Hallelujah and Amen…

Genesis 32:13-21
Preparing for an Encounter

Introduction: Today we have another interesting portion of the life of Jacob. The nine verses are all a part of the whole story, and yet they are set off and distinct from both the prayer of the previous verses and the encounter with the angel in the following ones. These offsets are important to analyze as offsets.

When they are, we can more easily determine why the details were included and we can get great insights into how God is working in history and through this marvelous unfolding plan.

Text Verse: “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:1

Through the whole Bible, from its earliest verses, we see hints of One who is coming, One who is anticipated, and One who fulfills all of the pictures which are given. Malachi specifically said that He was on His way, but at other times, we need to look carefully behind the lines to see it. This is what we will experience yet again today and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised

I. A Gift for Esau

¹³ So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother:

After Jacob’s great prayer of faith, he stayed in the same place as where he was. Without moving on, he prepares a gift for Esau. Both actions might seem like the great prayer of faith wasn’t very great after all. Is Jacob lacking faith?

Instead of moving forward, he lags behind. And in giving a gift, on the surface it does seem as if he’s lacking faith that God will protect him. However, and as I’ve said in the past, if you want something from God, it doesn’t in any way stop you from acting.

The old saying, “Help yourself and God will help you” was as true for Jacob as it is for us. There is no lack of faith in his actions. Instead he’s being prudent. As Matthew Henry says, “God answers our prayers by teaching us to order our affairs with discretion. Jacob prayed, and now he’s acting with discretion.”

Even the book of Proverbs shows this is true –

A man’s gift makes room for him,
And brings him before great men. Proverbs 18:16

Jacob isn’t at all distrusting God’s help or protection. Instead he is using the means God had already blessed him with to bring about His help and protection. LIFE APPLICATION – insurance, door locks, security systems, etc.

¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.

This is a total of 580 animals described here. The camels alone would have been immensely valuable both for their milk and for the other uses employed in the region.

The ancient writer Pliny says that, “The she-camel gives milk continually, not ceasing till great with young; the milk of which, when mixed with three parts of water, affords the most pleasant and wholesome beverage.”

Jacob divides up the animals in proportion to their ability to mate – 1 male for every 10 females of the goats and sheep, 1 bull for every 4 cows, etc. Jacob would know the right proportions as he had been tending flocks all his life.

He puts together a magnificent gift for Esau and will arrange them in a way that when they are presented the intent will be to completely pacify him before they meet. He’s not being at all stingy and he knows from the blessings of the last twenty years of work that God will continue to bless him in the future.

¹⁶ Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”

There are five groups of animals and so there are five droves being made ready to meet Esau prior to him meeting Jacob. These droves are being placed in the hands of his servants and they are being directed to go prior to the meeting with Jacob and to keep a specific span of distance between the droves.

In other words, they’re not to follow too closely to each other but there should be some distance between each. Jacob is setting, in advance, the distances in order to allow Esau to adjust to each and think on each before meeting another drove.

Each is given in a specific order by Jacob to prepare him for the next drove and to let Esau know that Jacob is still ahead. By doing it this way, there would be a prolonging of the time before the meeting. Esau would be expected to stop, observe the gift, and think on its greatness before the next came.

As with all of these stories, the details are given for a specific reason, and as they always do, they point to something which is which centers on the Person of Jesus. Why five droves? What a distance between them? Why these particular animals?

II. The Servants’ Message

¹⁷ And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’

Jacob gives very explicit instructions concerning what the servants are to say. At the specific interval given by Jacob, Esau will meet the servant and Jacob already knows that he will ask who he is, who his master is, and where he is heading.

He also knows that he will be curious about the flocks as well. There is a distinct message we’re to learn and it’s not at all unsurprising when we understand who Esau pictures, who Jacob pictures, and who the servants are, and what the flocks represent.

¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’”

The servants are instructed very specifically, they are to say that they are “your servant Jacob’s.” Said differently, Jacob is placing himself as a servant of Esau and the droves which are being conducted are a present to Esau. They are also instructed to tell Esau that Jacob is behind them.

Esau is eventually going to meet up with him. There is a date of destiny where the two boys, separated so long ago, will again come face to face. Before they do, Jacob is preparing Esau for the meeting; it is a preparation where two past rivals will hopefully attain reconciliation. Are you seeing the pattern yet?

III. Jacob is Behind Us

¹⁹ So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;

When reading this verse, it’s not to be thought that there were only three droves of animals. Rather, just as the first, the second, and the third were instructed, so were all five of the droves. Jacob is being specific with each and every herdsman.

They are given words to speak and it is those words only that they are to convey to Esau. The manner of the words is fixed and unchanging even if the herdsman comes at a different time, they have a unified message to pass on. Again, think about who is being pictured and why God is including such minute detail.

We’ll see the reason why in a few minutes. God is giving these seemingly unnecessary details because they are, in fact, necessary, and they’re telling us what is coming later in history.

²⁰ and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’”

Once again, the word of instruction is given, “Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us. He is there. He is waiting. You will meet him soon enough. Esau, your brother is there and we are here to tell you about him and give you these gifts along the way.”

The repetition here is to make sure that they will be extremely careful to speak exactly as they are told. Jacob is ahead – it is a point of immense importance. The gifts would have no significance without the guarantee of a meeting. It would be like giving a wedding ring with no intention getting married.

I hope you’re thinking about what’s being pictured here. Esau would have been slighted to have all the gifts without an appearance to back them up. How unworthy he would feel without the face to face meeting.

^{20 (con’t)} For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”

And we’re told the reason for the instruction that he’s giving. There is going to be a meeting and Jacob is preparing Esau for it so when they actually meet, as he says, ulai yissa phanai “perhaps he will accept me.” (3:58)

It’s a term that some literally translate as “I will expiate his face.” In other words, “Any wrath or disagreement will be removed and there will be happiness between us once again.” The estranged brother will perhaps accept him. Is this sounding familiar yet?

²¹ So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

After sending off the gifts of the droves, Jacob stayed behind and, as it says “lodged that night in the camp.” The question is, which camp? It’s important to know which because there were the two camps mentioned before. God’s camp and his camp.

In the coming verses it says that he sent his family across the river and he stayed on the other side. Therefore, he is staying in the area of Mahanaim – God’s camp. This will be apparent from the meeting with the Angel of the Lord that he has in the next sermon.

The distinction is important because the five droves are being met while Jacob is in God’s camp. The details today have been given to us to show us about the coming of Jesus and the different stages which precede His coming.

IV. The Five Gifts Explained

Let me share with you the wonderful details. The first thing to remember is that each of these stories, although all connected, are individual stories. They are select instances of people’s lives which are taken to show different things… coming things. That’s why the divisions are so logical as you read the Bible.

Each division, although a portion of a continuous, true account, is still a select piece of the life of a person which is meant to show a particular truth. Sometimes in one portion the person, be it Abraham, or Jacob, or whoever is a picture of God the Father. In the next story the same person may picture the people of Israel.

In today’s story, we are seeing a pattern we’ve seen before. Esau represents Adam and his seed, and Jacob is picturing Christ. The nine verses we’ve looked at have logically been broken down into three thoughts I gave you: A Gift for Esau; The Servants’ Message; and Jacob is Behind Us.

What we are seeing here is the coming meeting between the Lord Jesus (the incarnation) and man. Jacob is going to the land of Canaan after a long time away. Jesus, likewise, is returning after a long period. It was He who walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam, but that ended when Adam disobeyed.

From that time, He dwelt apart from man. Esau, who pictures Adam has been living in the land of Seir. I’ve explained it in several sermons, but Seir means “hairy.” Hair in the Bible indicates an awareness. Man is an aware being, he is sentient, and he is conscious of his fallen state.

The first section today dealt with gifts for Esau. This comprised verses 13 through 16.

¹³ So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. ¹⁶ Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”

The Lord has given certain gifts to man to help him along the path toward the our anticipated meeting with Jesus. They are called dispensations. He has worked with man in a progressive way, slowly unfolding his promised plan of redemption.

The five groups of animals look to the five dispensations of God’s dealings with us before the coming Christ. These dispensations have come at specifically spaced intervals, just as Jacob sent out the gifts in specifically timed intervals.

The first dispensation was Innocence. Man lived in the Garden of Eden, even if it was for a short time. While there, he disobeyed God and was cast out as judgment. But before this, the first promise came – it was the first gift of grace; a promise that One would come to right the relationship. It is found in Genesis 3:15 –

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Esau meets his first flock; Adam met his first gift of grace – a promise of victory over the serpent. This dispensation is reflected in Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…”

The second dispensation is that of Conscience. Man lived in the world and his law was through his instilled conscience. If we could live according to this God-instilled premise, then all would be well, but man once again fell short of this standard.

Before the destruction of the flood which came as the second judgment, the second gift of grace was seen. It is found in Genesis 7:8, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Esau meets his second flock; Adam meets his second gift of grace. The continuation of humanity through the Flood.

This dispensation, Conscience, is reflected in Romans 1:18, 19 –

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.”

The third dispensation is that of Government. Man was given ruling authority over all the earth and was given a covenant in connection with this. If man could properly govern his affairs under God’s overarching authority, then he would be granted this right as a united group of people.

However, man cast off God’s rule and intended to rule in his own right without God’s overarching authority. Because of this, judgment was again pronounced on man. Their language was confused and man was scattered across the world.

Before the judgment of the confusion of languages, came the third gift of grace. It is found in Genesis 9 –

“I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

Esau meets his third flock; Adam meets his third gift of grace. God promises humanity’s continuance. This dispensation, Government, is reflected in Romans 13:1 – “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”

The fourth dispensation is that of Promise. From one particular man and his chosen descendants would come a blessing upon the world. This dispensation is found as given to Abraham in Genesis 12 and 13, to Isaac in Genesis 26, and to Jacob in Genesis 28.

During this dispensation, the chosen line was expected to be faithful to God and trust in His word and His assurances. Those who interacted with them were to treat them in a manner which realized their unique role leading to the coming Redeemer.

When those who interacted with them failed to acknowledge this, it would lead to judgment on them. This is seen time and time again as people failed to treat God’s chosen line in a manner conducive to the promise.

The ultimate act of this judgment is found in the plagues upon Egypt who had mistreated His people. Despite their mistreatment and their bondage, the fourth gift of the promise was given. It can be found in Genesis 15:13, 14 –

“Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”

Esau meets his forth flock; Adam meets his fourth gift of grace. God promises protection of the covenant people leading to the Messiah. This dispensation, Promise, is reflected many times in the Bible. In the New Testament, it is seen in Romans 11:29 –

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

The fifth dispensation is that of Law. During this period, man was given God’s law, by which, as it states, “You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 18:5

In this law there were promised blessings for obedience and promised curses for disobedience. The curses included exile from the land of promise, but as God’s people, even in punishment, He promised to keep them as a sign to the people of the world to demonstrate His holiness and covenant care.

Despite their failure to obey, and fail they did, God once again provided the grace necessary for the people. He did it in several ways. One was by providing a Day of Atonement for His people. But even that wasn’t enough and judgment came in the form of exile from their homeland.

Even though this judgment came, so came another form of grace. God’s fifth gift of grace came prior to the judgment, just as each has. It was the promise of return from exile –

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, ² and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, ³ that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. ⁴ If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. ⁵ Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.” Deuteronomy 30

Esau meets his fifth flock; Adam meets his fifth gift of grace. This dispensation, Law, is reflected in Romans 3:19-20 – “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

In the second portion of our verses today came the servants’ message. This comprised verses 17 and 18.

¹⁷ And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’

Jacob gave the words to the servants and so they didn’t speak on their own, but only what they were told. In the same way, during each dispensation, the Lord spoke directly through His servants the prophets. They are those who have testified to His word.

A prophet’s words are given by God in order to carry His message to Adam’s line, just as these servants were given a message by Jacob to Esau. The call of the prophet is something that occurs in order to ensure His message is as He intends. Let me give you an example of the prophets’ call. In Jeremiah 1 we read this –

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” ⁶ Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” ⁷ But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. ⁸ Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

These prophets have been directed to speak to Adam’s line about the gifts and how to handle them. But they have also been directed to speak something more, something wonderful. The One who is coming will be a Servant, just as Jacob says he is Esau’s servant.

In the third portion of our verses today came the thought “Jacob is Behind Us.” This comprised verse 19-21.

¹⁹ So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; ²⁰ and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” ²¹ So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

God’s prophets not only spoke of righteousness and judgment, but they also told of the coming Savior; they told of Jesus. “Yes, here are your gifts, but Jacob is behind us.” “Yes, here is how you are to live, but Jesus is coming.”

In the Garden of Eden, right at the beginning, the Lord Himself promised, “He is coming.” In the second dispensation, Enoch said, “He is coming.” In the third, Noah – a preacher of righteousness would have continued the proclamation, “He is coming.”

Just as Jacob assured Esau through each gift, Jesus assures Adam’s line through each dispensation. He is behind us and He is coming. Jesus Himself, after the resurrection showed that all the prophets, from the very beginning, spoke of His coming and His glory –

Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Luke 24:25-27

This is the marvel of these nine short verses today. They are a promise of a future meeting between Jacob and Esau, between Jesus and Adam. They are verses of hope and of restoration. In these verses were five sets of gifts. They were gifts of grace and reconciliation, and each points to a particular dispensation as well.

The order in which the gifts were presented wasn’t given, but I believe the order is as follows. The dispensation of Innocence is seen in the lambs. The lamb is an animal of innocence. At the Passover, the innocent lamb died in place of the firstborn, picturing Christ’s innocent death –

“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7

The dispensation of Conscience is seen in the goats. The goat is a hairy animal and, as I noted, hair in the Bible denotes awareness. The dispensation of Conscience was the time of awareness which followed the time of innocence.

The third dispensation, Government, is seen in the donkey. The donkey is a picture of ruling status. The judges and leaders are noted as riding on donkeys numerous times in the Old Testament. And the same is spoken about Jesus, in both testaments, as riding on a donkey in His kingly, ruling role.

The fourth dispensation is Promise and is reflected by the camels. The term for milk-camel is meniqot, a word derived from yanaq, meaning “to suckle.” The term is used by Sarah at the time of Isaac’s birth, the son of promise.

The very notion of suckling is one of promise and anticipation. Isaiah in particular uses this term numerous times in anticipation of the Lord’s promises to His people.

The last dispensation before Jesus’ coming was Law. This is seen in the cows and bulls. Many animals were a part of the sacrificial system of the law, but the bull in particular was used as the substitute for the sins of the high priest on the Day of Atonement.

The high priest is the administrator of the law and he prefigures Jesus as our Mediator. He is prefigured by this particular gift to Esau. As you can see, all of this has been pictured in these nine verses today. Five droves and five dispensations. The gifts were presented to pacify and bring about eventual reconciliation.

The fulfillment of that reconciliation is, of course, found in Jesus – the One whom all of these things are pointing forward to. If you’ve never come to the understanding of how He and His work is important to you, please give me a moment to explain it to you…

Closing Verse: Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19
Next Week: Genesis 32:22-32 (He Struggles With God and Man) (81st Genesis Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.

Five Gifts of Grace

So he lodged there that same night
And took what came to his hand
As a present for Esau his brother alright
And the present was quite grand

Two hundred female goats and twenty male goats also
Two hundred ewes and twenty rams he chose
Thirty milk camels with their colts were selected to go
And forty cows and ten bulls he counted nose by nose

Also twenty female donkeys he selected
And ten foals for them he detected

Then he delivered them to the servants’ hand
Every drove by itself one at a time he sent
And he said to his servants so they would understand
“Pass ahead putting distance between the droves, and so they went

And he commanded, saying to the first one
“When Esau my brother meets you and asks concerning who
To whom do you belong, and where are you going my son?
Whose are these in front of you?

Then here is what you shall say
“To your servant Jacob they belong
It is a present sent to my lord Esau this day
And he also is behind us, soon he will come along

So he commanded the second and the third
And all who followed the droves saying
In this manner you shall speak to Esau, with this word
That your servant Jacob is behind us, at the camp he is staying

For he said, “I will appease him with this grace
With the present that goes before me
And afterward I will see his face
Perhaps he will accept me favorably

So the present went on before like a lamp
But he himself lodged that night in the camp

Jesus too lodged in God’s camp as the gifts were given
But eventually He appeared so we could move from death to livin’

Each of the dispensations was meant to teach us a lesson
Of how we needed God’s direct hand of grace
Without His word and Jesus, we’d all be a guessin’
As to how to live rightly and to again see His face

But Jesus did come during the fifth dispensation
And we behold His glory through the word He has decreed
Now we can impart to all the wonderful declaration
That through His cross we are reconciled indeed

Thank You O our glorious and splendid Creator
Receive praises and honor from each of us
For You have become our Vindicator
Through the work of Your Son, our Lord Jesus

Marvelous and beautiful are all of Your ways
And so we shall exalt and praise You all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…