G
E N E S I S
CHAP. XXXII.
We have here Jacob still upon his journey
towards
Canaan
. Never
did so many memorable things occur in any march as in this of Jacob's little
family. By the way he meets, I. With good tidings from his God, ver. 1, 2. II.
With bad tidings from his brother, to whom he sent a message to notify his
return, ver. 3-6. In his distress, 1. He divides his company, ver. 7, 8. 2. He
makes his prayer to God, ver. 9-12. 3. He sends a present to his brother, ver.
13-23. 4. He wrestles with the angel, ver. 24-32.
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Jacob Pursuing His Journey.
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B. C. 1739.
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1 And Jacob went on his way, and the
angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is
God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
Jacob, having got
clear of Laban, pursues his journey homewards towards Canaan: when God has
helped us through difficulties we should go on our way heaven-ward with so
much the more cheerfulness and resolution. Now, 1. Here is Jacob's convoy in
his journey (v. 1): The angels of God met him, in a visible
appearance, whether in a vision by day or in a dream by night, as when he saw
them upon the ladder (ch. xxviii. 12), is uncertain. Note, Those that
keep in a good way have always a good guard; angels themselves are ministering
spirits for their safety, Heb. i. 14. Where Jacob pitched his tents, they
pitched theirs about him, Ps. xxxiv. 7. They met him, to bid him welcome to
Canaan again; a more honourable reception this was than ever any prince had,
that was met by the magistrates of a city in their formalities. They met him
to congratulate him on his arrival, as well as on his escape from Laban; for
they have pleasure in the prosperity of God's servants. They had invisibly
attended him all along, but now they appeared to him, because he had greater
dangers before him than those he had hitherto encountered. Note, When God
designs his people for extraordinary trials, he prepares them by extraordinary
comforts. We should think it had been more seasonable for these angels to have
appeared to him amidst the perplexity and agitation occasioned first by Laban,
and afterwards by Esau, than in this calm and quiet interval, when he saw not
himself in any imminent peril; but God will have us, when we are in peace, to
provide for trouble, and, when trouble comes, to live upon former observations
and experiences; for we walk by faith, not by sight. God's people, at
death, are returning to Canaan, to their Father's house; and then the angels
of God will meet them, to congratulate them on the happy finishing of their
servitude, and to carry them to their rest. 2. The comfortable notice he took
of this convoy, v. 2. This is God's host, and therefore, (1.) It
is a powerful host; very great is he that is thus attended, and very safe that
is thus guarded. (2.) God must have the praise of this protection: "This
I may thank God for, for it is his host." A good man may with an eye of
faith see the same that Jacob saw with his bodily eyes, by believing that
promise (Ps. xci. 11), He shall give his angels charge over thee. What
need have we to dispute whether every particular saint has a guardian angel,
when we are sure he has a guard of angels about him? To preserve the
remembrance of this favour, Jacob gave a name to the place from it, Mahanaim,
two hosts, or two camps. That is, say some of the rabbin, one host
of the guardian angels of Mesopotamia, who conducted Jacob thence, and
delivered him safely to the other host of the angels of Canaan, who met him
upon the borders where he now was. Rather, they appeared to him in two hosts,
one on either side, or one in the front and the other in the rear, to protect
him from Laban behind and Esau before, that they might be a complete guard.
Thus he is compassed with God's favour. Perhaps in allusion to this the
church is called Mahanaim, two armies, Cant. vi. 13. Here were Jacob's
family, which made one army, representing the church militant and itinerant on
earth; and the angels, another army, representing the church triumphant and at
rest in heaven.
3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the
land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them,
saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I
have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: 5 And I
have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have
sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. 6 And
the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and
also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. 7 Then
Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was
with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other
company which is left shall escape.
Now that Jacob
was re-entering Canaan God, by the vision of angels, reminded him of the
friends he had when he left it, and thence he takes occasion to remind himself
of the enemies he had, particularly Esau. It is probable that Rebekah had sent
him word of Esau's settlement in Seir, and of the continuance of his enmity to
him. What shall poor Jacob do? He longs to see his father, and yet he dreads
to see his brother. He rejoices to see Canaan again, and yet cannot but
rejoice with trembling because of Esau.
I. He sends a
very kind and humble message to Esau. It does not appear
that his way lay through Esau's country, or that he needed to ask his leave
for a passage; but his way lay near it, and he would not go by him without
paying him the respect due to a brother, a twin-brother, an only brother, an
elder brother, a brother offended. Note, 1. Though our relations fail in their
duty to us, yet we must make conscience of doing our duty to them. 2. It is a
piece of friendship and brotherly love to acquaint our friends with our
condition, and enquire into theirs. Acts of civility may help to slay
enmities. Jacob's message to him is very obliging, v. 4, 5. (1.) He
calls Esau his lord, himself his servant, to intimate that he did not insist
upon the prerogatives of the birthright and blessing he had obtained for
himself, but left it to God to fulfil his own purpose in his seed. Note, Yielding
pacifies great offences, Eccl. x. 4. We must not refuse to speak in a
respectful and submissive manner to those that are ever so unjustly
exasperated against it. (2.) He gives him a short account of himself, that he
was not a fugitive and a vagabond, but, though long absent, had had a certain
dwelling-place, with his own relations: I have sojourned with Laban, and
staid there till now; and that he was not a beggar, nor did he come home,
as the prodigal son, destitute of necessaries and likely to be a charge to his
relations; no, I have oxen and asses. This he knew would (if any thing)
recommend him to Esau's good opinion. And, (3.) He courts his favour: I
have sent, that I might find grace in thy sight. Note, It is no
disparagement to those that have the better cause to become petitioners for
reconciliation, and to sue for peace as well as right.
II. He receives a
very formidable account of Esau's warlike preparations against him (v.
6), not a word, but a blow, a very coarse return to his kind message, and a
sorry welcome home to a poor brother: He comes to meet thee, and four
hundred men with him. He is now weary of waiting for the days of mourning
for this good father, and even before they come he resolves to slay his
brother. 1. He remembers the old quarrel, and will now be avenged on him for
the birthright and blessing, and, if possible, defeat Jacob's expectations
from both. Note, malice harboured will last long, and find an occasion to
break out with violence a great while after the provocations given. Angry men
have good memories. 2. He envies Jacob what little estate he had, and, though
he himself was now possessed of a much better, yet nothing will serve him but
to feed his eyes upon Jacob's ruin, and fill his fields with Jacob's spoils.
Perhaps the account Jacob sent him of his wealth did but provoke him the more.
3. He concludes it easy to destroy him, now that he was upon the road, a poor
weary traveller, unfixed, and (as he thinks) unguarded. Those that have the
serpent's poison have commonly the serpent's policy, to take the first and
fairest opportunity that offers itself for revenge. 4. He resolves to do it
suddenly, and before Jacob had come to his father, lest he should interpose
and mediate between them. Esau was one of those that hated peace; when Jacob
speaks, speaks peaceably, he is for war, Ps. cxx. 6, 7. Out he marches,
spurred on with rage, and intent on blood and murders; four hundred men he had
with him, probably such as used to hunt with him, armed, no doubt, rough and
cruel like their leader, ready to execute the word of command though ever so
barbarous, and now breathing nothing but threatenings and slaughter. The tenth
part of these were enough to cut off poor Jacob, and his guiltless helpless
family, root and branch. No marvel therefore that it follows (v. 7), then
Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, perhaps the more so from having
scarcely recovered the fright Laban had put him in. Note, Many are the
troubles of the righteous in this world, and sometimes the end of one is but
the beginning of another. The clouds return after the rain. Jacob, though a
man of great faith, yet was now greatly afraid. Note, A lively apprehension of
danger, and a quickening fear arising from it, may very well consist with a
humble confidence in God's power and promise. Christ himself, in his agony,
was sorely amazed.
III. He puts
himself into the best posture of defence that his present circumstances will
admit. It was absurd to think of making resistance, all his contrivance is to
make an escape, v. 7, 8. He thinks it prudent not to venture all in one
bottom, and therefore divides what he had into two companies, that, if one
were smitten, the other might escape. Like a tender careful master of a
family, he is more solicitous for their safety than for his own. He divided
his company, not as Abraham (ch. xiv. 15), for fight, but for flight.
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Jacob's
Prayer.
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B. C. 1739.
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9 And Jacob said, O God of my father
Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy
country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: 10 I
am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which
thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this
Jordan; and now I am become two bands. 11 Deliver me, I pray thee,
from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he
will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.
12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand
of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
Our rule is to
call upon God in the time of trouble; we have here an
example to this rule, and the success encourages us to follow this example. It
was now a time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it; and here
we have him praying for that salvation, Jer. xxx. 7. In his distress he sought
the Lord, and he heard him. Note, Times of fear should be times of prayer;
whatever frightens us should drive us to our knees, to our God. Jacob had
lately seen his guard of angels, but, in this distress, he applied to God, not
to them; he knew they were his fellow-servants, Rev. xxii. 9. Nor did he
consult Laban's teraphim; it was enough for him that he had a God to go
to. To him he addresses himself with all possible solemnity, so running for
safety into the name of the Lord, as a strong tower, Prov. xviii. 10.
This prayer is the more remarkable because it won him the honour of being an Israel,
a prince with God, and the father of the praying remnant, who are hence
called the seed of Jacob, to whom he never said, Seek you me in
vain. Now it is worth while to enquire what there was extraordinary in
this prayer, that it should gain the petitioner all this honour.
I. The request
itself is one, and very express: Deliver me from the hand of my brother,
v. 11. Though there was no human probability on his side, yet he
believed the power of God could rescue him as a lamb out of the bloody jaws of
the loin. Note, 1. We have leave to be particular in our addresses to God, to
mention the particular straits and difficulties we are in; for the God with
whom we have to do is one we may be free with: we have liberty of speech
(parrhsia) at the throne
of grace. 2. When our brethren aim to be our destroyers, it is our comfort
that we have a Father to whom we may apply as our deliverer.
II. The pleas are
many, and very powerful; never was cause better ordered, Job xxiii. 4. He
offers up his request with great faith, fervency, and humility. How earnestly
does he beg! Deliver me, I pray thee, v. 11. His fear made him
importunate. With what holy logic does he argue! With what divine eloquence
does he plead! Here is a noble copy to write after.
1. He addresses
himself to God as the God of his fathers, v. 9. Such was the humble
self-denying sense he had of his own unworthiness that he did not call God his
own God, but a God in covenant with his ancestors: O God of my father
Abraham, and God of my father Isaac; and this he could the better plead
because the covenant, by divine designation, was entailed upon him. Note,
God's covenant with our fathers may be a comfort to us when we are in
distress. It has often been so to the Lord's people, Ps. xxii. 4, 5. Being
born in God's house, we are taken under his special protection.
2. He produces
his warrant: Thou saidst unto me, Return unto thy country. He did not
rashly leave his place with Laban, nor undertake this journey out of a fickle
humour, or a foolish fondness for his native country, but in obedience to
God's command. Note, (1.) We may be in the way of our duty, and yet may meet
with trouble and distress in that way. As prosperity will not prove us in the
right, so cross events will not prove us in the wrong; we may be going whither
God calls us, and yet may think our way hedged up with thorns. (2.) We may
comfortably trust God with our safety, while we carefully keep to our duty. If
God be our guide, he will be our guard.
3. He humbly
acknowledges his own unworthiness to receive any favour from God (v.
10): I am not worthy; it is an unusual plea. Some would think he should
have pleaded that what was now in danger was his own, against all the world,
and that he had earned it dear enough; no, he pleads, Lord, I am not worthy
of it. Note, Self-denial and self-abasement well become us in all our
addresses to the throne of grace. Christ never commended any of his
petitioners so much as him who said, Lord, I am not worthy (Matt. viii.
8), and her who said, Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which
fall from their master's table, Matt. xv. 27. Now observe here, (1.) How
magnificently and honourably he speaks of the mercies of God to him. We have
here, mercies, in the plural number, and inexhaustible spring, and
innumerable streams; mercies and truth, that is, past mercies given
according to the promise, and further mercies secured by the promise. Note,
What is laid up in God's truth, as well as what is laid out in God's mercies,
is the matter both of the comforts and the praises of active believers. Nay,
observe, it is all the mercies, and all the truth; the manner of
expression is copious, and intimates that his heart was full of God's
goodness. (2.) How meanly and humbly he speaks of himself, disclaiming all
thought of his own merit: "I am not worthy of the least of all thy
mercies, much less am I worthy of so great a favour as this I am now suing
for." Jacob was a considerable man, and, upon many accounts, very
deserving, and, in treating with Laban, had justly insisted on his merits, but
not before God. I am less than all thy mercies; so the word is. Note,
The best and greatest of men are utterly unworthy of the least favour from
God, and just be ready to own it upon all occasions. It was the excellent Mr.
Herbert's motto, Less than the least of all God's mercies. Those are
best prepared for the greatest mercies that see themselves unworthy of the
least.
4. He thankfully
owns God's goodness to him in his banishment, and how much it had outdone his
expectations: "With my staff I passed over this Jordan, poor and
desolate, like a forlorn and despised pilgrim;" he had no guides, no
companions, no attendants, no conveniences for travel, but his staff only,
nothing else to stay himself upon; "and now I have become two bands,
now I am surrounded with a numerous and comfortable retinue of children
and servants:" though it was his distress that had now obliged him to
divide his family into two bands, yet he makes use of that for the magnifying
of the mercy of his increase. Note, (1.) The increase of our families is then
comfortable indeed to us when we see God's mercies, and his truth, in it. (2.)
Those whose latter end greatly increases ought, with humility and
thankfulness, to remember how small their beginning was. Jacob pleads,
"Lord, thou didst keep me when I went out with only my staff, and had but
one life to lose; wilt thou not keep me now that so many are embarked with
me?"
5. He urges the
extremity of the peril he was in: Lord, deliver me from Esau, for I fear
him, v. 11. The people of God have not been shy of telling God
their fears; for they know he takes cognizance of them, and considers them.
The fear that quickens prayer is itself pleadable. It was not a robber, but a
murderer, that he was afraid of; nor was it his own life only that lay at
stake, but the mothers' and the children's, that had left their native soil to
go along with him. Note, Natural affection may furnish us with allowable
acceptable pleas in prayer.
6. He insists
especially upon the promise God had made him (v. 9): Thou saidst, I
will deal well with thee, and again, in the close (v. 12): Thou
saidst, I will surely do thee good. Note, (1.) The best we can say to God
in prayer is what he has said to us. God's promises, as they are the surest
guide of our desires in prayer, and furnish us with the best petitions, so
they are the firmest ground of our hopes, and furnish us with the best pleas.
"Lord, thou saidst thus and thus; and wilt thou not be as good as thy
word, the word upon which thou had caused me to hope?" Ps. cxix.
49. (2.) The most general promises are applicable to particular cases.
"Thou saidst, I will do thee good; Lord, do me good in this
matter." He pleads also a particular promise, that of the multiplying
of his seed. "Lord, what will become of that promise, if they be all
cut off?" Note, [1.] There are promises to the families of good people,
which are improvable in prayer for family-mercies, ordinary and extraordinary,
ch. xvii. 7; Ps. cxii. 2; cii. 28. [2.] The world's threatenings should
drive us to God's promises.
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Jacob's Present to Esau.
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B. C. 1739.
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13 And he lodged there that same night;
and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
14 Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty
rams, 15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten
bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. 16 And he delivered them
into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his
servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee,
and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and
whose are these before thee? 18 Then thou shalt say, They
be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau:
and, behold, also he is behind us. 19 And so commanded he
the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this
manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. 20 And say ye
moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will
appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see
his face; peradventure he will accept of me. 21 So went the
present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two
womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
Jacob, having
piously made God his friend by a prayer, is here prudently endeavouring to
make Esau his friend by a present. He had prayed to God to deliver him from
the hand of Esau, for he feared him; but neither did his fear sink into such a
despair as dispirits for the use of means, nor did his prayer make him presume
upon God's mercy, without the use of means. Note, When we have prayed to God
for any mercy, we must second our prayers with our endeavours; else, instead
of trusting god, we tempt him; we must so depend upon God's providence as to
make use of our own prudence. "Help thyself, and God will help
thee;" God answers our prayers by teaching us to order our affairs with
discretion. To pacify Esau,
I. Jacob sent him
a very noble present, not of jewels or fine garments (he had them not), but of
cattle, to the number of 580 in all, v. 13-15. Now, 1. It was an
evidence of the great increase with which God had blessed Jacob that he could
spare such a number of cattle out of his stock. 2. It was an evidence of his
wisdom that he would willingly part with some, to secure the rest; some men's
covetousness loses them more than ever it gained them, and, by grudging a
little expense, they expose themselves to great damage; skin for skin, and
all that a man has, if he be a wise man, he will give for his life.
3. It was a present that he thought would be acceptable to Esau, who had
traded so much in hunting wild beasts that perhaps he
was but ill furnished with tame cattle with which to stock his new conquests.
And we may suppose that the mixed colours of Jacob's cattle, ring-straked,
speckled, and spotted, would please Esau's fancy. 4. He promised himself that
by this present he should gain Esau's favour; for a gift commonly prospers,
which way soever it turns (Prov. xvii. 8), and makes room for a man
(Prov. xviii. 16); nay, it pacifies anger and strong wrath, Prov. xxi.
14. Note, [1.] We must not despair of reconciling ourselves even to those that
have been most exasperated against us; we ought not to judge men unappeasable,
till we have tried to appease them. [2.] Peace and love, though purchased
dearly, will prove a good bargain to the purchaser. Many a morose ill-natured
man would have said, in Jacob's case, "Esau has vowed my death without
cause, and he shall never be a farthing the better for me; I will see him far
enough before I will send him a present:" but Jacob forgives and forgets.
II. He sent him a
very humble message, which he ordered his servants to deliver in the best
manner, v. 17, 18. They must call Esau their lord, and Jacob his
servant; they must tell him the cattle they had was a small present
which Jacob had sent him, as a specimen of his acquisitions while he was
abroad. The cattle he sent were to be disposed of in several droves, and the
servants that attended each drove were to deliver the same message, that the
present might appear the more valuable, and his submission, so often repeated,
might be the more likely to influence Esau. They must especially take care to
tell him that Jacob was coming after (v. 18-20), that he might not
suspect he had fled through fear. Note, A friendly confidence in men's
goodness may help to prevent the mischief designed us by their badness: if
Jacob will seem not to be afraid of Esau, Esau, it may be hoped, will not be a
terror to Jacob.
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Jacob
Wrestles with an Angel.
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B. C. 1739.
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24 And Jacob was left alone; and there
wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when
he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh;
and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with
him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said,
I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto
him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said,
Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou
power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob
asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he
said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he
blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place
Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his
thigh. 32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the
sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this
day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.
We have here the
remarkable story of Jacob's wrestling with the angel and prevailing, which is
referred to, Hos. xii. 4. Very early in the morning, a great while before day,
Jacob had helped his wives and his children over the river, and he desired to
be private, and was left alone, that he might again more fully spread his
cares and fears before God in prayer. Note, We ought to continue instant in
prayer, always to pray and not to faint: frequency and importunity in prayer
prepare us for mercy. While Jacob was earnest in prayer, stirring up
himself to take hold on God, an angel takes hold on him. Some think this
was a created angel, the angel of his presence (Isa. lxiii. 9), one of
those that always behold the face of our Father and attend on the shechinah,
or the divine Majesty, which probably Jacob had also in view. Others think it
was Michael our prince, the eternal Word, the angel of the covenant, who is
indeed the Lord of the angels, who often appeared in a human shape before he
assumed the human nature for a perpetuity; whichsoever it was, we are sure God's
name was in him, Exod. xxiii. 21. Observe,
I. How Jacob and
this angel engaged, v. 24. It was a single combat, hand to hand; they
had neither of them any seconds. Jacob was now full of care and fear about the
interview he expected, next day, with his brother, and, to aggravate the
trial, God himself seemed to come forth against him as an enemy, to oppose his
entrance into the land of promise, and to dispute the pass with him, not
suffering him to follow his wives and children whom he had sent before. Note,
Strong believers must expect divers temptations, and strong ones. We are told
by the prophet (Hos. xii. 4) how Jacob wrestled: he wept, and made
supplication; prayers and tears were his weapons. It was not only a
corporal, but a spiritual, wrestling, by the vigorous actings of faith and
holy desire; and thus all the spiritual seed of Jacob, that pray in praying,
still wrestle with God.
II. What was the
success of the engagement. 1. Jacob kept his ground; though the struggle
continued long, the angel, prevailed not against him (v. 25),
that is, this discouragement did not shake his faith, nor silence
his prayer. It was not in his own strength that he wrestled, nor by his own
strength that he prevailed, but in and by strength derived from Heaven. That
of Job illustrates this (Job xxiii. 6), Will he plead against me with his
great power? No (had the angel done so, Jacob had been crushed), but he
will put strength in me; and by that strength Jacob had power over the
angel, Hos. xii. 4. Note, We cannot prevail with God but in his own
strength. It is his Spirit that intercedes in us, and helps our
infirmities, Rom. viii. 26. 2. The angel put out Jacob's thigh, to show
him what he could do, and that it was God he was wrestling with, for no man
could disjoint his thigh with a touch. Some think that Jacob felt little or no
pain from this hurt; it is probable that he did not, for he did not so much as
halt till the struggle was over (v. 31), and, if so, this was an
evidence of a divine touch indeed, which wounded and healed at the same time.
Jacob prevailed, and yet had his thigh put out. Note, Wrestling believers may
obtain glorious victories, and yet come off with broken bones; for when
they are weak then are they strong, weak in themselves, but strong in
Christ, 2 Cor. xii. 10. Our honours and comforts in this world have their
alloys. 3. The angel, by an admirable condescension, mildly requests Jacob to
let him go (v. 26), as God said to Moses (Exod. xxxii. 10), Let me
alone. Could not a mighty angel get clear of Jacob's grapples? He could;
but thus he would put an honour on Jacob's faith and prayer, and further try
his constancy. The king is held in the galleries (Cant. vii. 5); I
held him (says the spouse) and would not let him go, Cant. iii. 4.
The reason the angel gives why he would be gone is because the day breaks,
and therefore he would not any longer detain Jacob, who had business to do, a
journey to go, a family to look after, which, especially in this critical
juncture, called for his attendance. Note, Every thing is beautiful in its
season; even the business of religion, and the comforts of communion with God,
must sometimes give way to the necessary affairs of this life: God will
have mercy, and not sacrifice. 4. Jacob persists in his holy importunity: I
will not let thee go, except thou bless me; whatever becomes of his family
and journey, he resolves to make the best he can of this opportunity, and not
to lose the advantage of his victory: he does not mean to wrestle all night
for nothing, but humbly resolves he will have a blessing, and rather shall all
his bones be put out of joint than he will go away without one. The credit of
a conquest will do him no good without the comfort of a blessing. In begging
this blessing he owns his inferiority, though he seemed to have the upper hand
in the struggle; for the less is blessed of the better. Note, Those
that would have the blessing of Christ must be in good earnest, and be
importunate for it, as those that resolve to have no denial. It is the fervent
prayer that is the effectual prayer. 5. The angel puts a perpetual mark of
honour upon him, by changing his name (v. 27, 28): "Thou art a
brave combatant" (says the angel), "a man of heroic resolution; what
is thy name?" "Jacob," says he, a supplanter; so Jacob
signifies: "Well," says the angel, "be thou never so called any
more; henceforth thou shalt be celebrated, not for craft and artful
management, but for true valour; thou shalt be called Israel, a prince with
God, a name greater than those of the great men of the earth." He is
a prince indeed that is a prince with God, and those are truly honourable that
are mighty in prayer, Israels, Israelites indeed. Jacob is here knighted in
the field, as it were, and has a title of honour given him by him that is the
fountain of honour, which will remain, to his praise, to the end of time. Yet
this was not all; having power with God, he shall have power with men too.
Having prevailed for a blessing from heaven, he shall, no doubt, prevail for
Esau's favour. Note, Whatever enemies we have, if we can but make God our
friend, we are well off; those that by faith have power in heaven have thereby
as much on earth as they have occasion for. 6. He dismisses him with a
blessing, v. 29. Jacob desired to know the angel's name, that he might,
according to his capacity, do him honour, Judg. xiii. 17. But that request was
denied, that he might not be too proud of his conquest, nor think he had the
angel at such an advantage as to oblige him to what he pleased. No, "Wherefore
dost thou ask after my name? What good will it do thee to know that?"
The discovery of that was reserved for his death-bed, upon which he was taught
to call him Shiloh. But, instead of telling him his name, he gave him
his blessing, which was the thing he wrestled for: He blessed him there,
repeated and ratified the blessing formerly given him. Note, Spiritual
blessings, which secure our felicity, are better and much more desirable than
fine notions which satisfy our curiosity. An interest in the angel's blessing
is better than an acquaintance with his name. The tree of life is better than
the tree of knowledge. Thus Jacob carried his point; a blessing he wrestled
for, and a blessing he had; nor did ever any of his praying seed seek in vain.
See how wonderfully God condescends to countenance and crown importunate
prayer: those that resolve, though God slay them, yet to trust in him, will,
at length, be more than conquerors. 7. Jacob gives a new name to the place; he
calls it Peniel, the face of God (v. 30), because there
he had seen the appearance of God, and obtained the favour of God. Observe,
The name he gives to the place preserves and perpetuates, not the honour of
his valour or victory, but only the honour of God's free grace. He does not say,
"In this place I wrestled with God, and prevailed;" but, "In
this place I saw God face to face, and my life was preserved;" not,
"It was my praise that I came off a conqueror, but it was God's mercy
that I escaped with my life." Note, It becomes those whom God honours to
take shame to themselves, and to admire the condescensions of his grace to
them. Thus David did, after God had sent him a gracious message (2 Sam. vii.
18), Who am I, O Lord God? 8. The memorandum Jacob carried of this in
his bones: He halted on his thigh (v. 31); some think he
continued to do so to his dying-day; and, if he did, he had no reason to
complain, for the honour and comfort he obtained by this struggle were
abundantly sufficient to countervail the damage, though he went limping to his
grave. He had no reason to look upon it as his reproach thus to bear in his
body the marks of the Lord Jesus (Gal. vi. 17); yet it might serve, like
Paul's thorn in the flesh, to keep him from being lifted up with the abundance
of the revelations. Notice is taken of the sun's rising upon him when he
passed over Penuel; for it is sunrise with that soul that has communion
with God. The inspired penman mentions a traditional custom which the seed of
Jacob had, in remembrance of this, never to eat of that sinew, or muscle, in
any beast, by which the hip-bone is fixed in its cup: thus they preserved the
memorial of this story, and gave occasion to their children to enquire
concerning it; they also did honour to the memory of Jacob. And this use we
may still make of it, to acknowledge the mercy of God, and our obligations to
Jesus Christ, that we may now keep up our communion with God, in faith, hope,
and love, without peril either of life or limb.
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