Sabbath: Jacob-Israel
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Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 32:22-31; Hosea 12:3-4; Jeremiah 30:5-7; Genesis 33:1-20; Genesis 34:30-35:29.
Memory Text: “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’” (Genesis 32:28, NKJV).
The family saga of Jacob continues, both the good and the bad. Yet, through it all, the hand of God and His faithfulness to the covenant promises are revealed.
This week follows more of Jacob, now that he left Laban and, returning home, had to face Esau, the victim of Jacob’s treachery. What would his brother, so grievously wronged, now do to him?
Fortunately for Jacob, amid the fear of what was coming, the Lord God of his fathers appeared again to him in an incident that was a precursor to what would later become known as the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (see Jeremiah 30:5-7). And that night Jacob, the supplanter, became “Israel,” a new name for a new beginning, a beginning that would ultimately lead to the creation of a nation itself named after him.
In other words, despite all that happens, the story of the patriarchs and their family is told in Scripture in order to show us that God is faithful to fulfill what He has promised and that He will do so despite what, at times, seems to be nothing but His people doing all that they can to stop that fulfillment.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 4.
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We often talk about people fighting with demons. This usually refers to someone coming to terms with themselves, background, mental attitude, bad habits, past interaction with parents and so on.
Jacob returned to Canaan with a number of issues that had to be resolved. He was fearful of Esau for a start. And then he fought all night with God. We sometimes refer to this event as the time of Jacob's trouble and make an application of that to ourselves today. That idea is worth revisiting this week.
Enjoy your Sabbath today and share it with others for a double blessing.
Maurice, the word 'wrestle', most of us have seen it played out on TV as a scam because 99,99% of the time the show is a set up. My question, therefore, what is a wrestling confrontation looks like with the Creator of the universe and mare mortal man?
The incident of Jacob's deep distress because of fear is very relevant to what many people are experiencing at present. And this fear was made worse because it had been going on for quite a while - wearing Jacob down. The more weary we get, the worse our fear feels.
If you are experiencing fear, distress or discouragement at present, whoever or wherever you are, I pray that God uphold, strengthen and encourage you as you remember that even the Bible patriarchs such as Jacob (who became Israel by God's upholding) unfortunately struggled with what you are going through.
Phil, Thank you very much for your encouraging words and the scriptures that you have provided. I am truly blessed and encouraged by them.
*New names* given to mankind from God the Father seem to be positive approval and new mission and/or office.
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Isaiah 62:2 Nations will see your righteousness and all kings, your glory. You will be given a *new name* that the LORD’s mouth will announce.
Genesis 17:5 (CSB)
“Your name will no longer be Abram; your *name* will be Abraham, for I will make you the father of many nations.
Genesis 32:28 (CSB)
“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be *Israel* because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Matthew 1:21 (CSB)
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to *name* him Jesus (Jah's salvation) because he will save his people from their sins.”
Mark 3:17 (CSB)
and to James the son of Zebedee, and to his brother John, he gave the *name* “Boanerges” (that is, “Sons of Thunder”);
Revelation 3:12 The one who conquers I will make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never go out again. I will write on him the *name* of my God and the *name* of the city of my God -- the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God -- and *my new name*
Revelation 2:17
Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a *new name* is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Revelation 2:17
Shalom have a blessed sabbath !
🙏
Thank you very much
Yes, I agree with the conclusion of the lesson writer. Reading through the Scripture references, I asked myself; ‘what is really being established when we study the Word of God revealed through Scripture? Is it not ultimately the faithfulness of the Creator who asks us to trust Him and His Word?
Gen.32:24-29 - shares Jacob’s encounter with the one who held the authority to decide if he was worthy of carrying on the covenant God made with his fathers; and yes, he was found worthy and his name was changed to Israel!
Like all of us when we chose to do things after our own mind, Jacob shows that he was well aware of the consequences of his deception and desperately needed to know if God would forgive him before arriving back home; to his great release, God blessed him and forgave him his shortcomings.
I am not sure how to understand the passage of Gen.33:5-11. Did Israel offer Esau some of his children and their mothers- v.8-9? I am looking forward to learning more about it.
Brigitte, your question makes me smile. In context, "all this company that I met" is an obvious reference to the bands of servants whom Jacob had sent ahead of him with gifts of livestock for Esau. Here Esau is suggesting that the gifts were unnecessary, that he would have been friendly toward Jacob without them. But Jacob insists that Esau should receive these gifts as tokens of his gratitude for Esau's gracious acceptance of his person.
R.G. - thank you for replying to my question. Gen.33:8 states Esau questioning the purpose "what do you mean" by all this company that I met?" Jacob's response was "To find favor in the sight of my Lord." And in response to that, Esau answeres: "I have enough, my brother, keep what you have for yourself."
Jacob insists for him to "accept my 'present' (singular) from my hand." After designating it a 'blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough', he urged him and he took 'it' (the gift) - Gen.33-8-11.
To my understanding, this does not appear to be tanagible and diverse types of 'gifts', this account appears to offer Esau his servants and their families.
The New Living Translation answers your questions and links Gen 32:13-17 to Gen 33:5-11
Esau asked two separate questions
1) who are these with you
2) what were those I met on the way to meet you
Answers
1) my family
2) my gift of animals
Jacob was not offering his family as a gift to Esau.
Gen 33:5-11
Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?”
“These are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob replied. 6Then the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. 7Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him.
8“And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked.
Jacob replied, “They are a gift, my lord, to ensure your friendship.”
9“My brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered. “Keep what you have for yourself.”
10But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me.
Gen 32:13-17
Jacob stayed where he was for the night. Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau: 14200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 1530 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. 16He divided these animals into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of me with the animals, but keep some distance between the herds.”
17He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau, meets you, he will ask, ‘Whose servants are you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’ 18You must reply, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, but they are a gift for his master Esau. Look, he is coming right behind us.’”
Diverse, Brigitte? Livestock are just one thing. Esau is questioning the purpose of something that has already been offered him. Read the story. Only livestock has been sent his way, with Jacob's servants reciting words to the effect that they are for Esau. They are an obvious expression of goodwill, intended to help Jacob find favour with one whom he has wronged.
After the two brothers meet in a friendly way, it's a bit embarrassing for Esau to have it appear that he wouldn't have been nice to Jacob but for the present. So he verbally questions the purpose of the gift of livestock, in order to make himself look better than he actually is. People commonly do that sort of thing today, due to human pride. Jacob, for his part, maintains his position of humility.
The intent of the words that were spoken is clear enough to me. That Jacob would offer his family to Esau is frankly unthinkable, and I can see no basis for any such suggestion. You might consider the fact that I am only one of three people who have given you the same answer. Surely you can understand what at least one of us is saying.
Thank you, R.G. - I use the KJV and should have includen Gen.32:11-23 in my studies to get the full picture.
Now I understand that he sent the lifestock first, and the women and their children last; each party of lifestock crossing over the ford Jabbok was separated from the one before, last but included in those which crossed the ford were the women and children - v.22-23.
Jacob only caught up with them in the morning after he spent the night wrestling with the angel of God. By that time, Esau had already encountered all that Jacob sent over the ford, including the women and children.
I noticed that, when finally approaching his family, it appears Jacob sorted the women and their children based on who was most imprtant to him - the 2 handmaids and their children closest to Esau, than Lea, then Rachel.
Should Esau have wanted to avenge his brother's deed through capturing all that was on his side of the ford Jabbok, he could have easily taken all of that which was under his power to take because Jacob was not present at that time.
Was Jacob wise or was he a coward?
Brigitte, Genesis 33:3 tells me that Jacob approached Esau ahead of his wives and children, which means that only the droves of livestock (and the servants driving them) got to Esau before Jacob did. I should think that such an encounter with God as Jacob had just had would have rendered him brave and unselfish, although these noble traits were probably already a part of his character by then, to a great extent.
Brigitte: If you will read those verses in the NIV & the NLT it will become more
clear that "company" was referring to the flocks & herds that had preceded
Jacob & his family.
Names given to someone can be like self-fulfilling prophecies. But the words and actions of a person are what give meaning to their name (character). By taking advantage of his brother’s hunger, Jacob set a trajectory for his life that would have baleful consequences. It opened the way for Jacob to heed his mother’s “advice” to deceive his father and steal Esau’s blessing—the justification being God’s prophetic word, “the older will serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23d NET.) No wonder Esau exclaimed, “Jacob is the right name for him! He has tripped me up two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” (Genesis 27:36 NET.)
The NET study note explains it as follows:
If instead of conniving to extract all of God’s blessings from Esau, Jacob had acted to protect what was rightfully his brother’s, how different might have been the outcome. Working together, the strengths of one complementing the weaknesses of the other, God could have been trusted to bless both of these brothers abundantly, and much heartache avoided.
It is when God’s word is taken out of its context of everlasting love, that God is made out to be something that he is not. This is the sin of idolatry—making God in the image of mankind’s imaginings.
That the story sees the heartfelt reconciliation of Esau and Jacob is a testament to God’s Spirit working on the hearts of these two men to accomplish his will for them, in spite of themselves. Both have had a glimpse of God’s amazing grace and love.
Did Jacob surely wrestle with God as he said on Genesis 32:30 that he met God face to face yet the bible says no one can see God and be alive