A Lamp Unto My Feet Bible Study Website
GENESIS 32:1-23
Lesson #48
IN THE CRISIS OF FAITH
- Memory verse: Rom 7:23
- Read Gen 32:1-8
- Now that Jacob was being obedient to God, God gives him another revelation to strengthen his faith.
- The angels of God met him to welcome him back to the Promised Land.
- Jacob called the name of the place “Mahanaim“.
- “Mahanaim” means = two hosts.
- Jacob had just left a host of Laban’s men behind him. Another host of Esau’s men (400) lay before him.
- His enemies lay before him and behind him.
- In that situation, God sends angels (the heavenly host) to reassure him of God’s presence and that God had delivered him from Laban and would do so from Esau as well.
- We have seen earlier in Genesis, in the life of Abraham that whenever God gave new revelation, there was always a test of faith afterwards. The same is true in the life of Jacob.
- The test of Jacob’s faith:
- Would Jacob trust God to smooth his relationship with Esau, whom he had defrauded in the past, or would he take matters into his own hands as he has always done before?
- It seems his old flesh nature is still ruling Jacob’s life.
- Jacob sends out messengers with a coached message:
- I’ve spent time “sojourning” (not found refuge) in Haran.
- It indicates his intention has always been to return home to the Promised Land.
- He mentions the abundance of his wealth
- He indicates his position of subservience. Esau is called his “lord“.
- He makes no insistence on obtaining the fulfillment of the blessing and birthright (double portion of inheritance).
- There is no reminder of the blessing that Jacob would be lord over his brother, Esau, according to prophecy.
- Evidently the messengers never actually talked to Esau, but they only went far enough to see that Esau is coming to meet Jacob with 400 men. The messengers return to Jacob to warn him.
- Jacob’s response of fear rather than faith:
- Jacob divides his people and flocks into 2 groups so as to perhaps save some in the event of battle, then he prays.
- We, too, often come to God as a last resort.
- Now that Jacob was being obedient to God, God gives him another revelation to strengthen his faith.
- Read Gen 32:9-12 Jacob’s spiritual preparation – prayer
| Jacob’s Prayer
Gen 32:9-12 |
Aspects of Prayer
Eph 6:18 Phi 4:6 |
Significance and Practice |
| He prayed to the God of his father, Abraham, and the God of his father, Isaac. This is the covenant-making God who is involved in man’s life. (9) | Adoration, praise, and worship. | Praise God for who He is.
Acknowledge your relationship to Him. |
| He recognizes that he is not worthy of God’s grace. He acknowledges his own lack of resources and control over the situation. This is an important aspect in light of Jacob’s controlling, deceiving nature. (10)
He casts himself on the “sure word of God” reminding the Lord that God has told him to return to the Promised Land. (9) It is not that God forgot that point, but to state God’s will raises your level of faith in what you know is God’s will. |
Confession
Confess sins Confess the word of God |
If there is any sin, repent of it and receive God’s forgiveness.
1Joh 1:9 Realize that you are not worthy of anything from God, but that everything is a merciful free gift. Confess the word of God regarding your situation. Find a scripture on which to base your prayer. This reaffirms that you are in God’s perfect will. |
| We see only a brief allusion to this aspect of prayer when he says he
passed over the Jordan, alluding to the fact that God delivered him from Laban. (10) |
Thanksgiving | It is important to remind yourself what God has done in the past because it raises your faith. |
| He asks God to deliver him from his brother’s anger. (11) | Petition = requests | Make your requests specific and honest. |
| pleads on behalf of God’s glory based on God’s reputation and His word. (12)
God promised to make Jacob’s descendants as the sand of the sea. God’s reputation as a God who keeps His word is at stake. |
Supplication:
God’s reputation and glory are at stake. This is a plea for God’s ordained order to appear. This is a view of what things ought to be but aren’t. In the Old Testament, it is like a tribal border that isn’t where it ought to be but has been encroached upon by the enemy. An on-going kind of prayer = spiritual warfare |
Two parts:
=1= resign yourself to accept god’s perfect will and timing no matter how he works it out. Know that the most important thing is that god be glorified and not you satisfied. =2= pray continually for the situation, spiritually moving the tribal border back to where it should be. |
- Read Gen 32:13-23 Jacob’s physical preparation
- Jacob turns from faith to fear, from prayer to scheming:
- He decides to bribe Esau with a large gift of animals (20) instead of trusting God, he will appease Esau.
- He divides the gift into 3 parts putting a distance between each part to make the maximum impression upon his brother.
- The gift is put into the hands of the messengers who will deliver it before Esau sees Jacob.
- The messengers are coached to say that it is a present to “my lord, Esau“.
- Jacob divides his family into 2 groups, each wife with her maids and her children, and he separates himself from all of them by sending them over the brook, Jabbok, which means = emptying.
- It emphasizes that Jacob was alone and empty of his own resources.
Homework
Genesis 32:24-32
- Application of Gen 32:1-23
- Have you ever been in a crisis of faith like Jacob? Explain how you handled the situation.
- What advice would you give someone like Jacob in this kind of crisis?
- Preparation for Gen 32:24-32
- Read Gen 32:24-32 Jacob’s night visitor
- Who do you think was the night visitor?
- Why do you think he would not tell Jacob his name?
- What experience in the Christian life is similar to Jacob’s experience here?
- Read Gen 32:24-32 Jacob’s night visitor
- Memory verse: Eze 36:26 or 27
