The video version is available at: https://youtu.be/PjXBU5q7WEI
Reading
– Genesis 32:3-32; 35:1-15
By
Dan and Brenda Cathcart
Jacob’s
life was marked by struggles. This Torah portion is no exception. It begins
after Jacob’s hostile encounter with his father-in-law Laban. It includes the
account of Jacob returning to the land that was promised to him as an
inheritance. As he is approaching the end of the journey, he is met by angels
who join him in his camp on the Jabbok River east of the Jordan River east of
Shechem. He sends out gifts to Esau hoping to resolve his lifelong struggle
with Esau. As he is at the gates of the Promised Land, he struggles with the
Angel of the LORD who gives him a new name.
Jacob
had spent twenty-one years away from the land that God told him that He would
give to him and his descendants. When he left the land, Jacob saw a vision of
angels ascending and descending on a ladder anchored on earth below and the
heaven above. Jacob declared that God was in that place and called it Bethel
which means the house of God. Now, just before Jacob is ready to cross over the
Jordan River and return to the land, angels come out to meet him.
Genesis 32:1-2 NKJV 1 So Jacob went on
his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said,
"This is God's camp." And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
Just
like Jacob named the place where God spoke to him in the land as the house of
God, he called the place where he camped God’s camp and named it Mahanaim which
means two camps. The Stone Edition Chumash relates Ramban’s
understanding of the two camps.
Ramban suggest that the plural refers
to Jacob’s camp on earth and the camp of angels on high.[i]
If
angels were with Jacob when he left the land and then, again, when he entered
the land, were angels with him while he was out of the land? God had told Jacob
that He would be with him wherever he went until God accomplished all that He
had promised.
Genesis 28:15 NKJV 15 "Behold, I
am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this
land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to
you."
The
word translated as “keep” is the Hebrew word “shamar,” number 8104 in Strong’s
Concordance, meaning to hedge about, to protect, or guard. God said that He
would guard Jacob wherever he went and bring him back to the land. This implies
that the angels Jacob saw ascending and descending on the ladder or ones like
them went with Jacob into Haran. The Jewish sage Rashi saw the appearance of
the angels at Mahanaim as the changing of the guard.
They came to meet him to accompany
Jacob to the Holy Land, replacing the angels that had been with him outside the
Land. This reversed the changing of the angelic guard that took place when he
left Eretz Yisrael to go to Charan.[ii]
This
emphasizes that God was with Jacob in all of his travels. Most recently, he had
protected Jacob from Laban’s murderous intentions when Jacob fled Padan Aram
with his wives, children, and livestock. As Jacob is poised to enter the
Promised Land, he is faced with another threat. Jacob’s brother Esau was
apparently still angry at Jacob and intent on killing him. When Jacob left the
land, partly to avoid Esau’s anger, his mother told Jacob she would send for
him when Esau’s anger cooled. Rebekah never sent for Jacob, so it seems that
Esau’s anger against his brother never abated.
Before
entering the land, Jacob reached out to Esau to see what he could do to appease
Esau. He sent messengers to Esau in the land of Edom which was several days
journey to the south of Jacob’s camp.
Genesis 32:3-5 NKJV 3 Then Jacob sent
messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of
Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, "Speak thus to my lord Esau, 'Thus
your servant Jacob says: "I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until
now. 5 "I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I
have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight."'"
The
messengers return with word that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred
men! Esau had prospered mightily in the years that Jacob had been in Haran
commanding a large force of men. Not surprisingly, this frightened Jacob. He
had four women, eleven children, and the servants who came with him from Haran.
Compared to Esau, Jacob was helpless. Jacob takes three steps to protect
himself and his family from Esau. Jacob, who was camped among both earthly and
heavenly inhabitants, now divides his earthly company into two parts just in
case.
Genesis 32:7-8 NKJV 7 So Jacob was
greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him,
and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. 8 And he said,
"If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company
which is left will escape."
Next,
Jacob calls out to God for protection based on the promises He had made to
Jacob to keep him and bring him back to the land.
Genesis 32:11-12 NKJV 11 "Deliver
me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him,
lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. 12 "For You
said, 'I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of
the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'"
Finally,
Jacob sent a series of gifts from his flocks and herd to Esau. As his
messengers were on their way with gifts for Esau, Jacob sent his family across
the Jabbok River for protection and stayed behind in the camp. Remember, this
is the camp that included the angels of God. One of these angels, described as
a man just like the angels who visited Abraham, wrestled with Jacob through the
night.
Genesis 32:24-25 NKJV 24 Then Jacob
was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now
when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his
hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.
Who
was this man or angel that Jacob wrestled with? At root, Jacob’s struggles were
with Esau, so Rashi understands this angel to be the guardian angel of Esau.[iii]
Through this struggle, Jacob prevailed over Esau because of his spiritual
superiority and attained the blessing.
However,
the plain meaning of the text states that Jacob recognized the angel as being
the angel of the LORD. Jacob declares that he had seen the face of God.
Genesis 32:30 NKJV 30 And Jacob called
the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my
life is preserved."
The
angel states the reason that Jacob’s name is changed to Israel is because Jacob
struggled not only with Esau, but with God. So, it seems that the better
understanding of the man Jacob wrestled with was the Angel of the LORD.
Even
though Jacob’s hip was injured while they were wrestling, Jacob refused to let
go of the angel. It seems that all of Jacob’s struggles throughout his life and
even in the womb culminated in this final struggle. He wanted to know that He
had God’s blessing.
Genesis 32:26-28 JP Green 26 And He
said, Send Me away, for the dawn has risen. And he said, I will not let You go
unless You bless me. 27 And He said to him, “What is your name? And he said,
“Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name no longer shall be called Jacob, but
Israel, because you have persevered with God and with men and have been able.
From
his conception, Jacob had struggled to attain the promise God had given to
Abraham. At birth, even as Esau gained the right of the blessing as the
firstborn, Jacob didn’t give up. He grasped Esau’s heel and from that action,
he was given the name Jacob which means heel. The Jewish sage Rashi comments
that Jacob was conceived first and, thus, was justified in his efforts to be
the firstborn. The Stone Edition Chumash expands on Rashi’s comment.
Pachad Yitzchak expounds on this
seemingly strange comment. Briefly, he explains that the contention between
Jacob and Esau was over who would assume the spiritual mission of Abraham and
Isaac. Thus the critical factor in their birth was the seed of the Patriarch
that had been implanted in the mother’s egg, for it contained the essence of
the father. Consequently, since Jacob was conceived first, he was the spiritual
firstborn and therefore entitled to the blessings.[iv]
Jacob’s
entire life was marked by this struggle to attain the spiritual mission and
firstborn status which Esau was entitled to as the firstborn but which he
despised. By asking for his name, the angel refers to Jacob’s efforts to attain
the right of the firstborn. Although Jacob had legitimately purchased the
birthright from Esau, he tricked his father Isaac into giving him the blessing
rather than seeing it go to Esau or waiting to see how God would resolve the
issue. Jacob declared that he would continue to hold on to the angel until his
right to the spiritual mission of Abraham was confirmed. First Fruits of Zion
in Unrolling the Scroll states that the Hebrew phrase “unless you bless
me” is actually in the past tense.
In other words, Jacob says to the
angel of the LORD, “I will not let you go unless you have already blessed me.”
Jacob did not want to continue with the stigma of having stolen his brother’s
blessing. He wanted to know that it was God who had blessed. He wanted to know
that the blessing legitimately belonged to him.[v]
The
blessing that the angel speaks over Jacob is that his name has been changed
from Jacob to Israel. The name Israel, number 3478, is from two root words and is
defined in various ways. The first root word is “saw-raw,” number 8280 meaning
to prevail or have power as a prince. The word “persevered” in the J. P Green
translation of verse twenty-eight read earlier is the word “saw-raw.” Other
versions of the Bible translate this use of “saw-raw” as “struggled”, “had
power,” “have striven,” or “like a prince you have power.” The second root word
of the name Israel is “el,” number 410, meaning strength, mighty, the Almighty,
God, or power. The word “El” is the
accepted shortened form of God’s name Elohim. As you can see, there are many
ways that these two words can be combined to form the meaning of the name
Israel. Strong’s Lexicon defines it as “he will rule with God.” The
Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon defines it as “God prevails,” while Hitchcock’s
Bible Names Dictionary defines it as “who prevails with God.” Smith’s Bible
Dictionary defines Israel as “the prince that prevails with God” using both
meanings of “saw-raw.”
As
a transformative name, going from Jacob to Israel, it marks Jacob’s triumphant
achievement. He struggled and persevered until he received the promise and the
blessing originally given to Abraham and passed on to him through Isaac. Throughout
his struggle, the angels of God were with him. The author of Hebrews tells us
to persevere in our faith so that we will receive the promise.
Hebrews 10:23 NKJV 23 Let us hold fast
the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Paul
tells his readers in Ephesians that we, like Jacob, need to prevail with power
because our battle is not really against flesh and blood; it’s against
spiritual forces.
Ephesians 6:10-12 NKJV 10 Finally, my
brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the
whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Paul
tells us to put on the full armor of God as we battle against these spiritual
forces. This included the presence of God’s protection through His Holy Spirit.
Finally,
James, the brother of Yeshua, tells us to persevere against trials of many
sorts because those who do will attain the crown of life.
James 1:12 NKJV 12 Blessed is the man
who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the
crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
After
wrestling with the Angel of the LORD, Jacob’s meeting with Esau the next
morning went over without a problem. Esau greeted Jacob with tears and with a
kiss. Although the kiss may have been insincere, Esau did not attack Jacob with
his four hundred men. Instead, Esau invites Jacob to stay with him in Edom.
However, Edom is not Jacob’s destination; Jacob is headed for the Promised
Land. He has one more stop before arriving in the land. This stop is at a place
he calls Succoth.
Genesis 33:17 NKJV 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.
Why
is this stop even mentioned in the Bible? Jacob stopped at many places as he
traveled from Haran to the Promised Land and probably built booths or temporary
shelters at many of them along the way. The livestock that Jacob sheltered in
the booths were the wages of his years working for Laban. They and his family
represent over twenty years of work. The name “Succoth” is also given to the
booths that the children of Israel are to build during the Feast of Sukkot in
memorial that God was with the children of Israel in the wilderness. This first use of the Succoth for the
shelters that Jacob built foreshadows these later shelters, and ultimately
points to a time when God will bring back His people. God’s people were bought
with the death and resurrection of His son Yeshua. They represent over two
thousand years of work! When God brings His people into the Promised Land, He covers
each dwelling place with a Sukka or booth.
Isaiah 4:4-6 NKJV 4 When the Lord has
washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of
Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of
burning, 5 then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion,
and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming
fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. 6 And there
will be a tabernacle (sukka) for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a
place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.
After
his stay at Succoth, Jacob proceeded across the Jordan, traveled up the
mountains of Israel and settled for a time in Shechem, the first place that
Abraham stopped at when he entered the land. However, this was not where Jacob
had been instructed to go. He was told to continue on south to the place where
God had first appeared to him.
Genesis 35:1 NKJV 1 Then God said to
Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to
God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your
brother."
Jacob
may have built Succoth for his livestock, but he had not yet purged the idols
from his household. Isaiah says that the cleansing and purging of Jerusalem
must happen before God creates a sukka over every dwelling place in Jerusalem.
Jacob finally purged the idols from his household as they left Shechem and
started out for Bethel.
Genesis 35:2-3 NKJV 2 And Jacob said
to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods
that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 "Then
let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who
answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I
have gone."
When
Jacob and his family arrived at Bethel, Jacob built the altar that he had
promised to build to God. As far as fulfilling his vow to give a tenth of all
God blessed him with, the Jewish sage Rashi called the tribute sent to Esau
Jacob’s tithe.[vi]
Jacob
is finally back where he started at Bethel where God appeared to him. God
reiterated that Jacob’s name would now be Israel. Further, he would receive the
promise given to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, and that
the land would be his inheritance and the inheritance of his descendants.
Genesis 35:9-12 NKJV 9 Then God
appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. 10 And
God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob
anymore, but Israel shall be your name." So He called his name Israel. 11
Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a
nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come
from your body. 12 "The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you;
and to your descendants after you I give this land."
Jacob’s
life is an account of a man who struggled throughout his life to attain to the
promise of being a forefather of the Messiah. His life was a series of ups and
downs, good decisions and not so good decisions. He lived with an adversarial
relationship with his brother. He endured exile and a dishonest boss and
father-in-law. Ultimately, he held on to God and attained the promise. Paul
tells us to hold on in spite of our trials to attain the eternal blessings.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NKJV 16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet
the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the
things which are not seen are eternal.
At
the end of Jacob’s life, he was once more be called to leave the land of his
inheritance. As Jacob prepared to leave the land, God appeared to him again and
assured him that He would be with Jacob wherever he went, and that Jacob would
return to the land. Jacob believed God and, through him all nations of the
earth would be blessed.
Study
Questions:
2.
In the teaching, we state that the
changing of Jacob’s name to Israel marks his ultimate achievement of obtaining
the blessing and the promise. What spiritual goal do we struggle to attain?
What will mark the achievement of our goal?
3. What is the significance of Jacob stopping in Succoth before entering the Promised Land? The children of Israel stopped at a different place called Succoth as they were leaving Egypt (Exodus 12:37-13:22). How are these two events related?
General
Portion Questions
4.
Jacob sent gifts to Esau to bless him
(Genesis 33:10-11). What outcome did Jacob hope to achieve? Rashi calls these
gifts to Esau Jacob’s tithe to God. How can these be considered Jacob’s tithe
to God? Do you agree or disagree?
5.
Jacob stopped in Shechem instead of going
on to Bethel and bringing his offerings to God there. What was the result of
that delay?
6. What other insights did you gain from this teaching? What indicators are there in this Torah Portion that point to Messiah Yeshua?
[i] The
Stone Edition Chumash. General
Editor Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mesorah Publications, ltd. ©1998,
2000 Mesorah Publications, ltd. Page
169.
[ii] The
Stone Edition Chumash. General
Editor Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mesorah Publications, ltd. ©1998,
2000 Mesorah Publications, ltd. Page
169.
[iii] The
Stone Edition Chumash. General
Editor Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mesorah Publications, ltd. ©1998,
2000 Mesorah Publications, ltd. Page
174-5
[iv] The
Stone Edition Chumash. General
Editor Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mesorah Publications, ltd. ©1998,
2000 Mesorah Publications, ltd. Page
127.
[v] Unrolling
the Scroll. D. Thomas Lancaster. First Fruits of Zion. ©2017
D. T. Lancaster. Book 1 Page 139.
[vi] The
Stone Edition Chumash. General
Editor Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mesorah Publications, ltd. ©1998,
2000 Mesorah Publications, ltd. Page
147.
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