Genesis 32
by Pastor David Groendyk

Jacob has something of a penchant for making enemies. He’s put Laban behind him, but now he must face his brother Esau whom he wronged so greatly many years before. Understandably, he is afraid. Plus, Esau’s terse response and large number of men have to be quite concerning. So Jacob devises a plan both to neutralize the threat (by sending Esau some presents) and to minimize the damage (by dividing all of his possessions and people into two camps). We don’t see the payoff of these plans quite yet, but bookending this whole section of fear are two very mysterious, angelic encounters.

I’ll confess that I had completely forgotten that Genesis 32:1–2 were in the Bible. This story raises so many questions, doesn’t it? How many angels were there? How did they appear to Jacob? Did he see them for five minutes, five days, or five weeks? We don’t have any answers. However, the purpose of this encounter is pretty clear. Jacob names that place ‘Mahanaim’ which means ‘two camps’. In other words, Jacob is confessing that God’s divine, angelic camp is present and traveling with his own human camp. God’s presence will be with him the whole way through his journey. Then, at the end of the chapter, the same lesson gets driven home again when Jacob has his famous wrestling match with God (vv. 22–32). Again, so many questions arise from this encounter. Did this man just appear out of thin air? Why did they physically wrestle? How long did they wrestle for? Again, no definitive answers. However, as with verses 1–2, the importance of this story is all in the naming. Jacob is named ‘Israel’ which means ‘he strives with God’. Jacob had wrestled (metaphorically) with people all his life, trying to get ahead; now, he’s wrestled with God (literally) and realized how badly he’s in need of God’s blessing rather than his own cunning. In all of Jacob’s fear and striving in life, what he really needed was God’s presence and God’s blessing. With those two things, he has no reason to fear, even if Esau should do the worst.

But what about this whole business of Jacob’s hip? Why does God have to permanently injure Jacob? In short, it was a physical reminder of his need to lose his pride and depend on God’s grace. It’s an important lesson for Christians to learn too. Without the trials and afflictions that God places in our lives, we would miss out on knowing and experiencing God’s grace. It’s quite similar to how Peter says that angels “long to look” into the good news of the gospel (1 Pet. 1:12). What in the world could perfect angelic beings ever long for? They long to know God’s salvation from sin! They long to understand grace. Without the trials and afflictions, we wouldn’t ever fully understand or experience God’s unconditional love, never-failing support, and radical free grace. Jacob can now experience God’s grace in a new way, and it should shape the whole rest of his life. Likewise, let us not begrudge God for our weaknesses and afflictions, but let us learn, like Paul did, that our own weaknesses magnify the power of Christ and give him more glory (2 Cor. 12:7–10).