Transcript:

Welcome to the Beyond the Basics Bible study podcast. My name is Dan Snyder and I’m your host. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Beyond the Basics, where we are exploring the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, one chapter at a time.

Before we get started. If you enjoy the show and want to help keep it on the air, you can go to my website at Beyond the Basics blog. Click the donate button at the top and that will bring you to the website for passion for Life Ministries, where you can make a tax deductible donation. Passion for life is a ministry that I’ve partnered with that is dedicated to spreading the gospel and feeding the elderly in Central and South America. Please make sure you designate your gift for Beyond the Basics. You can also click the subscribe button, which will bring you to my Patreon page. And for only $4 a month, you can receive access to the full uncut episode, which will include between 10 and 30 minutes of additional audio. You will also receive access to all past episodes starting with Genesis chapter 24. Now onto the show.

Well, today we’re going to get into Genesis chapter 35, and we’re going to find that something changed in Jacob after the events of the last chapter. So in verse one it says that God said to Jacob, now this is the fourth time that God has appeared to Jacob so far. And he says, arise.

Now Jacob had a permanent residence and land in Shechem, so he would have to leave his home just like Abraham did. That’s what God is asking him to do here. He’s saying, arise and leave your home, just like Abraham had to arise and leave his home in the city of earth.

And God says, go up to Bethel. This is where Jacob originally encountered God. This is where he originally had the dream of the ladder touching earth and touching heaven with God standing at the top. Angels ascending and descending. This is where Jacob had that dream. That was his first encounter with God.

Now, If you remember, Jacob had made several vows to the Lord when he was at Bethel, and some of those vows at this point he still had not fulfilled. That’s what Jacob is being called to do here. He’s being called to fulfill those vows that he had made to God before they die. So God tells Jacob, go up to Bethel and dwell there. So God says, make an altar there.

So God is calling Jacob here to a new life of worship. He’s been playing around the edges of obedience and worship for so long. He’s been giving lip service to God. At times. He’s been sometimes obeying, sometimes trying to do his own thing, sometimes recognizing God’s provision on his life, sometimes trying to manipulate situations for his own benefit. He’s been living half in half out. Now God is saying, Jacob, I want you to go to Bethel and I want you to make an altar. I want you to commit. I want you to commit like your father did, like Abraham and Isaac did.

Verse two and says, so Jacob said to his household, so he goes to his household immediately. He’s obeying God immediately. We’re seeing a maturity of faith in Jacob, and he’s going to ask his family to purify themselves and their garments. He’s going to ask them to put away their gods. He realizes he can’t expect his family to purify themselves if he doesn’t do so first. And so that’s that’s what he’s going to do.

So Jacob tells us household put away the foreign gods. Now, if you remember that Rachel had her father’s idols. Jacob’s sons had taken the women of Shechem after they had murdered all the men. And those women likely had idols. But now Jacob is committing his household to worship Yahweh and Yahweh alone. So it’s very significant that Jacob makes this commitment with his family to put away their idols.

So he says, put away the foreign gods that are among you and purify yourselves. Purifying or washing the body symbolizes cleansing the heart or a new beginning. In Second Corinthians seven one says, since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God, so that purifying or washing ourselves symbolizes. It’s not just outward, it’s a cleansing of the heart. And in the Old Testament, when there was much more outward symbolic acts to reflect inward realities, that’s what purifying yourselves was supposed to accomplish. Now we can just purify our hearts. We have the Holy Spirit that that will purify us. And he says, change your garments.

So in verse three, Jacob says, then let us arise and go up to Bethel. So that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress. Which is funny, because Jacob has had a lot of these. He’s had a lot of days of distress.

He says, and has been with me wherever I have gone. So Jacob is confessing God’s faithfulness to his promise. God had promised Jacob that he would be with him wherever he went. And now Jacob is recognizing and confessing that God was faithful to his promise.

In verse four, So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears. And it says that Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree. As in a burial.

So in verse five says, as they journeyed a terror from God. So now they’re on their way to Bethel. And a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them.

So in verse six, Jacob arrives in Bethel, and he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel. And in verse eight, after he arrived and built the altar, we find out Deborah, Rebecca’s nurse, died. Now this indicates that Rebecca had already died before this, and in fact, Jacob may have never seen his mother again after fleeing from Esau so many years earlier. And the reason we know that Rebecca has already dead is because we know at the end of this chapter that Isaac is still alive. And if Isaac was still alive, Rebecca wouldn’t have been with Joseph away from Isaac. The fact that Deborah is not with Isaac and with Jacob instead indicates, after Rebecca died, Deborah probably went to find Jacob because she would have been the one that brought Jacob up when he was a child.

So Jacob buried Deborah under an oak below Bethel, just like the idols earlier in the chapter. See, Deborah was like a surrogate mother for Jacob. Jacob had been Rebecca’s favorite son, and he would have greatly missed his mother. And when Deborah joined up with Jacob, he would have realized that Rebecca had died and that he never would have been able to see her again, and so he would have latched on to Deborah as if she was his mother. And so, since Jacob’s family had to get rid of their idols, now Jacob has to get rid of his idol, which would have been Deborah. A surrogate for his mother, Rebecca. And that’s indicated by this language telling us that he buried her under the oak, just like he buried the idols under an oak earlier in the chapter.

Even people can be idols for us. We think of idols as inanimate objects. Sometimes, even now, we think of idols as money or things that we like to do fishing, or maybe our work. But even though we have the language TV shows like American Idol in our culture, I don’t think we often think of people as idols, but sometimes we can look to other humans as idols, especially when it comes to family members. We can look to our parents sometimes to fulfill that role that God is supposed to fulfill in our lives. That’s an idol.

So in verse nine, God appeared to Jacob again. Now Jacob’s relationship with God has been restored due to his repentance. Notice that Jacob has left and returned to the place where God had originally told him to go. When he left Laban, he is now gone. There he’s obeyed God and built an altar, and he has removed the idols from his life. So now God appears because his relationship has been restored. And it says that God blessed him. And when you read through the blessing in the next several verses, we find that there’s nothing new in this blessing.

Many times if you’ve been following along with this study, I always highlight the new elements in each blessing. And almost always, there is a new element in each blessing. Each time the Lord appears to one of the patriarchs and gives a blessing. But there’s nothing new here, and I believe that’s by design, because sometimes we need a reminder that God remembers his promise, and that’s all we need. Jacob, in his repentance, is now fully seeking the Lord, and he just needed a reminder that God hadn’t forgotten.

Verse 14, Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with God, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it. And poured oil on it. This drink offering. It’s an interesting phrase. It’s the first time we’ve encountered it. I believe what this drink offering is, is it’s a supplement to the burnt offerings in the law. It represents a life joyfully dedicated to God’s service and to worship.

In Philippians two verse 17, Paul says, even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. That’s what Jacob is doing here. It’s a very symbolic act. It’s a very prophetic act. It’s looking forward. He is finally looking forward instead of looking down at his own situation, at his own problems. He’s looking forward to what God had promised him by pouring out this drink, offering the very, very symbolic act here.

So in verse 16, then they journeyed from Bethel. And the reason he did this is because when he had just spoken to God, God had told Jacob in verse 12 that he would give him the land that he gave to his father Isaac. So Jacob left Bethel to go to where his father was. That’s where he’s going to go.

So on the way, we’re told that Rachel went into labor. And this is interesting because we’re just told that she went into labor. There’s no drama surrounding it. And in verse 17 we’re told midwife said to her, do not fear, for you have another son. She calls his name Ben-oni, which means son of my sorrow or son of my strength. One of the two, maybe both. Maybe it’s a play on words. I don’t know, that’s just what’s in the footnotes of my Bible and is probably in the footnotes of your Bible as well.

But it’s significant if it means son of my sorrow, because Rachel seems to know that she wouldn’t survive his birth, and in fact, she would die after he was born. And his life is going to be marked by sorrow at the loss of his mother. He’s never going to know his mother, which is a terrible thing. And at the end of her days, she’s filled with sorrow because she will never be able to truly know her son. Rachel’s life is a warning to us. We are not promised tomorrow at any point. The Lord could decide that it’s time.

So in verse 19, as I mentioned, Rachel died. So Rachel died and she was buried on the way to Ephrathah, which is Bethlehem, and where she died. And this is going to be important later where she died. She had the son that she named Ben-oni, but his father Jacob called him Benjamin, which means son of the right hand. The right hand was associated with strength or honor. And so what Jacob was saying by naming him Benjamin is that the son would be honored.

And then in verse 21, it says that Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Peter. And then we’re given a quick rundown of Jacob’s sons in verse 22. We’re reminded that Jacob had 12 sons, which is the number of God’s government. So now God’s governmental structure for the nation of Israel is in place now that Benjamin has been born. And then we’re told all the names of Jacob’s sons in case we needed a reminding. Right? Why would this be right here? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Well, it does make sense. There’s purpose here because we’re given a list of sons, which would be the order of succession for who would receive the covenant blessing. So it’s like the author is reminding us, hey, you remember what happened last chapter with Levi and Simeon. You remember what just happened in the previous verse with Reuben? We’ll keep that in mind, because here’s a list of the sons who would be qualified to receive the promise. And what we find out is that Judah would be the next oldest that could receive the blessing.

But there’s an issue. Because Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife. So Joseph, being the firstborn of Rachel, could also be considered the next one to receive the blessing. And it’s going to seem that way because the story is going to start following Joseph. But this list, as if a reminder before we get into the next several stories, before we get into the rest of the book, this list places Joseph after Judah, so that’s an indication that Judah is still considered to be the first born.

So in verse 27, Jacob came to his father Isaac. And this fulfills two words, fulfills two things, and fulfills God’s Word to Jacob in Genesis 28:15 And God said, behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go. We’ll bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I’ve done what I have promised you. And then it fulfills Jacob’s vow to God in Genesis 28, verses 20-21. Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way, that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace. Then the Lord shall be my God.

So in verse 29, Isaac died. So Jacob is now the patriarch of the family. Isaac’s inheritance is now Jacob’s. And Reuben tried to take his authority too early because Jacob didn’t even have the inheritance yet because Isaac was still alive. We’re told that he was full of days. Isaac was full of days, just like Abraham was. Who doesn’t want to be full of days? I want to be full of days.

So in this chapter, we see a theme. We see a theme that Jacob’s faithfulness is tested through the entire chapter. Remember what I said at the beginning of the episode, that Jacob responds so much differently to God’s Word than he would have in the past? Old Jacob, previous Jacob would have tried to manipulate and tried to take what he can get before he left to go to Bethel. He may have obeyed God, he may have done God’s will, but sometimes he would do it in. Inadvertently. He would try to see what he can gain out of it first. But this time Jacob simply obeys, and he does it immediately. And now his new found faithfulness is going to be tested in this chapter.

So after making this commitment to the Lord, he’s immediately faced with three deaths in his family. He’s faced with the death of Deborah, Rebecca’s nurse. He’s faced with the death of Rachel, his wife, and he’s faced with the death of Isaac, his father. Now, remember, three is the number of testing. So this is an indication that Jacob is being tested. But his faithfulness is being tested. Will he remain faithful when the three most important people to him in his life die? And beyond that, his son Reuben tests his standing as patriarch in the family by laying with his concubine.

So this is very similar to how Abraham and Isaac were tested after receiving the promise. Abraham, after he received the promise and left his homeland, was tested with a famine. Isaac was tested with the Philistines topping up his wells. Jacob is tested with the deaths of the three people most important to him. See, a dedicated life to the Lord does not mean an easy life. And in fact, if we learn anything from these patriarchs, we learn that a dedicated life means a more difficult life. It was never easy for these three men. Life was hard. They faced constant trials, often trials brought on by God. This is not something that they could scream, Not today, Satan! At.

Life dedicated to God means a difficult life. That’s not something that they tell you when you’re in a church service and they say, everybody close your eyes and bow your heads. And if you want to receive the Lord, raise your hand. I mean, maybe that’s only done in youth groups. I don’t really know. I remember being in church services where that’s been done. And if we can’t even face the hardship of confessing the name of Jesus Christ in front of a church full of believers, how are we going to confess the name of Christ when life gets difficult? And it will. Because God tests those who commit to him because not to show them that they fail, but to reveal their level of faithfulness so that they can grow. That’s what God does for us.

All three of these men passed some tests and failed some tests. But it’s not about a pass or fail. It’s about them growing. And they all three grew in faith. So yes, it’s a difficult life to follow Jesus. It’s a difficult life to pick up and leave your home and leave that which is comfortable, that which is easy, leave that which you would prefer and follow Jesus. It’s difficult, but it’s fruitful, which means it’s worth it.

So how does this chapter point to Jesus? Well, a couple different ways. First, Rachel’s labour unto death would actually become a picture of Israel waiting for the Messiah. There’s a couple examples of this in Jeremiah 31 verse 15. It says, thus says the Lord. A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children because they are no more. The context of that verse in Jeremiah chapter 31, verses one through 14, is a prophecy about the future glory of Israel under the reign of Messiah. So Jeremiah in those verses, talking about how Israel will be glorified when the Messiah comes and reigns from Jerusalem. And then he says, the verse that I just read, a voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children because they are no more.

So what is going on? Why would there be weeping if Jeremiah is prophesying future glory under the Messiah? And it’s because the weeping, the labor, the labor pains are the waiting for that day to come. It’s symbolic of waiting for that day to come, the pain and waiting for that day to come. And in verses 16 through 40 of Jeremiah chapter 31, the prophet exhorts the people to stop weeping because God will establish a new covenant with Israel.

And then in Matthew chapter two, verses 16 through 18, it says, Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region, who are two years and under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men, this was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah. A voice was heard in Rama, weeping in loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted because they are no more. Jesus and his family had to flee to Egypt in this chapter because Herod was murdering children in Bethlehem.

So again, the future glory of Israel had been born. He was here. Jesus had been born in this chapter. But Jeremiah was prophesying that people would weep anyway. And in this case, it’s because Herod was murdering babies. He was murdering children. And we find out that’s what Jeremiah was actually talking about. That was a fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy that labor pain unto death as Israel waits for their Messiah.

So the second way that this chapter points to Jesus is, I mentioned earlier that Benjamin was born near Bethlehem, which was the birthplace of Jesus. It’s significant because Rachel named him sorrow. Jacob named him honor. And Jesus birth would eventually one day bring both sorrow and honor to Bethlehem. It brings sorrow from the babies killed by Herod like I just mentioned, and honor and being remembered as the birthplace of Jesus. So Benjamin’s two names here, from his father and from his mother, are prophetic as to what would happen in this town 2000 years later when Jesus would be born.

And in fact, Jesus himself was a man of sorrows and also honored at the right hand of God. Isaiah 53 three says, he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and his one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised, and we esteemed him not. And then in Psalm 110 verse one says, the Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. So Benjamin’s two names from his father and his mother and his birthplace was actually prophetic regarding the person of Jesus and not just the city.

In addition, the Tower of Eder was where the shepherds were told about Jesus birth. I mentioned that earlier that these shepherds would have been shepherding their flocks near this tower. This area was specifically used to cultivate livestock for temple sacrifices, and the sign that the angels gave would have referred to the process for protecting a lamb after birth. In Luke two verses 12 it says, this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. That would have been the process that shepherds would have used to protect a lamb after being born. So the angels giving the shepherds that sign, the shepherds would have recognized the purpose of Jesus being born to be a lamb, to be sacrificed in the temple. So even this tower of Eder is a prophetic indication of the purpose of why Jesus was born.

And then, of course, Jesus himself is the watchtower of the flock. Jesus is the good Shepherd himself. He is the one who watches over the flock. So he is both the lamb and he is the watchtower.

The question that I would like you to ponder over the next week is this. What are some ways that God has tested your faith? And how has he used this to strengthen your faith? How has he used those tests to strengthen your faith?

And if you don’t have faith in God? If you do not follow Jesus, I would encourage you. Are you satisfied with a life of ease? Or alternatively, are you satisfied with a life of hardship with no purpose? And I would encourage you. If you place your faith in Jesus, if you choose to live a life dedicated to Jesus. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it. And you’re not going to hear a whole lot of evangelists say that. And it’s a good thing I’m not much of an evangelist. I’m a teacher. I’m interested in the one or 2 or 3 who will say, I’m not satisfied with life. As it is and I’m willing to take a harder life, but a more fulfilled life, a more dedicated life. A life laid down in service and adoration. To King Jesus.

If that’s you, encourage you to do that right now, all you have to do is tell somebody. Tell Jesus. Pray to him right now. Say I surrender to him. Go tell somebody. Go get connected to a church and get baptized. Get baptized as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to me as well. Use the contact page on the website beyondthebasics.blog or leave a comment.

Before I let you go, just want to remind you if you want to support the show, always appreciate your comments. Always appreciate the five star rating on whatever podcast platform you’re using. You can also click like and follow. Helps increase the numbers to help increase the number of people that I’m able to reach with this Bible study.

So let’s pray. Lord, I thank you so much for what you’ve spoken to us in your word through the life of Jacob. Thank you that he lived life poured out and dedication to you so that we can learn how to live a life poured out in dedication to you. I pray right now that you would take us through those hard times, take us through those difficulties, take us through those times of testing so that we can come out on the other side with a deeper level of faithfulness and steadfast love for you. I pray for those that haven’t made that decision yet to follow you, that you would reach their hearts right now. You would create that longing in their hearts to live a fulfilled, poured out life in Jesus name. Amen.

Well, thank you for listening. Have a great week and I will talk to you next week. We’ll go through Genesis chapter 36, which is a long list of names, and I’m actually really excited to do next week’s episode. I think you’re going to be surprised at how interesting a long list of names can be. I’ve got a lot of good stuff for you next week, so don’t miss it. Thanks for listening.

Don’t forget, if you enjoy the show and would like to help keep it on the air. Go to http://www.beyondthebasics.blog and click the donate button to make a tax deductible donation. Make sure you designate the donation for Beyond the Basics. You can also click the subscribe button, which will take you to my Patreon page, where for only $4 per month, you can receive access to an additional 10 to 30 minutes of audio content per episode, as well as access to all previous episodes I’ve released.

Transcript:

Due to the nature of the content of this episode, if you are listening around small children, please use discretion before listening.

Welcome to the Beyond the Basics Bible Study podcast. My name is Dan Snyder and I am your host. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Beyond the Basics, where we are exploring the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, one chapter at a time.

Before we get started. If you enjoy the show and want to help keep it on the air, you can go to my website at beyondthebasics.blog. Click the donate button at the top and that will bring you to the website for passion for Life Ministries, where you can make a tax deductible donation. Passion for life is a ministry that I’ve partnered with that is dedicated to spreading the gospel and feeding the elderly in Central and South America. Please make sure you designate your gift for beyond the Basics. You can also click the subscribe button, which will bring you to my Patreon page. And for only $4 a month, you can receive access to the full uncut episode, which will include between 10 and 30 minutes of additional audio. You will also receive access to all past episodes, starting with Genesis chapter 24, now under the show.

Well, every family has some level of dysfunction, right. We’re going to get into Genesis chapter 34 today, and we’re going to see the consequences of years of dysfunction in Jacob’s family. So now in chapter 34, it says, now, Dinah, the daughter of Leah, who is the only daughter of Jacob that we know of. The Bible doesn’t tell us whether or not Jacob had any other daughters. And this says whom she had born to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land, the implication being that she was unsupervised. She went by herself to hang out with the women of Shechem, and Jacob and Leah were not around when she did this.

So remember that the Canaanite people are a picture of worldly living. They’re a picture of living separate from God or apart from God. The sons of Abraham were not to mix with the Canaanites. They were not to intermarry. They were not to have anything to do with them. And that that picture that it provides is a picture of how we, as believers need to be separate from the world, from worldly living. So Dinah here is seeking a relationship with the world. She’s seeking a relationship with a lifestyle apart from God because Jacob, for all his faults, still lived separately from the Canaanites outside the city of Chicago. He did not move into the city like our friend Lot did several chapters earlier, but Dinah clearly did not learn this lesson. She’s going out to see the women of the land to hang out with the women of Chesham, so she’s putting herself into a dangerous position by joining herself to the Canaanites.

In verse two it says, When Shechem, the son of Hammar, the Hivites, we’re told he’s the prince of the land. And he saw her and seized her, just like Eve saw and took. Always look out for that type of language. Remember he saw and he seized, or he saw and he took, just like Eve. So Dinah here is being compared to the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She’s being compared to the forbidden fruit.

Now, the interesting thing about this word seized is in Hebrew, it’s just a general word for take. In our English translation, it implies that he kidnapped her or took her by force, the implication here being that that he raped her. But that’s not actually what the Hebrew word here implies. Just implies that he took her. And that could mean all sorts of things. That could mean that he raped her. Could also mean that he just met her and brought her back to his house, and she did it consensually. The translators have chosen to interpret it this way, and I am no expert in Hebrew to English translation, so I tend to defer to the translators. But I just want you to recognize that sometimes we place expectations or we we have expectations of the text that aren’t always necessarily well founded because of what we’ve heard in the past. And I’m sure if you’ve heard this story in this chapter in the past, you’ve probably heard that Dinah was raped by Shechem, but that is not necessarily the case.

Moving on in verse two. And it says, he lay with her and humiliated her. So the phrase lay with her is a phrase that is used in the Bible in reference to sinful sexual relationships. Again, could include rape may not include rape, it could just mean fornication, which is sex outside of marriage. And then he humiliated her. Again, could include rape, but it also could indicate that it just meant that she was a virgin, and now she would have a hard time being married because she had lain with a man. So there’s two possibilities there. I want you to see that there’s two possibilities of what actually happened. The English translators once again have made a choice to indicate rape. And I’m going to be assuming that from now on, but it may not be the case.

So in verse three it says, and his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. So this is contrasting his actions in verse two and verse two. He was very violent and forceful, and now he’s he’s tender. What’s happening here is we’re seeing a picture of the twisted morality of the Canaanites, and we’re seeing that picture being painted all through the story of Genesis. You remember the depravity of Sodom and Gomorrah. The entire city came out to lot’s house to try and rape those two men that had come to visit him. Esau’s wives brought grief to his family. And when we get into Genesis chapter 36, we’re going to go into more detail on Esau’s wives and the reason why they may have brought grief to Esau’s family. Now Shechem treats a woman he loves like a slave. He took her and raped her and claimed to love her. He clearly has no idea what love even means.

I mean, obviously we don’t treat a person that we love that way. It’s showing the reader the awful, awful state that the typical Canaanite conscience typical Canaanite morality is in. And it’s intended to give Israel an idea of what they’re dealing with 400 years later. Remember, the Israelites are going to be reading this right before they enter the land of Canaan to destroy the Canaanite nations. They’re going to be reading this, and they’re going to be they’re going to see, oh gosh, yes, this group of people is completely against God’s commands, and they need to be dealt with.

So in verse four Shechem spoke to his father Hamor saying, get me this girl for my wife. So now Hamor needs to go to Jacob to negotiate a price. Shechem decides, I want this girl as a wife. So now his father Hamor needs to go to Dinah’s father Jacob and negotiate a price in order to make that happen.

So in verse five, Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. Now this word defiled can also be translated become unclean. So moving on, in verse five it says, Jacob’s sons were with his livestock in the field. So Jacob held his peace until they came. So he didn’t say anything or respond to him in any way.

In verse seven, now the sons of Jacob have heard of what happened, and were told that they were indignant and very angry with righteous anger. They’re ready to do something about this, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel. This phrase indicates that Jacob’s sons had begun to consider themselves a nation. They had now grown powerful enough and large enough that they and others were looking to themselves as a nation. Now remember, in those days, nations were much smaller. They were usually city states rather than true nations. What we think of as a nation today. So even just a group of people gathered around a city or a small geographic area could have been considered a nation.

But what it means is that this act by Shechem isn’t an offense against just one person. It’s not just Shechem defiling Dinah and Dinah’s father. It’s an offense against an entire nation and their customs. They had already built up their customs and their culture enough that this is now a defiling of an entire culture.

It’s like if you were to go to Mexico and make a taco with white bread, if you were to do that, the Mexican people would look at you like you have three heads. You’re not doing something necessarily against one person. You’re doing something against an entire nation’s customs. If you were to replace a tortilla with a slice of white bread, that would be kind of a silly way to make a statement against their national customs. But that kind of goofy example is illustrating what this truly is. It’s not an offense against Dinah herself. It’s an offense against the entire nation of Israel and their customs as small as they are at this time.

So in verse eight, Hema spoke with Jacob’s son, saying, the soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife. Make marriages with us, give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. So Israelites were not supposed to be intermarrying with the Canaanites. I mentioned that earlier in the episode. This was a command from Abraham again.

Hamor here says give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. So this is a generational proposal. This is not a one time thing. This is generational proposal. If you give your daughters to us in marriage and we give our daughters to you in marriage, now, we become one people. That’s the result. We become one people, our sons and our daughters. The result of those marriages will be a 50/50 mix of our people and yours. So by the time we get to our sons and our grandsons, no one can tell us apart. The result would be that the Israelites would eventually become completely assimilated into Canaanite culture.

So let’s move on. Verse ten, Hamor goes on. He says, you shall dwell with us and the land shall be open to you. Now, Israel was not supposed to acquire the land through compromise with the Canaanite tribes. This land wasn’t even the Canaanites land to give. It was God’s land to give. And Israel was supposed to acquire the land through God’s promise. And so this negotiation tactic from him, or this is an assault on God’s covenant promise. This is an attack on God’s promises to Israel.

We have marriage and we have the land. And these are the two ways that the inheritance promised to Abraham could be compromised through marriage and through land. And these are the two very ways that Hamor proposes a negotiation and that Jacob’s sons could be tempted to compromise in this area.

So in verse 11, Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers, let me find favor in your eyes. And he says, whatever you say to me, I will give.

So in verse 13, the sons of Jacob answered, Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled his sister Dinah. So Jacob’s sons now are going to deceive Hamor and Shechem. They’re going to come up with a plan that will make their father proud, and it indicates that they planned this in advance. This wasn’t a spontaneous thing that they did. They planned this what they’re about to do.

So what are they going to do? In verse 14 they said to them, we cannot do this thing to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us. So they masked their plans with false righteousness. What they’re going to end up doing is absolutely wicked and depraved, but they’re masking it with false righteousness. They’re saying, hey, we can’t do this. This would be against our custom. It would be against our law to give DNA to an uncircumcised people. That’s that’s a disgrace. That’s that’s not okay with us. That’s immoral.

So they said in verse 15, only on this condition will we agree with you that you will become as we are by every male among you, being circumcised. Now they knew that this would not make them like the sons of Israel, like Jacob’s sons. But Hamor and Shechem did not know this. They thought that becoming circumcised would make them like Jacob and his sons. They thought that was just part of the culture. That was part of what they did. The Israelites were not the only ones in in those days that did this. So it wasn’t even that outrageous of a thing to ask.

But the difference is Shechem and his people did not receive the covenant that was given to Abraham. Jacob and his sons did, and that’s why they circumcised themselves as a sign of the covenant. So for him and his family to circumcise themselves, it accomplishes nothing because they didn’t receive the covenant, but they didn’t realize this. So it was deceitful. Sons of Jacob knew that they wouldn’t realize this.

So in verse 16 they say, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to ourselves, and we will dwell with you and become one people. Now this is the same goal as those who built the Tower of Babel. And again, remember that Jacob’s sons are speaking deceitfully here. This is not their true goal to become one people, but it is Hamor and Shechem’s goal to become one people, which they are sharing in that goal of those who built the Tower of Babel.

In Genesis 11:6 it says, the Lord said, behold, they are one people, and they have all one language. And this is only the beginning of what they will do, and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. So this language of them becoming one people here in verse 16 is an indication that this is a really, really, really bad idea.

Verse 18, their words pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. So they agreed to do this. And the young men did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. So the people of the city of Shechem would be very likely to listen to him, because he had a lot of honor in Hamor’s house. So when he comes to the people of the city and says, hey, this is the plan that Jacob’s sons have presented to us, this is how we can make this problem go away. This is how we can avoid a fight here with this young nation of Israel, and we can become one with them.

That’s what he does. They came to the gate of the city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, these men are at peace with us. Let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. So they’re saying that Jacob’s sons are at peace with us, and other translations here are going to say friendly instead of at peace. I’m going to say these men are friendly with us.

So in verse 22, Shechem says, only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people. And the condition is, of course, that every male among them would be circumcised. So that would have been very painful for grown men. It’s painful for little babies when we do it on our little babies. Painful enough then, but it’s extremely painful for grown men. But for them, the benefits would be worth it. Take a few days and deal with the pain, and they get to intermarry with this new nation.

And in verse 23, this is where their true motive comes out. He says, will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours. This right here is where we see the true motive of them. They intended the men of Shechem intended to absorb Jacob’s wealth and Jacob’s family’s wealth into their own.

So in verse 25, it says, on the third day, when they were sore and they were probably sleep deprived and feverish as well, says two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon Levi, Dinah’s brothers. Now Simeon, Levi and Dinah, were all children of Leah.

This is where the dysfunction comes in. This is where we see the consequences of that dysfunction. Because Leah and her children were mostly ignored by Jacob. Jacob had clearly shown that Rachel and Joseph were favorites when he was meeting Esau. He did nothing to protect Dinah or defend her when he more came to negotiate. So he had shown throughout the years, over and over and over, that Leah and her children were worth less to him than Rachel and Joseph. And so now years of family neglect has turned into rage, boiled over.

So Simeon and Levi took their swords and came against the city. While it felt secure and killed all the males. No one was spared. It’s probably around 50 to 100 men.

And instead of using the sign of God’s covenant to stand on righteousness, to protect their sister and their daughters, instead of standing on God’s promises, instead they use the sign of God’s covenant for violence, deception, and revenge. They defiled what God had given them out of rage for the defilement that Shechem had brought on their sister.

Verse 26, they killed him and his son Shechem with a sword. So now we see how God uses this for good to keep his promises. Was it good that Levi and Simeon killed Hamor and Shechem? Of course not. It’s murder. It’s nothing less. But. God used their sin to keep his promise to Abraham.

Remember his promise to Abraham. He says, I will curse those who curse you. Now Hamor and Shechem are cursed because of their curse, because they cursed the family of Abraham. Now they are cursed by God. God is using Simeon and Levi to bring judgment and curse on Hamor and Shechem.

This is not the first time we’re going to see this in the Bible. And this is a very, very difficult thing to reckon with. I have a difficult time with it. This should all make us feel uncomfortable. But the truth is there. The fact remains we cannot deny it, that God uses wicked men and wicked acts to bring about his purposes. He simply does. This is not even going to be the last time we see it in this book, much less the entire rest of the Bible. If you have a hard time with this, if you have a hard time with God using wickedness to bring about his purposes and to bring about judgment on others, you’re going to have to reckon with that.

And I encourage you when studying stories like this, when we’re reading the Bible and we come across a story like this and it makes us feel uncomfortable, ask the question, why does this make us feel uncomfortable? And ask the question, why do I have a hard time agreeing with what God is doing? Because that is going to bring out our own insecurities. It’s going to bring out our own sinful tendencies. If we start with the assumption that God is good and all his acts and his works are good. If we start there, then when we get to a story where we disagree with what God is doing, then it’s an invitation into recognizing our own flawed ways of thinking. And it’s an invitation into seeing a greater truth about God than we had known previously.

So if you’re having a hard time with this, wrestle with this text. This is not going to be the first time we’re going to encounter this. The fact remains that God does this. God uses wickedness to bring consequences down on wicked people’s heads.

So they killed him here in Shechem, and they took Dinah out of the house and went away. And then in verse 27, the sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled her sister. So they took everything. They took the flocks, the herds, the donkeys, the wives, the children, all the wealth in their homes. There was nothing left inside or outside the city. They took everything in.

Verse 30, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, you have brought trouble on me. Jacob was more concerned about the consequences he would face than he was concerned with the injustice his sons had done. Once again, dysfunction comes and rears its ugly head. Jacob doesn’t care that his sons had just murdered an entire city, and how he was going to deal with the wickedness that his sons had just done. He was more concerned about how this affects him.

So he says, you brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land. This is a figure of speech, this phrase making me stink. The idea is that offense was taken through the nose or through the sense of smell. And this is important because Jacob had just built an altar to worship God before the Canaanites. If you remember, in the previous chapter, the very last sentence, we’re told that Jacob built an altar in the presence of the Canaanites to worship his God, Yahweh. But now his sons were acting like the Canaanites, and they were hurting his testimony as a God fear. So in this sense, it’s important that he’s concerned about how this reflects on him, how this is going to impact him, because he did make a statement in the previous chapter that he does not worship the same God as the Canaanites. He worships one God, Yahweh.

But in verse 30, Jacob still is going to show that he’s not trusting God with his safety because he says, my numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household. Even though God is working through this situation, Jacob still is not trusting God with his safety.

And verse 31, Simeon and Levi said, should he treat our sister like a prostitute?

So how does this chapter point to Jesus? I’ve hinted at several of these at various points in the show, but to recap, obviously the promised seed of Abraham must remain separate from the seed of the serpent. We know this because how can the promised seed of Abraham crush the seed of the serpent if they’re one and the same? It’s impossible. So they have to remain separate. And this chapter presented a threat to the integrity of that seed. As I mentioned earlier, if Jacob’s sons had accepted Shechem’s proposal, that family line would have been corrupted. So this chapter is presenting a situation where the promised seed is at risk. And of course, Jesus would eventually become that promised seed.

And the reason this chapter in particular is significant is because this is not the only time that the seed is going to be at risk of being corrupted. This is actually the first of three incidents. This is going to happen again in Genesis 37 and then in 38.

Now the number three, as I’ve mentioned many times, indicates testing or trial. So the promised seed is going to be put to the test through Jacob’s family. Is Jacob’s family going to be able to protect the integrity of the covenant? That’s the test that they’re facing here.

The other way this chapter points to Jesus is that Simeon and Levi were the second and third born sons. Reuben, of course, was the firstborn. He’s going to lose his blessing, his birthright. Later on. He’s going to end up sleeping with his father’s concubine. He’s going to end up forfeiting his birthright. So Jesus, who is that promised seed, should have come through Reuben. Reuben is going to forfeit that birthright. Simeon and Levi were the second and third born sons. They would have been next in line for the blessing, but Jacob refused to give it to them because of their murders. So that means that the blessing and the birth rate and the promised seed, the bloodline where the promised seed is going to come through, is now going to fall to Judah, who is the fourth born son who would eventually become the ancestor of Jesus.

So before I let you go this week, let’s meditate on this question. Let’s consider the following question. Meditate on it. Pray on it. This week, as you’re going through your day, reflect on this question. The question is, why does God call us to be separate from the world? And what are some areas in your life that you need to separate from the world? So this is a common theme that I mentioned over and over throughout the chapter of Being Separate from the world. So are there any areas that you need to separate yourself from the world? Why does God even ask us to separate ourselves from the world? So meditate on that question and let’s pray.

Lord, I thank you for your word. I thank you for what you’re showing us in this chapter, even though it’s a difficult chapter. Thank you that there are those who have gone before us that have made mistakes that we can learn from. I pray that you would show us ways this week that that we need to separate ourselves from the world. And I ask you, Holy Spirit, that you would empower us to remain separate from the world, set apart for you and set apart for your service. I thank you that you give us the power to do this. Thank you that you have given us the promises that we read about in Scripture that we can stand on so that when it becomes difficult, when becomes tempting to compromise our beliefs, we can stand on you and we can stand on your promises. Jesus name. Amen.

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Transcript:

Welcome to the Beyond the Basics Bible Study podcast. My name is Dan Snyder, and I’m your host. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Beyond the Basics, where we are exploring the Bible from Genesis to Revelation one chapter at a time.

Before we get started, if you enjoy the show and want to help keep it on the air, you can go to my website at Beyond the Basics blog. Click the donate button at the top. And that will bring you to the website for Passion for Life Ministries, where you can make a tax deductible donation. Passion for Life is a ministry that I’ve partnered with that is dedicated to spreading the gospel and feeding the elderly in Central and South America.

Please make sure you designate your gift for Beyond the Basics. You can also click the subscribe button, which will bring you to my Patreon page. And for only 4 a month, you can receive access to the full, uncut episode, which will include between 10 and 30 minutes of additional audio. You will also receive access to all past episodes starting with Genesis chapter 24.

Now, onto the show! Well, have you ever felt completely alone? Think back on those times. How did God meet you in those times when you felt alone? In Genesis chapter 32, we’re gonna find that in the beginning of the chapter, Jacob is completely surrounded by family and an army of angels. And as we go through the chapter, he’s gonna slowly become more and more alone until at the end, he’s completely alone.

On the side of the river, and this is where God meets him. So in Genesis 32, verse 1, remember Jacob had been fleeing from Laban. They had made a covenant to never cross into each other’s territory. And so now Jacob was returning to the land of Canaan. God had told him to go back to the city of Bethel. And so, in verse 1, it says, Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

So that word angels also means messengers. So in verse 2, when Jacob saw them, he said, this is God’s camp. So he called the name of that place Mahanaim, which means two camps. There’s God’s camp and there’s Jacob’s camp. In verse 3, Jacob sent messengers before him. Now in verse 3, we find out that Esau is living in the land of Seir, or the country of Edom.

So in verse 4, Jacob tells his messengers to say, you shall say to my lord Esau, thus says your servant Jacob. Jacob was the patriarch. of the family by birthright, but here he humbles himself to be Esau’s servant. So again, he’s trying to take a non confrontational tone. He’s trying to make it clear that he’s not here for a fight.

He says, I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants and female servants. So Jacob wanted Esau to know that he already had plenty. He already had great wealth. And he wasn’t there to take anything from Esau. He already had enough. He had already taken the birthright when he was younger, and now he was coming back to claim his inheritance, but he wasn’t, he wasn’t trying to take anything from Esau anymore.

So then he goes on, he says, I have sent to tell my lord in order that I may find favor in your sight. So Jacob wants to make amends here. Jacob knew that he had alienated his brother. He knew his brother was angry. He’s trying to make amends. But we’re starting to see a bit of a problem here because Jacob already has God’s favor.

So we shouldn’t need to seek Esau’s favor. So in verse 6, the messengers returned to Jacob saying, We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are 400 men with him. This is actually the largest army that we’ve seen so far in the Bible. In verse 7, It tells us that Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.

So Jacob starts to come up with a plan, and he starts to divide the people that were with him. This is a problem because it actually makes defeat more likely against a large army. So moving down to verse 9, Jacob is so fearful that now he is finally driven to prayer. He realizes that he’s got no other option left.

It’s his last resort to turn to the Lord. It shouldn’t have been his last resort, but he did it, and he turned to the Lord. We can’t really judge Jacob, right? How many of us back ourselves into a corner because of our own dumb decisions, and when we’ve got no other option left, then we finally turn to the Lord and say, Lord, I don’t even know what to do here.

Please help. We’ve all been there, we’ve all done that. We can’t really judge Jacob for this. So he appeals to the God of his fathers, and he says, O Lord, who said to me, return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good. I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant.

Jacob recognized his need for God. He asks God for deliverance. He says, Deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, I will surely do you good. And make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitudes.

So Jacob, here is reminding God of his promises.

So Jacob stayed there, that night, in the place of two camps. And he split up his animals, and his family, and his servants. And he sent them on in droves to his brother Esau. In verse 16 it says, These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself. So this was a large portion of Jacob’s wealth. It’s almost like Jacob is offering the birthright back to Esau in exchange for his life.

So again, remember I mentioned that it’s good for Jacob to tell Esau that, Hey, I’m not here to take anything. I’m coming in peace. I just want to go back home. Not here to start anything. But instead, he went beyond that. He made himself Esau’s servant. He’s Esau. Trying to earn Esau’s favor, and now he’s offering his inheritance back to Esau.

All these animals that he had gained while he was with Laben, he is offering them back to Esau. So Jacob feared Esau more than he feared God, even though Jacob had God’s promises. See, we must God more than the world because we have God’s promises. Second Corinthians seven, one says, since we have these promises, beloved.

Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. So what is Paul saying there? He’s saying that, that we have the promises of God. Because we have those promises, we must cleanse ourselves of sin and fear the Lord. Because the Lord has power to keep those promises and bring those promises apart.

He is infinitely more powerful than anything that the world can throw at us. So let’s cleanse ourselves. Let’s humble ourselves in front of God and fear God, not the world. Jacob feared the world more than he feared God. Jacob feared Esau, his brother, more than he feared God. So he said to his servants in verse 16, Pass on ahead of me, and put a space between drove and drove.

And 20 it says, For Jacob thought I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me. And afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps. He will accept me. So Jacob is still trying to scheme. He’s still trying to manipulate Esau into getting what he wants. So in verse 21, so the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

In verse 22, that same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children.

So this right here is about to foreshadow Jacob’s baptism. The story that we’re about to read is going to take place just before Jacob’s baptism. We’re going to see a significant shift in Jacob’s attitude. We’re going to see a significant shift in Jacob’s attempt to trust the Lord. In verse 23, it says that Jacob took them, His family and sent them across the stream and everything else that he had in verse 24 and Jacob was left alone over the last 10 verses or so and Jacob had been Dividing up his wealth and sending them on ahead of him Then he divided up his children and sent them on ahead of him and now Jacob is completely alone He’s completely vulnerable And this is where God comes to him Just like the first time that God had appeared to him in Bethel when Jacob was completely alone, fleeing from his brother Esau, now Jacob is completely alone in fear of his brother Esau, and God comes to him.

And it’s interesting to note the way that God comes to him. See, God comes to us at our level. God obviously knows that he is far above us in every way. So he humbles himself and approaches us at our level. Psalm 18, verses 25 through 26 says, With the merciful you show yourself merciful, with the blameless man you show yourself blameless, with the purified you show yourself pure, and with the crooked you make yourself seem torturous.

And this is shown in the record of scripture. So in Genesis 18, Abraham was a nomad, and so God appeared to Abraham as a traveler. In the book of Joshua, Joshua was a military general, and in Joshua chapter 5, God came. Jacob here, in Genesis 32, spent his entire life struggling with others, so God came to him as a wrestler.

And in verse 24, a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. So this man initiated the fight. Jacob didn’t start the fight. This man did, and he wanted something from Jacob. What did he want? What did he want from Jacob? He wanted to take his deceiving, scheming, self reliance from him. And turned Jacob into a man that relied completely on God.

And he wrestled with him until the breaking of day. So this reveals Jacob’s determination. He never gave up, despite the difficult life he had. He never gave up. He never stopped fighting. He never stopped scheming. He never, he never gave up. And he didn’t give up in this fight. But the problem was, he was too reliant on his own strength and cunning.

See, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to never give up. I think that’s a good thing. We shouldn’t give up. But in that determination to keep going, we should not rely on our strength. Cause our strength is never gonna get us. to the end. We have to rely on God’s strength and His wisdom. That’s what’s going to get us through difficulties.

So in verse 25 it says, When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, even though he could have at any time, because as we’re going to find out, this is God, he could have won this fight at any time. When he saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

It says that he touched his hip socket. This is, and I think this is a strange word to use here. Like, I don’t know about you, but I think about if you’re going to put somebody’s hip. Socket out of joint. You’re not gonna touch it and it goes out of joint. You’re gonna punch it. You’re gonna kick it. You’re gonna use all your force that you can muster and hit that person as hard as you can to make that hip joint go out of socket.

It’s a, in my opinion, this is a strange word to use here. He touched his hip socket, but I think there’s a reason. Because this is the same word that’s used in the story about the ladder to heaven. In Genesis 28, 12, it says he dreamed and behold there was a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven and behold the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

That word where it says the top of it reached to heaven, that’s the same word here as when the man touched his hip socket. So that ladder was set on earth and it touched heaven and now God came down from heaven on that ladder and touched Jacob. So I think that word is giving us a clue that this is not just any man.

This is God himself. It was God himself that came down. Because there’s always ambiguity, right? At least it seems like it. Especially if you’re reading in the English language where words have been translated and the meaning isn’t always completely clear. A lot of times we read these encounters like this, we believe that it’s God because that’s what we’ve always been told.

But when you read it, you start thinking to yourself, well maybe, is this really God? I mean, how do we know it’s God? And the biblical authors gave us these clues so that we could know. Because they wanted us to meditate on it, and think about it, and pray about it, and spend time wrestling with the text.

Really getting the meaning out of it. I think that this word, touched, is one of those instances where the text is not entirely clear that this man is God, even as we read on. Now, Jacob seems to be convinced that the man is God, but the text doesn’t actually come out and say that it was God. But I think that this word gives us that indication.

Because we read about a ladder that was set on earth and touched heaven, and God was at the top of that ladder. And now, a man has come down. So what did he do? He dislocated Jacob’s hip as a reminder of his grace, so that Jacob would go through the rest of his life limping, being reminded of God’s grace on his life, of God’s deliverance.

Paul had something similar in his life. In 2 Corinthians 12, verses 5 through 9, it says, On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast except of my weaknesses. Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.

So to keep me from becoming conceited, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you.

For my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So Paul here is saying, if I wanted to boast, I had all sorts of reasons to boast. And the Lord knew it, so he gave me a reason not to boast. He gave me this thorn in the flesh, so that I would be forced to rely on God’s grace.

And that’s what’s happening to Jacob here. He’s now going to be forced to rely on God. So in verse 26, the man said, Let me go, for the day is broken. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. This basically encompasses all of Jacob’s struggles with others. His brother, his father, his father in law.

He’s always looking for a blessing. Everywhere he goes, everything he does, he’s always looking for a blessing. He’s looking for a blessing when he took Esau’s birthright. He’s looking for a blessing when he deceived his father. He was looking for multiple blessings with Laban. This is what his life is all about.

He’s Desperate for blessing. The prophet Hosea gives us a little more insight into this Because it can seem here that Jacob is commanding God. He says I will not let you go unless you bless me But he’s not commanding God and in Hosea chapter 12 verses 3 through 5 It says in the womb he took his brother by the heel and in his manhood.

He strove with God talking about Jacob He strove with the angel and prevailed He wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel and there God spoke with us, the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial name.

So Hosea told us that Jacob actually wept when he was asking God for this blessing. He wept and sought his favor. He wasn’t commanding God, he was desperate. He realized all he had left was to hold onto God. And so, in weeping and in desperation, he asked God for a blessing, because it was his weakness that resulted in the blessing.

It was not his strength. Previously, Jacob had attempted, in his strength, to wrangle blessings out of others. But now, in his weakness, all he’s got left is to hold on to God and ask for a blessing. Are we seeking for blessing in life out of our own strength? Out of trying to manipulate events and manipulate life and manipulate others for our own benefit?

Or do we go to the Lord in weakness and weeping? Recognize our utter lack. Say, Lord, we need you. So in verse 27, the man said to him, What is your name? Jacob had to say, I am Jacob. He had to be honest with who he was. He had to say, I’m the deceiver, before God could change his name. Now, obviously, God didn’t need to know the answer.

God already knew what Jacob’s name was. God needed Jacob to know what the answer was. So then he said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. Now, the name Israel means he strives with God, or God strives, referencing what Jacob had just done, wrestling with God. It’s also going to foreshadow what the nation of Israel is going to do.

They’re going to strive with God. And God is going to strive with them. It’s going to be a wrestle. Throughout Israel’s history. Even to this day. But Jacob received a new name from God, just like Abraham did. That implies a new beginning, or a new purpose. Just like Abraham had a new beginning when he received his new name, now Jacob is gonna have a new beginning with his new name.

As I mentioned, this is right before his baptism, essentially. It’s the same, same event. Maybe right after. It’s, it’s not very clear. But that baptism is the point of becoming a new creation. That passing from death into life. And that’s what’s happening here. Jacob, by receiving a new name, is now being given a new beginning.

A new life. So he says, Your name shall be called Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed. Jacob won. Jacob prevailed, but he prevailed through surrender. That is one of the most primary, fundamental ideas of Jesus. That we as followers of Jesus need to understand. We do not win through strength.

We win through surrender Matthew 16 25 says whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake Will find it. We only find life Through losing our life through laying down our lives and surrender to God so then in verse 29 and Jacob asked him, please tell me your name, but he said Why is it that you ask my name?

And there he blessed him. And he says, I have seen God face to face and yet my life has been delivered. See, Jacob thought he would die if he saw God’s face. And in a way he did die. Again, playing off that theme of baptism, in a way he did die, because he was actually given new life. He was delivered. His life was delivered.

He was given a new life. And now again, in verse 31, the sun rose upon him, which represents a new day and a new life. All this imagery here, in these few verses, in this section of this chapter, is showing that Jacob is a new creation. The creation language of, there is evening and there was morning. The passing through the waters, this is all a picture of Jacob receiving new life, of his death and his resurrection, his death into new life.

So it says, the sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel. Limping because of his hip. In verse 32, we’re told, To this day, the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket. This is a Jewish custom to remind them of God’s grace. It wasn’t required by Mosaic law, but they did it anyway.

Just to remind them of God’s deliverance. God’s grace on his people. Do you have any reminders? Is there anything that you do to remind you of God’s grace? I’ve always grown up in a Protestant church, and I think as Protestants, over the centuries we’ve rejected ritual and memorial and tradition. We’ve rejected those things because they risk becoming stale, but if done in sincerity and in humility, They are a wonderful reminder of what God has done for us.

And I think, as Protestants, we could use a little bit more of that. But I do think the one thing that we do that’s common for all of us as followers of Jesus is communion. This is the one custom that we have that we all do together to remind us of God’s grace, the beauty of his sacrifice on the cross.

It’s not required. We don’t need to do it to get into heaven, but this is something that we can do. We should always, always take communion with sincerity, with humble hearts, reminding ourselves of God’s grace that has been extended to us. because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross.

So with that said, how does this chapter point to Jesus? Well, there’s two ways. The first way is that Jacob approached God based on the covenant he made with Abraham. If you go back to verse 9, when Jacob He prayed to God. He said, Oh God of my father, Abraham and God of my father, Isaac. So he approached God based on that covenant that God had made with Abraham.

He’s saying, God, you are the God of my grandfather. I know you made this covenant with Abraham. I know that is passed down to me. So that’s how Jacob approached God. He recognized that this covenant was real and he recognized that he was part of that story. And we can approach God based on the new covenant through Jesus.

The way Jacob approached God is, is, it points to the way that we can approach God through the New Covenant. Hebrews 4 verses 14 through 16 says, Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So the author of Hebrews there is saying, look, we can approach God on his throne with confidence when we need help. And we can do it through the new covenant established by Jesus.

So the second way this chapter points to Jesus is, Jacob understood that he was dealing with somebody more powerful than a normal human. In this wrestle at the end of the chapter. Now he called this person God. So this is another appearance of the angel of the Lord. It’s always ambiguous. The author calls this person a man.

Jacob called the person God. And the reason this is important is that this angel of the Lord keeps appearing is because as the reader, especially if we were a ancient Hebrew reader, We’re reading them and we keep looking for the answer to man’s fallen state. And these patriarchs, they’re supposed to bring about the answer.

God made this promise to them that, that the whole world would be blessed through their seed. Through their offspring. So we keep looking. Which one is the offspring? Is it Isaac? No. Is it Jacob? No. We keep looking for this answer in these patriarchs. And the unknown to them, the answer keeps appearing to them.

The angel of the Lord. is thought to be a pre incarnate Jesus. Whether we can think of him in such a linear way, I don’t know, but the point is, it’s the revealing of God in the flesh. And that revelation of God in the flesh keeps appearing to the patriarchs. It’s happened several times already, and we’re only in Genesis chapter 32.

We’ve got a whole Bible in front of us. The answer to man’s fallen state keeps appearing to the patriarchs. They don’t even know it. Just like those men on the road to Emmaus, Jesus was right in front of them, and he got in that chariot, and he showed them how all scriptures pointed to him. They had no idea that that man that the scriptures pointed to was standing right in front of them.

It’s the same with the patriarchs, and that’s why we keep doing this. That’s why we have this segment on every episode. Because the answer keeps appearing. The answer is always there. The answer was there from the very beginning. So in reflection this week at the beginning of the episode I asked you the question have you ever felt Completely alone and how has God met you in those times?

How has God come to you at the end of the episode now? I want to ask a related question. What is the value in? Vulnerability before God. What is the value in being alone and Vulnerable before God. Why does it seem like God is able to move so much? More in our lives, when we’re vulnerable and alone and naked before him.

Ponder that question, ponder the value of vulnerability before God. And before I pray, I want to remind you, don’t forget to like, or click follow on whatever platform you’re using. Give the show a five star rating. Always very, very helpful to increase the visibility of the show. So that more people can hopefully be blessed by this podcast.

Share it with your friends, let your friends know, let your family know if they’re into podcasts, if they are looking for a Bible study to do, this is a great one to start with. And of course, last but not least, always love to hear your feedback and your comments. Go ahead and leave me a comment on the website.

Especially those of you who are Listening on the radio, you can go to beyondthebasics. blog, leave a comment. So let’s pray. Lord, I thank you so much for what you are trying to communicate to your people through your word. Thank you that you can reach us through the scriptures. I thank you, Lord, that just like Jacob wrestled with you, we can wrestle with difficult questions as we read, and as we meditate, and as we talk to you, as we pray your word back to you.

If anyone who might find themselves in that vulnerable state, anyone who might be finding themselves completely alone right now, I pray that you would come and meet them. Pray that you would come and minister to them. Pray that anybody who is finding themselves Fearing others more than they fear you. I pray that you would bring them to that state of vulnerability so that they can meet you.

Lord, I pray that all of us, I ask that you would give all of us a heart of humility, a heart that fears you and honors you above all else. In Jesus name, Amen. Well, thanks for listening. I’ll talk to you next week. When we go through Genesis chapter 33,

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Transcript:

 Welcome to the Beyond the Basics Bible Study podcast. My name is Dan Snyder, and I’m your host. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Beyond the Basics, where we are exploring the Bible from Genesis to Revelation one chapter at a time.

Before we get started, if you enjoy the show and want to help keep it on the air, you can go to my website at Beyond the Basics blog. Click the donate button at the top. And that will bring you to the website for Passion for Life Ministries, where you can make a tax deductible donation. Passion for Life is a ministry that I’ve partnered with that is dedicated to spreading the gospel and feeding the elderly in Central and South America.

Please make sure you designate your gift for Beyond the Basics. You can also click the subscribe button, which will bring you to my Patreon page. And for only 4 a month, you can receive access to the full, uncut episode, which will include between 10 and 30 minutes of additional audio. You will also receive access to all past episodes starting with Genesis chapter 24.

Now, onto the show! Well, have you ever felt completely alone? Think back on those times. How did God meet you in those times when you felt alone? In Genesis chapter 32, we’re gonna find that in the beginning of the chapter, Jacob is completely surrounded by family and an army of angels. And as we go through the chapter, he’s gonna slowly become more and more alone until at the end, he’s completely alone.

On the side of the river, and this is where God meets him. So in Genesis 32, verse 1, remember Jacob had been fleeing from Laban. They had made a covenant to never cross into each other’s territory. And so now Jacob was returning to the land of Canaan. God had told him to go back to the city of Bethel. And so, in verse 1, it says, Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

So that word angels also means messengers. So in verse 2, when Jacob saw them, he said, this is God’s camp. So he called the name of that place Mahanaim, which means two camps. There’s God’s camp and there’s Jacob’s camp. In verse 3, Jacob sent messengers before him. Now in verse 3, we find out that Esau is living in the land of Seir, or the country of Edom.

So in verse 4, Jacob tells his messengers to say, you shall say to my lord Esau, thus says your servant Jacob. Jacob was the patriarch. of the family by birthright, but here he humbles himself to be Esau’s servant. So again, he’s trying to take a non confrontational tone. He’s trying to make it clear that he’s not here for a fight.

He says, I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants and female servants. So Jacob wanted Esau to know that he already had plenty. He already had great wealth. And he wasn’t there to take anything from Esau. He already had enough. He had already taken the birthright when he was younger, and now he was coming back to claim his inheritance, but he wasn’t, he wasn’t trying to take anything from Esau anymore.

So then he goes on, he says, I have sent to tell my lord in order that I may find favor in your sight. So Jacob wants to make amends here. Jacob knew that he had alienated his brother. He knew his brother was angry. He’s trying to make amends. But we’re starting to see a bit of a problem here because Jacob already has God’s favor.

So we shouldn’t need to seek Esau’s favor. So in verse 6, the messengers returned to Jacob saying, We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are 400 men with him. This is actually the largest army that we’ve seen so far in the Bible. In verse 7, It tells us that Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.

So Jacob starts to come up with a plan, and he starts to divide the people that were with him. This is a problem because it actually makes defeat more likely against a large army. So moving down to verse 9, Jacob is so fearful that now he is finally driven to prayer. He realizes that he’s got no other option left.

It’s his last resort to turn to the Lord. It shouldn’t have been his last resort, but he did it, and he turned to the Lord. We can’t really judge Jacob, right? How many of us back ourselves into a corner because of our own dumb decisions, and when we’ve got no other option left, then we finally turn to the Lord and say, Lord, I don’t even know what to do here.

Please help. We’ve all been there, we’ve all done that. We can’t really judge Jacob for this. So he appeals to the God of his fathers, and he says, O Lord, who said to me, return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good. I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant.

Jacob recognized his need for God. He asks God for deliverance. He says, Deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, I will surely do you good. And make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitudes.

So Jacob, here is reminding God of his promises.

So Jacob stayed there, that night, in the place of two camps. And he split up his animals, and his family, and his servants. And he sent them on in droves to his brother Esau. In verse 16 it says, These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself. So this was a large portion of Jacob’s wealth. It’s almost like Jacob is offering the birthright back to Esau in exchange for his life.

So again, remember I mentioned that it’s good for Jacob to tell Esau that, Hey, I’m not here to take anything. I’m coming in peace. I just want to go back home. Not here to start anything. But instead, he went beyond that. He made himself Esau’s servant. He’s Esau. Trying to earn Esau’s favor, and now he’s offering his inheritance back to Esau.

All these animals that he had gained while he was with Laben, he is offering them back to Esau. So Jacob feared Esau more than he feared God, even though Jacob had God’s promises. See, we must God more than the world because we have God’s promises. Second Corinthians seven, one says, since we have these promises, beloved.

Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. So what is Paul saying there? He’s saying that, that we have the promises of God. Because we have those promises, we must cleanse ourselves of sin and fear the Lord. Because the Lord has power to keep those promises and bring those promises apart.

He is infinitely more powerful than anything that the world can throw at us. So let’s cleanse ourselves. Let’s humble ourselves in front of God and fear God, not the world. Jacob feared the world more than he feared God. Jacob feared Esau, his brother, more than he feared God. So he said to his servants in verse 16, Pass on ahead of me, and put a space between drove and drove.

And 20 it says, For Jacob thought I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me. And afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps. He will accept me. So Jacob is still trying to scheme. He’s still trying to manipulate Esau into getting what he wants. So in verse 21, so the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

In verse 22, that same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children.

So this right here is about to foreshadow Jacob’s baptism. The story that we’re about to read is going to take place just before Jacob’s baptism. We’re going to see a significant shift in Jacob’s attitude. We’re going to see a significant shift in Jacob’s attempt to trust the Lord. In verse 23, it says that Jacob took them, His family and sent them across the stream and everything else that he had in verse 24 and Jacob was left alone over the last 10 verses or so and Jacob had been Dividing up his wealth and sending them on ahead of him Then he divided up his children and sent them on ahead of him and now Jacob is completely alone He’s completely vulnerable And this is where God comes to him Just like the first time that God had appeared to him in Bethel when Jacob was completely alone, fleeing from his brother Esau, now Jacob is completely alone in fear of his brother Esau, and God comes to him.

And it’s interesting to note the way that God comes to him. See, God comes to us at our level. God obviously knows that he is far above us in every way. So he humbles himself and approaches us at our level. Psalm 18, verses 25 through 26 says, With the merciful you show yourself merciful, with the blameless man you show yourself blameless, with the purified you show yourself pure, and with the crooked you make yourself seem torturous.

And this is shown in the record of scripture. So in Genesis 18, Abraham was a nomad, and so God appeared to Abraham as a traveler. In the book of Joshua, Joshua was a military general, and in Joshua chapter 5, God came. Jacob here, in Genesis 32, spent his entire life struggling with others, so God came to him as a wrestler.

And in verse 24, a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. So this man initiated the fight. Jacob didn’t start the fight. This man did, and he wanted something from Jacob. What did he want? What did he want from Jacob? He wanted to take his deceiving, scheming, self reliance from him. And turned Jacob into a man that relied completely on God.

And he wrestled with him until the breaking of day. So this reveals Jacob’s determination. He never gave up, despite the difficult life he had. He never gave up. He never stopped fighting. He never stopped scheming. He never, he never gave up. And he didn’t give up in this fight. But the problem was, he was too reliant on his own strength and cunning.

See, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to never give up. I think that’s a good thing. We shouldn’t give up. But in that determination to keep going, we should not rely on our strength. Cause our strength is never gonna get us. to the end. We have to rely on God’s strength and His wisdom. That’s what’s going to get us through difficulties.

So in verse 25 it says, When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, even though he could have at any time, because as we’re going to find out, this is God, he could have won this fight at any time. When he saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

It says that he touched his hip socket. This is, and I think this is a strange word to use here. Like, I don’t know about you, but I think about if you’re going to put somebody’s hip. Socket out of joint. You’re not gonna touch it and it goes out of joint. You’re gonna punch it. You’re gonna kick it. You’re gonna use all your force that you can muster and hit that person as hard as you can to make that hip joint go out of socket.

It’s a, in my opinion, this is a strange word to use here. He touched his hip socket, but I think there’s a reason. Because this is the same word that’s used in the story about the ladder to heaven. In Genesis 28, 12, it says he dreamed and behold there was a ladder set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven and behold the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

That word where it says the top of it reached to heaven, that’s the same word here as when the man touched his hip socket. So that ladder was set on earth and it touched heaven and now God came down from heaven on that ladder and touched Jacob. So I think that word is giving us a clue that this is not just any man.

This is God himself. It was God himself that came down. Because there’s always ambiguity, right? At least it seems like it. Especially if you’re reading in the English language where words have been translated and the meaning isn’t always completely clear. A lot of times we read these encounters like this, we believe that it’s God because that’s what we’ve always been told.

But when you read it, you start thinking to yourself, well maybe, is this really God? I mean, how do we know it’s God? And the biblical authors gave us these clues so that we could know. Because they wanted us to meditate on it, and think about it, and pray about it, and spend time wrestling with the text.

Really getting the meaning out of it. I think that this word, touched, is one of those instances where the text is not entirely clear that this man is God, even as we read on. Now, Jacob seems to be convinced that the man is God, but the text doesn’t actually come out and say that it was God. But I think that this word gives us that indication.

Because we read about a ladder that was set on earth and touched heaven, and God was at the top of that ladder. And now, a man has come down. So what did he do? He dislocated Jacob’s hip as a reminder of his grace, so that Jacob would go through the rest of his life limping, being reminded of God’s grace on his life, of God’s deliverance.

Paul had something similar in his life. In 2 Corinthians 12, verses 5 through 9, it says, On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast except of my weaknesses. Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.

So to keep me from becoming conceited, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you.

For my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So Paul here is saying, if I wanted to boast, I had all sorts of reasons to boast. And the Lord knew it, so he gave me a reason not to boast. He gave me this thorn in the flesh, so that I would be forced to rely on God’s grace.

And that’s what’s happening to Jacob here. He’s now going to be forced to rely on God. So in verse 26, the man said, Let me go, for the day is broken. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. This basically encompasses all of Jacob’s struggles with others. His brother, his father, his father in law.

He’s always looking for a blessing. Everywhere he goes, everything he does, he’s always looking for a blessing. He’s looking for a blessing when he took Esau’s birthright. He’s looking for a blessing when he deceived his father. He was looking for multiple blessings with Laban. This is what his life is all about.

He’s Desperate for blessing. The prophet Hosea gives us a little more insight into this Because it can seem here that Jacob is commanding God. He says I will not let you go unless you bless me But he’s not commanding God and in Hosea chapter 12 verses 3 through 5 It says in the womb he took his brother by the heel and in his manhood.

He strove with God talking about Jacob He strove with the angel and prevailed He wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel and there God spoke with us, the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial name.

So Hosea told us that Jacob actually wept when he was asking God for this blessing. He wept and sought his favor. He wasn’t commanding God, he was desperate. He realized all he had left was to hold onto God. And so, in weeping and in desperation, he asked God for a blessing, because it was his weakness that resulted in the blessing.

It was not his strength. Previously, Jacob had attempted, in his strength, to wrangle blessings out of others. But now, in his weakness, all he’s got left is to hold on to God and ask for a blessing. Are we seeking for blessing in life out of our own strength? Out of trying to manipulate events and manipulate life and manipulate others for our own benefit?

Or do we go to the Lord in weakness and weeping? Recognize our utter lack. Say, Lord, we need you. So in verse 27, the man said to him, What is your name? Jacob had to say, I am Jacob. He had to be honest with who he was. He had to say, I’m the deceiver, before God could change his name. Now, obviously, God didn’t need to know the answer.

God already knew what Jacob’s name was. God needed Jacob to know what the answer was. So then he said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. Now, the name Israel means he strives with God, or God strives, referencing what Jacob had just done, wrestling with God. It’s also going to foreshadow what the nation of Israel is going to do.

They’re going to strive with God. And God is going to strive with them. It’s going to be a wrestle. Throughout Israel’s history. Even to this day. But Jacob received a new name from God, just like Abraham did. That implies a new beginning, or a new purpose. Just like Abraham had a new beginning when he received his new name, now Jacob is gonna have a new beginning with his new name.

As I mentioned, this is right before his baptism, essentially. It’s the same, same event. Maybe right after. It’s, it’s not very clear. But that baptism is the point of becoming a new creation. That passing from death into life. And that’s what’s happening here. Jacob, by receiving a new name, is now being given a new beginning.

A new life. So he says, Your name shall be called Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed. Jacob won. Jacob prevailed, but he prevailed through surrender. That is one of the most primary, fundamental ideas of Jesus. That we as followers of Jesus need to understand. We do not win through strength.

We win through surrender Matthew 16 25 says whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake Will find it. We only find life Through losing our life through laying down our lives and surrender to God so then in verse 29 and Jacob asked him, please tell me your name, but he said Why is it that you ask my name?

And there he blessed him. And he says, I have seen God face to face and yet my life has been delivered. See, Jacob thought he would die if he saw God’s face. And in a way he did die. Again, playing off that theme of baptism, in a way he did die, because he was actually given new life. He was delivered. His life was delivered.

He was given a new life. And now again, in verse 31, the sun rose upon him, which represents a new day and a new life. All this imagery here, in these few verses, in this section of this chapter, is showing that Jacob is a new creation. The creation language of, there is evening and there was morning. The passing through the waters, this is all a picture of Jacob receiving new life, of his death and his resurrection, his death into new life.

So it says, the sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel. Limping because of his hip. In verse 32, we’re told, To this day, the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket. This is a Jewish custom to remind them of God’s grace. It wasn’t required by Mosaic law, but they did it anyway.

Just to remind them of God’s deliverance. God’s grace on his people. Do you have any reminders? Is there anything that you do to remind you of God’s grace? I’ve always grown up in a Protestant church, and I think as Protestants, over the centuries we’ve rejected ritual and memorial and tradition. We’ve rejected those things because they risk becoming stale, but if done in sincerity and in humility, They are a wonderful reminder of what God has done for us.

And I think, as Protestants, we could use a little bit more of that. But I do think the one thing that we do that’s common for all of us as followers of Jesus is communion. This is the one custom that we have that we all do together to remind us of God’s grace, the beauty of his sacrifice on the cross.

It’s not required. We don’t need to do it to get into heaven, but this is something that we can do. We should always, always take communion with sincerity, with humble hearts, reminding ourselves of God’s grace that has been extended to us. because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross.

So with that said, how does this chapter point to Jesus? Well, there’s two ways. The first way is that Jacob approached God based on the covenant he made with Abraham. If you go back to verse 9, when Jacob He prayed to God. He said, Oh God of my father, Abraham and God of my father, Isaac. So he approached God based on that covenant that God had made with Abraham.

He’s saying, God, you are the God of my grandfather. I know you made this covenant with Abraham. I know that is passed down to me. So that’s how Jacob approached God. He recognized that this covenant was real and he recognized that he was part of that story. And we can approach God based on the new covenant through Jesus.

The way Jacob approached God is, is, it points to the way that we can approach God through the New Covenant. Hebrews 4 verses 14 through 16 says, Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So the author of Hebrews there is saying, look, we can approach God on his throne with confidence when we need help. And we can do it through the new covenant established by Jesus.

So the second way this chapter points to Jesus is, Jacob understood that he was dealing with somebody more powerful than a normal human. In this wrestle at the end of the chapter. Now he called this person God. So this is another appearance of the angel of the Lord. It’s always ambiguous. The author calls this person a man.

Jacob called the person God. And the reason this is important is that this angel of the Lord keeps appearing is because as the reader, especially if we were a ancient Hebrew reader, We’re reading them and we keep looking for the answer to man’s fallen state. And these patriarchs, they’re supposed to bring about the answer.

God made this promise to them that, that the whole world would be blessed through their seed. Through their offspring. So we keep looking. Which one is the offspring? Is it Isaac? No. Is it Jacob? No. We keep looking for this answer in these patriarchs. And the unknown to them, the answer keeps appearing to them.

The angel of the Lord. is thought to be a pre incarnate Jesus. Whether we can think of him in such a linear way, I don’t know, but the point is, it’s the revealing of God in the flesh. And that revelation of God in the flesh keeps appearing to the patriarchs. It’s happened several times already, and we’re only in Genesis chapter 32.

We’ve got a whole Bible in front of us. The answer to man’s fallen state keeps appearing to the patriarchs. They don’t even know it. Just like those men on the road to Emmaus, Jesus was right in front of them, and he got in that chariot, and he showed them how all scriptures pointed to him. They had no idea that that man that the scriptures pointed to was standing right in front of them.

It’s the same with the patriarchs, and that’s why we keep doing this. That’s why we have this segment on every episode. Because the answer keeps appearing. The answer is always there. The answer was there from the very beginning. So in reflection this week at the beginning of the episode I asked you the question have you ever felt Completely alone and how has God met you in those times?

How has God come to you at the end of the episode now? I want to ask a related question. What is the value in? Vulnerability before God. What is the value in being alone and Vulnerable before God. Why does it seem like God is able to move so much? More in our lives, when we’re vulnerable and alone and naked before him.

Ponder that question, ponder the value of vulnerability before God. And before I pray, I want to remind you, don’t forget to like, or click follow on whatever platform you’re using. Give the show a five star rating. Always very, very helpful to increase the visibility of the show. So that more people can hopefully be blessed by this podcast.

Share it with your friends, let your friends know, let your family know if they’re into podcasts, if they are looking for a Bible study to do, this is a great one to start with. And of course, last but not least, always love to hear your feedback and your comments. Go ahead and leave me a comment on the website.

Especially those of you who are Listening on the radio, you can go to beyondthebasics. blog, leave a comment. So let’s pray. Lord, I thank you so much for what you are trying to communicate to your people through your word. Thank you that you can reach us through the scriptures. I thank you, Lord, that just like Jacob wrestled with you, we can wrestle with difficult questions as we read, and as we meditate, and as we talk to you, as we pray your word back to you.

If anyone who might find themselves in that vulnerable state, anyone who might be finding themselves completely alone right now, I pray that you would come and meet them. Pray that you would come and minister to them. Pray that anybody who is finding themselves Fearing others more than they fear you. I pray that you would bring them to that state of vulnerability so that they can meet you.

Lord, I pray that all of us, I ask that you would give all of us a heart of humility, a heart that fears you and honors you above all else. In Jesus name, Amen. Well, thanks for listening. I’ll talk to you next week. When we go through Genesis chapter 33,

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