THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST: GENESIS AND EXODUS (11)

GENESIS 32-36

STRUGGLE of JACOB and ESAU

Key Passage: Genesis 32

CHAPTER 32	CHAPTER 33	CHAPTER 34	CHAPTER 35-36
Jacob’s Encounter with an Angel	Jacob’s Encounter with Esau	Dinah’s Encounter with Shechem	Jacob’s Encounter with God
Jacob’s	Struggles with Esau	Jacob’s Family	Struggles

OVERVIEW In chapters 32-36, Jacob the schemer becomes Jacob the servant of God. After leaving his Uncle Laban, Jacob fears the inevitable reunion with his estranged brother, Esau. But before he can be reconciled to Esau, he must first be reconciled to God. At the ford of Jabbok he wrestles with the angel of the Lord, insisting on a blessing before he will release him. The angel assures him of God’s continued presence, and leaves him with a new name – Israel (in Hebrew, the name Israel sounds like “he struggled with God”; see Genesis 32:28)-and a permanent limp. After an emotional reunion with Esau, Jacob returns to Canaan, where God confirms the promises He made to Abraham and Isaac-promises of a large posterity and a new homeland.

A steward is one who owns nothing, yet is responsible for everything.

OUR DAILY WALK Is it possible to be a rich Christian in the will of God? That question would have brought a chuckle from Abraham or Jacob. Both men were fabulously wealthy in their day. Jacob in particular shows how a person blessed by God can gain great amounts of earthly goods. His own personal testimony is found in 32:10: “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups. “When he first crossed the Jordan, all Jacob owned was the staff in his hand and the clothes on his back. Now some 20 years later, it takes two companies of men to carry all of God’s blessings back across.

Reflect on the material possessions God has given you. Could it be that God has prospered you so that you in turn might be a blessing to others? If so, who are the “others” God has brought into your life for that purpose? If God brings someone to mind, write that individual’s name in the margin. Then let Jesus’ own words in Acts 20:35 spur you to action.

INSIGHT When God Prospers Someone, Look out!

Beginning with nothing, Jacob amasses such wealth over 20 years that when he left for Canaan he could afford a gift of 550 animals for his brother Esau without straining the family budget.