Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 32:9-12”
Categories: Genesis“Jacob said, 'O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ”Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,” I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. For You said, “I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.""
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“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac...” (verse 9) Jacob took proactive measures to protect his family from danger to the best of his ability like any mature adult male who is a husband and father would do. But, he knew that the greatest stratagems from the keenest human mind would not be enough to deliver him from the potential juggernaut that was swiftly approaching him. He knew he needed divine intervention. He required solitary time with the great God of heaven, and opportunity to appeal to the only One who could hear his honest expressions of his own inadequacies and his earnest pleas for the safe deliverance of his loved ones. Jacob prayed like he never had before, and the honest, urgent outpourings of heart are very expressive of the great man of faith that he was growing to be.
“In this distress he does not consult the teraphim Rachel had taken from her father; nor does he call upon the hosts of angels that had just appeared to him, to help, protect, and guard him; but to God only, the God of his fathers, who had promised great things to them, and had done great things for them; who was their God in covenant, as he was his also, though he makes no mention of it, and who was heir of the promises made to them, the birthright and blessing being entailed upon him.” (Gill's Expository of the Entire Bible)
“O Lord, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you.'” (verse 9) Jacob reminded the Lord that leaving Haran and heading back home was all His idea and done according to His timing, and he also made mention of the promises that were given him. Yet this was not an expression of doubt but an indication of his burgeoning faith. “Here was a clear indication that Jacob had in faith both obeyed the command and embraced the promise made known to him in Haran.” (Pulpit Commentary) In essence, Jacob was declaring to God that he had done the things He had commanded, and he was begging Him do that which He had promised.
“I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant...” (verse 10) What a perfect expression of utter humility and complete dependence upon the manifold graces and mercies of his loving Lord. God had expressed his love and loyalty to Jacob in ways too numerous to count and magnificent to express. The Lord sent angels to alleviate his fears, He had protected him from the hand of his autocratic father-in-law, He had bestowed a physical fortune upon him and showered him with the copious love of a large family. And this in spite of the fact that Jacob had been a treacherous, lying cheat himself. Of course the patriarch had made great spiritual strides since then, but he was fully aware that his faithfulness didn't merit for him the Lord's rich blessings, mercy and protection. He was undeserving and he knew it, and that is a great place to be spiritually. God can accomplish wonderful things in the life of one with such a humble heart as this.
“For with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.” (verse 10) “Standing on the banks of the Jabbok, he can point to the Jordan clearly visible in the distance.” (Nahum Sarna) Jacob left home with nothing, and returned home with an abundance. But his words give the impression that He was completely cognizant of the fact that his riches did not define him or perfect him. Like the Apostle Paul, he found and stored up his greatest treasure in heaven's repository. “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.” (1 Timothy 6:6-7)
“Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him...” (verse 11) The Lord Jesus teaches us to ask the Father to “deliver us from the evil one” in His model prayer, and Jacob believed he was about to confront the greatest evil of his life. He knew he needed the deliverance that he was incapable of providing for himself and that of “the mothers with the children.” Jacob readily admitted the simple truth of the matter: he was afraid. Time and again the Lord encourages us in His word to “fear not”. But that's because He knows all too well how prone to fear that each one of us is. Just like Jacob, when we are frightened for any reason, the best course of action to take is to honestly confess that to our Father in heaven and petition Him to alleviate our fears. “I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)
“For You said, 'I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.'” Jacob was not doubting the Lord's faithfulness, he was appealing to it. God had promised to deliver him home safely and to prosper him greatly, and he was letting Him know that he was really depending on that. If the Lord was going to make good on His promise to make his descendants too numerous to count, he was counting on Him to protect the offspring He had blessed him with, and through which he desired that pledge to be fulfilled.
Please read Genesis 32:13-21 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
- Louie Taylor
