Tuesday, July 25th – Genesis 32: 6

This verse records the abrupt response that Esau made to Jacob’s humble and gracious words of greeting. Esau sends no word of welcome back to his younger brother, but rather responds with impressive action. As Laban had pursued Jacob with his kinsman, intent on doing him harm (Gen. 31:23,29), so now Esau gathered 400 men to be at his service when he met his returning brother. What did this action signify? Was Esau intent upon killing Jacob as he had previously declared that he would do (Gen. 27:41)? We cannot tell, nor could Jacob tell at this point, with what intention Esau came to meet the man who had taken his birthright and blessing. The Lord surely ordained this ambiguity further to test and strengthen Jacob’s faith. Let us determine always to keep in mind that whatever men may intend for us, our heavenly Father intends only our good, and will cause all things to work to that end.

Wednesday, July 26th - Genesis 32: 7, 8

Jacob responded to the news of Esau’s approach by fearing and preparing for the worst. Scripture plainly tells us that Jacob feared greatly and was in distress. He no doubt believed that Esau was coming with an army to kill him and his family and destroy his livestock and servants. Therefore, Jacob decided to divide his family, servants, and livestock into two companies with the hope that some of his family and fortune would survive Esau’s attack. The best man can do, when he takes counsel of his fears and relies on the arm of flesh, is to try to reduce his losses in this ever-challenging world. The counsel of faith is much more certain than the counsel of our fears.

Thursday, July 27th - Genesis 32: 9-12

Jacob may have initially been seized with fears, but in these verses we find his faith rising to a victorious height. With his resorting to prayer, he shows how he discarded his reliance upon the pitiful arm of flesh in favor of his trusting in the mercy and power of his Almighty God. Consequently, Jacob was soon to discover the wondrous power of prayer, and how a man who relies on the Lord will ever be safe and never be disappointed (1 Pet. 2:6).

Friday, July 28th - Genesis 32: 9

Jacob begins his prayer by addressing his God in a specific way. He does not call upon the God of power or justice, but rather upon the God of covenant mercy. It is not that Jacob was unaware of the Lord’s power and holy justice, but rather he recognized that the only standing he had before this God was that of a sinner in crying need of saving divine mercy. Jacob therefore called upon the God of Abraham, the One who had graciously called Jacob’s grandfather from Ur and preserved him through his travels to and sojourning in Canaan and in Egypt. This God graciously enabled Abraham to have a son when his own body was as good as dead (Rom. 4:19). This God had given Isaac to Abraham, and had preserved both father and son even when they sinfully lied to save themselves, rather than trust in their Lord. Now the brother whom Jacob had offended was approaching with a host of men. Jacob could not stand upon claims of justice; nor did he have the power to withstand Esau’s feared assault. Jacob needed an almighty hand moving on his behalf due to divine compassion and covenant mercy. We do well to know how to address the God upon whom we call to meet our greatest needs.

Saturday, July 29th - Genesis 32: 9

Jacob addresses not only the person of his God, but also makes mention of the divine promise given to him that the Lord would prosper him when he returned to the Promised Land and to the relatives whom he had offended. Jacob had already greatly prospered in Haran. His return to Canaan was fraught with mortal danger for him as he put himself, by God’s Word, in proximity to his brother who had determined to kill him and was approaching with all appearance to do just that. Yet, Jacob, while regarding these threatening circumstances, demonstrates his higher regard for the promise and power of the Lord. With such regard he would be more than a conqueror over whatever came upon him, whether death or life, peril or sword (Rom. 8:35-39). Such is the character of the true prospering that the Lord bestows upon His people.

Sunday, July 30th - Genesis 32: 10

In this verse, Jacob expresses his recognition and grateful remembrance of the great and numerous mercies he had received from the Lord. He also acknowledges his utter unworthiness to receive the least of the mercies of God. Along with his unworthiness, he confesses his inability to save himself. He had fled from his home having no companionship and no possessions except his staff. His sin had propelled him into that wretched flight. While he was at his worst, the Lord came to him and began lavishing upon him manifold divine blessings issuing from His divine love. Finally, Jacob testifies that all of his great prosperity resulted from the Lord’s hand moving faithfully and more than fully to provide what He had promised to Jacob. We do well in our prayers to recall these facets of our relationship with our God and not come to our Lord as though we were strangers to his love and asking His merciful help for the first time (Ps. 103:1-5).

Monday, July 31st - Genesis 32: 11

We should note how specific Jacob is in his supplication to his gracious Lord. He asks for deliverance from the hand (meaning from the power) of his brother, whom he designates by name as well as by natural relation. This supplication does not indicate that Jacob conceives of his God as being ignorant of and therefore needing enlightening with respect to the issue at hand. Rather, it indicates Jacob’s great care to make his petition quite clear and specific. Vague and indefinite supplications offered to God rarely, if ever, are heard, because they indicate a casual disrespect for the Lord and His intimate interest in all details of our lives.

Tuesday, August 1st - Genesis 32: 11

Jacob makes an honest confession to the Lord when he admits frankly that he was in fear of Esau. The fear had a reasonable basis, for he had wronged his brother and Esau had consequently threatened to kill Jacob (Gen. 27:41). Time had not necessarily changed Esau’s murderous determination, and his approach with so many men could have indicated his bringing along plenty of help to get the killing done. Moreover, the consequences of Jacob’s sins were now potentially multiplied, as he had wives and children who were vulnerable to Esau’s deadly ire due to their relation to Jacob. The fearful and far-reaching consequences of our sins are far greater than we could ever face, let alone rectify. We must cry to our gracious God regarding such things, and trustingly rely on His answers to secure us and ours.

Wednesday, August 2nd - Genesis 32: 12

Jacob bases his supplication on a clear divine promise. By this we should understand that Jacob is putting no reliance upon Esau’s good intention, nor upon his own cunning ability that he had used so often in the past. Rather, Jacob was relying entirely upon the providing power of the Lord, whose provision is always given in accordance with His great and precious promises.

Thursday, August 3rd - Genesis 32: 11, 12

We may draw a vital lesson about prayer when we consider the several aspects of Jacob’s supplication in light of the answer to his prayer that unfolds in Genesis 33:4ff. By the loving way that Esau embraces his brother, Jacob, we may misjudge the necessity of Jacob’s prayer. Is it likely that Esau with miraculous quickness radically changed his disposition toward his brother while he and his band of men were on their way to kill Jacob? Such a change, of course, is possible. We saw something akin to it in Laban’s pursuit of Jacob, where the Lord’s intervention subdued Laban (Gen. 31:22ff). Yet, it seems more likely in the case of Esau that his change from hating Jacob to warmly welcoming him was a matter of gradual transformation over the course of years. If so, this does not mean that Jacob’s prayer was superfluous, for the Lord plainly tells us that before we ask, He knows our needs (Mt. 6:8). However, the Lord also plainly tells us that we should pray (Mt. 6:9-13). Our Lord moves in answer to our prayers, even before we make those prayers, and not in response to His omniscient knowing of our needs. We have not because we ask not; we have not because we ask not specifically enough; and we have not because we ask not due to our reckoning that our Lord cannot answer if we cry out to Him at a time we wrongly judge to be too late.

Friday, August 4th - Genesis 32: 13

This verse notes that a dark night followed Jacob’s prayer. Yet, the Lord does some of His best work for His servants in the valley of the shadow of death. Jacob’s only light in his darkened circumstances was the covenant promise of the Lord. Jacob did not see the multitude of descendants he prayerfully acknowledged in the divine promise (v.12). What he saw was the mere seed of such a multitude, and even they were covered by the darkness not only of that night, but also of Esau’s apparent threat. Yet Jacob’s prayer would lead to his own further preparation, and to his prevailing wrestling with the Lord, whereby this praying and prevailing man would have no need to fear the infinitely weaker strivings of men.

Saturday, August 5th - Genesis 32: 13-15

Jacob’s prayer is followed by his preparation of a present for Esau. Faith in and prayer to the Lord do not exclude, but include, the right use of legitimate means. As wise Solomon testifies: A man’s gift makes room for him…(Prov. 18:16). Thus, Jacob prays for peaceful security from Esau and according to his prayers he prepares an offering of peace and friendship to the brother he had offended. We must learn ever to walk and act in accordance with and not in negligence of or contrary to our prayers.

Sunday, August 6th - Genesis 32: 16-18

These verses describe how Jacob wisely arranged his gift for Esau. The gift was not merely offered, but was conveyed with careful and considerate thought, so that successive waves of rich presents would make clear to Esau the good and peaceful intention of his brother, Jacob. How we offer is no less critical than what we offer, whether the offering be to man or to God.

Monday, August 7th - Genesis 32: 19, 20

These verses indicate the intention Jacob had in his conveying this gift of livestock to Esau. He was not offering a bribe or tribute to his brother, but rather a gracious and generous gift. Such giving should characterize the dealings of all the spiritual descendants of Jacob and redeemed children of God. A stingy or cheap Christian is an anomaly. We who have received the lavish and gracious giving of our heavenly Father should manifest our gratitude and likeness to Him by our gracious generosity toward others.

Tuesday, August 8th - Genesis 32: 19, 20

It was good and right that Jacob, who had been so richly blessed by his heavenly Father, should determine richly to bless his brother. The gift Jacob was offering should have appeased Esau—whether or not it actually would appease him, it was certainly more than sufficient to do so. But when Jacob uses the word, perhaps, in connection with the appeasing power of his gift, he acknowledges that while he had done everything, so far as it depended upon him, to be at peace with his brother (Rom. 12:18), his reliance for security was not upon his gift but rather upon his God, whose wise and holy purposes can use even the evil men intend toward us for our good (Gen. 50:20).

Wednesday, August 9th - Genesis 32: 21

Jacob orders it so that the gift precedes the giver. That is certainly the proper way for a sinner to appease one whom he has offended. We cannot come to one against whom we have sinned with a bare confession and request for forgiveness. We must bring fruits of our repentance to facilitate our reconciliation. It is certainly vital that the gift of God to us in Christ must precede us when we come to God, lest we encounter the consuming wrath of the Lord without a prevailing Advocate to stand for us.

Thursday, August 10th - Genesis 32: 22, 23

The people belonging to Jacob are sent by the patriarch across the Jabbok, which is a branch of the Jordan River. They follow the waves of gifts that Jacob had already sent ahead to Esau. Jacob, in fact, sent all he had across the Jabbok, while he remained alone behind those who crossed. In this way, Jacob reduced himself to solitude. Fellowship is a blessed and essential part of the Christian life, but no less essential are times of solitude and personal devotion to the Lord. This time of solitude that Jacob has wisely arranged for himself will prove to be of critical significance for himself and for all of his descendants.

Friday, August 11th - Genesis 32: 24

In his time of solitude on this critical night, Jacob finds that he is not alone. The brother whom he feared was not the only impediment to his entrance of Canaan. A man appears to Jacob as an opponent against whom he is obliged to wrestle. We are given no introduction to or explanation of this man, his purpose, and how his conflict with Jacob was initiated. The character of the conflict, as well as the identity and purpose of the man engaging Jacob all become clear in the fight. What is most clear at this point is that Jacob’s solitude was not a serene time, as perhaps he had hoped it would be. Instead, he is obliged to strive to enter into the rest for which he longed in Canaan. So must we learn to strive to enter into the Lord’s rest (Heb. 4:11).

Saturday, August 12th - Genesis 32: 24-26

With few words we are told of a long contest between Jacob and his wrestling opponent. The match lasted all night. Neither man would surrender; neither one could prevail against the other. Are we to understand that this was a spiritual or a physical contest? The dislocated hip indicates a physical fight, while the blessing Jacob ultimately obtains speaks of a spiritual dimension. Thus, we should understand that Jacob was engaged in this match with all of his being and faculties. Our Lord at times ordains that we be tested body and soul for His glory and our blessing.

Sunday, August 13th - Genesis 32: 24-26

We do not know how this mysterious wrestling began. Nor are we told at first what the stakes of the match are. What we are told is that Jacob fought this man all night and would not be overcome by him or let him escape. It appears that in the course of his wrestling, however, Jacob came to perceive that the man was the angel of the Lord. That is why Jacob held onto the Lord with adamant determination, for he rightly perceived that the Lord was the only One who could bless him, and he would not lose that blessing for anything.

Monday, August 14th - Genesis 32: 24-26

We do not know why the angel of the Lord pleaded with Jacob to let him go at dawn. What does the rising of the sun have to do with the necessity of this wrestler being let go? In answer to this we, at this point, should understand that the reference to dawn was merely a time marker, signaling to Jacob and to us that the wrestling had gone on all night. Prior to this dawn, the angel had disabled Jacob by dislocating his hip. Yet, Jacob held on and reduced the angel to requesting his release. It is a strange and marvelous testimony to the persevering power of faith that enabled Jacob in his wrestling through the Lord’s apparent opposition in order to receive the divine blessing.

Tuesday, August 15th - Genesis 32: 24-26

Through his long wrestling match with this mysterious man, Jacob came to recognize his opponent as the source of supreme blessing, namely, the Lord. Jacob confesses this in v.30, while Hosea mentions it in his prophecy as well (Hos. 12:2-5). Joshua also encountered the Lord in similar human form (Josh. 5:13-6:2). It is not so much the human likeness that is significant, however, but rather that in these instances the Lord appeared initially as an opponent. Though He did not appear to Job as a man, the Lord did appear to be that righteous man’s enemy for a time, and Job, too, held fast to the Lord, declaring that though God should slay him, yet would he trust Him (Job 13:15). The Canaanite woman encountered the Lord in the person of the God/Man, Jesus Christ (Mt. 15:21-28), and she also was engaged in a wrestling match with the Lord who appeared as her opponent. All of these biblical characters wrestled with God and prevailed by faith and received great blessing. These things are written to prepare us to expect and engage in divine wrestlings through which we, too, by faith shall emerge as more than conquerors.

Wednesday, August 16th - Genesis 32: 24-26

Jacob was wrestling with Almighty God, for whom he was absolutely no match. The Lord could have thrown Jacob off as a toy or consumed him with the fire of His glory. Yet, we read that the Lord could not prevail against Jacob. This was so not because God lacked power to overcome the man who had feared Esau. The mere touch that dislocated Jacob’s hip was a taste of the divine power. Yet, God had graciously equipped Jacob with faith by which the patriarch prevailed with the Lord. If we are spiritual descendants of Jacob, we, too, possess such prevailing faith. May we not neglect this potent gift, but exercise it for God’s glory and our own blessing.

Thursday, August 17th - Genesis 32: 26-28

Jacob wrestled perseveringly and prevailingly, even after he had been badly wounded. With a determination that could not be vanquished he held onto the angel of the Lord until he received His blessing. The character of the blessing was that Jacob received a new name. The giving of that name was a demonstration of divine authority over Jacob, indicating that he did not prevail with God in his own strength, but rather by the Lord’s graciously having given him the gift of faith. Put another way, God graciously allowed Himself to be prevailed upon to give a blessing to Jacob. From Jacob, a name that meant supplanter, God changed the name to Israel, a name that means he who strives with God. The difference is that a supplanter prevails by cheating, while one who strives prevails justly. We who are in Christ are the true Israel of God (Gal. 6:16), who is just and the justifier of those who have faith. As such we are ones who strive with our God’s darker providence—His apparent opposition to us, His wounding us, His seeming forsaking of us—and we prevail as our faith vitally grasps the Lord’s great and precious promises (1 Pet. 1:5; 2 Pet. 1:4) fairly to apply them to ourselves.

Friday, August 18th - Genesis 32: 29

Jacob had his name changed to Israel. This emboldened him to ask the name of the angel of the Lord. His request was denied as an indication of the truth that the Lord ever is to His creatures ultimately incomprehensible. This is not to say that the Lord does not reveal Himself truly and savingly to His people. It is, however, to say that the Lord has not revealed Himself exhaustively to us. He has many more things about Himself to disclose to us, but we cannot bear them now.

Saturday, August 19th - Genesis 32: 29, 30

Jacob could not receive the Lord’s exhaustive revelation of Himself, but he knew that he had wrestled with the living God of heaven and earth. Accordingly, he named the place Peniel, meaning, face of God, for he saw God in the face of the man with whom he had wrestled. He rightly was amazed that he was not consumed by the glory of the Lord. Yet, the Lord had clothed His majesty in the likeness of human flesh, as a prelude to the incarnation of the Son of God in the likeness of sinful flesh, which He assumed not to condemn sinners, but to save and exalt them to reign with Him in glory forever (Rev. 22:5).

Sunday, August 20th - Genesis 32: 31, 32

A new day dawned upon a man with a new name and a renewed nature. Jacob, now Israel, crossed the river gratefully burdened with the rich blessing of God. He who had wrestled and prevailed with God need never again fear any man. Yet, Jacob’s blessing came to him with wounding. He limped ever thereafter, and even his natural descendants commemorated the divine dislocating of his hip. With every step he would take for the rest of his days, Jacob would be reminded of the blessed touch of the angel of the Lord that ruined his standing and walking in this world but had assured him of his standing in the glorious world to come.

Monday, August 21st - Genesis 33: 1-3

Jacob had prevailed with God. What did his victory bring him? He was blessed with a new name indicating his sure standing with the Lord. He also would find himself well equipped by God’s grace and enabling power to prevail with men. We see this unfolding as Jacob and Esau finally meet. Jacob sees Esau approaching with his 400 men. Yet, now Jacob, who sees Esau through eyes that have seen God, no longer fears his brother. Jacob still arranges his family prudently, shielding his most precious wife and child with those who were less precious to him. But Jacob himself passed on ahead of them all, and bowed a perfect number of times out of respect for Esau, being mindless of the physical vulnerability in which such a prostrate posture put him. The man who is truly at peace with God enjoys peace with all men, even if he does find himself in face of his enemies (Ps. 23:5).

Tuesday, August 22nd - Genesis 33: 3, 4

These verses record the touching reunion of these twin brothers who had been estranged by distance and, more significantly, by their mutual sin, for more than 20 years. Jacob humbly bows seven times, while Esau discarded the dignity of his advanced adulthood and ran like a youth to embrace and kiss his brother. Both men wept in repentance over past wrongs and in joy over their reconciliation. This is all the Lord’s doing, as He veritably resurrected a dead relationship between two brothers. Our Lord did so with that relationship then, and he can do so with our poor relationships now.

Wednesday, August 23rd - Genesis 33: 4

Jacob had prayed to be delivered from Esau’s hand (Gen. 32:11). The answer to that prayer came in the form of Jacob delivering himself into the embracing arms of his brother, Esau. This was an answer above what Jacob had asked or thought, as all answers to our prayers exceed our asking or expecting. The Lord had wrought a change in Esau’s heart, so that his hands were no longer a threat to Jacob, but were rather enfolding instruments of love to him.

Thursday, August 24th - Genesis 33: 5

In this verse, the family of Jacob is introduced to Esau. The older brother sees and inquires about the many people accompanying his younger brother. Esau inquires with surprise and delight, but without a trace of the menace that Jacob feared and accordingly had prompted him to divide his family in a desperate attempt to save some from a dreaded slaughter by Esau’s hand. Now Jacob realizes that his wives and children are as safe with Esau as he himself had been when enwrapped in his loving arms. Jacob rightly responds to Esau’s question by identifying his children as gracious gifts from God, and as such gifts, they had all along been as safe in God’s care as Jacob sees them to be now before a loving Esau. The gifts and callings of our God are irrevocably conveyed to us, and so are precious in themselves and preserved by the Almighty hand that gave them.