God told Jacob to go back to his home country and God said I will be with you. But as Jacob gets closer to being home a great fear comes upon him because he knows he will have to face Esau his brother: the brother he deceived more than once. Fear gripped Jacob and put him into a frenzy. Because he was afraid Esau would attack him he split his group into two groups. He set ahead several small groups of different animal herds in order to appease his brother Esau and Gain favor with him. Jacob was in a wrestling battle over it with a man/angel of the Lord.
I wonder if he would have done differently if he really trusted that God was with him? I wonder what I do when fear hits me? I worry a lot. I whine and complain to God. I sometimes make irrational assumptions about other people involved. Some assumptions are negative and are false assumptions which result in gossip. It does draw me to be closer to God which is good. How would my life be different if I exercised trust more? Like I said I do draw near to God more but it's so I can whine and complain. If I was motivated by trust I would draw near to God in prayer and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving because it's my way of saying I trust you so I thank you for what you're going to do. I would be in the word more. I feel if I trusted more I would seek wisdom from others so I don't follow my fears. I would have other people pray for me and encourage me so they can help me from falling back into fear and deception.
Jacob wrestled throughout the night with a mysterious figure who was no ordinary man. He didn’t tell Jacob what his name was even though Jacob’s name was changed to Israel since we are told that Jacob had striven with God and with men and prevailed. Jacob will never be the same after this experience. He will now walk with a limp because his hip was put out of joint. While this incident seemed somewhat strange to me for various reasons, it made me think more about how there is nothing that can ever change God because He is already completely perfect and He never changes. We as humans on the other hand are always being changed in different ways by sometimes getting better and sometimes getting worse. We read this in 2 Corinthians 4:16: So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
Here’s the link for Jacob’s Name Is Israel.
https://youtu.be/B4wJuQOAfp4
Jacob was saved at Bethel but here at Peniel, he was sanctified. It was when he was broken, pinned down by God, when he was weeping but wouldn’t let go of God that he prevailed. God knew Jacob’s name but when He asked him the question, this time Jacob responded with his own name – he wasn’t trying to be Esau or anyone else. No sooner does he accept his own identity than the Lord changes his name entirely – Jacob “the heel snatcher” became Israel “governed by God”.
Orthodox Jews to this day don’t eat the thigh meat of an animal in honor of Jacob. They don’t commemorate his intelligence or charisma but rather his pain. God sometimes allows pain in our lives because then and only then will we lean on Him every step of the way. Thank you, Lord, for all your lessons in your Word!
Sometimes the anticipation is worse than the end result
Jacob has done his brother wrong and now fears he will seek revenge
When I was young and I misbehaved for mom, she would say, wait until your father gets home, thinking about what was going to happen to me all day was way worse than what my dad actually did
I’m also torn between Jacob sending gifts for his brother.
Did he do it as a bribe?
Would he have sent so much if he was not worried, but actually did want to show love.
And as far as Jacob and his hip, God likes to remind us that he’s in control. (hip or ribs haha)