Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you:’ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth that You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I am become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him lest he come and attack me with the mother of the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make Your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ” Genesis 32: 9-12, NKJV.
Holy Father, there are times like these when we realize, that it is only by Your mercies and kindness that we exist; that we have not been swallowed up by the adversary. As we study Your holy Word, please be our teacher, and open our eyes to all that is taking place around us; for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Our story today is one of absolute mercy! As our title suggests, it is not by merit (our worthiness); but by the mercies of God Almighty that we are spared from so many calamities! Here is Jacob returning to his homeland. God had appeared to him in a dream by night, and told him to go back to the country of his birth. He decides to leave the home of his father-in-law without announcing his departure. Three days later, when Laban becomes aware that he left without so much as a goodbye, he gathers his kinsfolk, and after seven days they overtake him. Laban is not happy!
After some discussion, the two men make a covenant of peace, and leave a heap of stones as a witness between them. For Laban, it is Jegarsahadutha (Aramaic). For Jacob it is Galeed (Hebrew). For both it is interpreted, “The heap of witness.” It is from this meeting that we get the familiar farewell, “Mizpah,” “The LORD watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other” (Genesis 32: 47-49, NRSV).
Jacob knows that he is walking away from one problem, to go and deal with another. He must now go and face his brother Esau, whom he has not seen for more or less, twenty years. This is not an encounter that he is anticipating. He is fully aware that the problem that exists between himself and his brother, was brought about by a wrong decision on his part. But thank God, Jacob also knows that there is One who offers us mercy, when we least deserve it! He knows the God of his grandfather Abraham, and of his father, Isaac; and he goes to Him in prayer.
Even before he realizes the full extent of his problem, God sends the solution! What a gracious, and merciful God we serve! Jacob is met by two bands of angels. He calls the name of that place, “God’s camp,” Mahanaim. In this particular situation, it is understood as “two camps.” I am almost certain that he had not yet made the decision to divide his household into two groups; for as yet he was not aware that he was facing an emergency. He knew that upon returning home he would have to face his brother Esau, whose birthright, he had usurped approximately twenty years ago. As it turned out, the messengers that he sent before him with a message to calm his brother, came back with a message that left him in despair, “your brother is coming to meet you, along with four hundred men!
Jacob knew that it was time for an emergency prayer meeting with the only One who could save him from the wrath of his brother! He decides to divide his household into two groups – God had already sent the two companies of angels to help him. What a GOD we serve!
We will continue tomorrow.