Jacob to Israel – A Life Transformed – 8

Genesis 32

Jacob had taken a leap of Faith, maybe it was in desperation but nevertheless it was a leap of Faith. He had finally taken control of his own life, moved on the promises of the God of his fathers and begun to experience that this God was now his God. In Genesis  31:42 as part of his rebuke to Laban he recognises that God had seen his affliction, the labours of his hands and had come to his aid. God always comes to our aid, He did the same when His chosen people were in bondage and slavery in Egypt, Exodus 3:7-8. He says to Moses from the burning bush “I have seen their affliction, I have heard their cry, I know their sorrows and I am coming down“.

God knows our needs, He hears our cry and He is coming down, what a fantastic promise.

This is exactly what Jacob was experiencing, God had been watching over him, He knew his troubles and He had heard his cry and He came down and met Jacob who is on the way to his fathers house. Jacob immediately recognises that these angels that meet him in Genesis 32:1 represent some kind of security, a reassurance that everything will be alright and he calls the place Mahanaim meaning two hosts, a joining of God and man and ultimately a place of refuge and security. God has come down and provided that place for each and every one of us in the person of Jesus. When we meet Him we are in a place of safety.

Jacob was on a mission from God, he was returning home, back to the place where he had previously fled from, the place of conflict that had been brought about by his own selfish making. He was going there because God had told him to Genesis 31:3. God always brings us back to the place where we went wrong, to the place where we disobeyed and disappointed God so that we can put right the wrongs. The great news is that God has come down and gone before us.

Jacob is destined to meet up with his brother who he has not seen for 20 years. The last time he saw Esau was when Esau was so mad that he was about to kill him. As far as Jacob knew this was still the case. Sometimes we have to confront our situations with fear and trembling, yet with the knowledge that we are in God’s will and that we are participating in His great plan for us. Jacob knew that God had spoken and told him to return to his own country where he might be killed.

God always steps into our situations and provides refuge, but this place is a lonely place, it takes place when we are left alone with God.

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