Session 7 | Jeremiah 29:4-14
Genesis 32:22-32
Memory Verse: Genesis 32:10
In our culture, names don’t typically carry the significance they did in biblical times. Nevertheless, our names often convey significance in other ways. Years ago, one of my professors started calling me “Huldah,” and the nickname stuck. Huldah was an Old Testament prophetess (2 Kings 22:14-20), and my professor felt like I was a serious student of God’s Word, like Huldah.
In the Old Testament world, names expressed character and essence. In Session 3 we saw Jacob live up to his name of “deceiver.” In Genesis 32, though, God gave him a new name to reflect His redeemed character. As you prepare this week, think about the spiritual growth you have observed in the adults of your group and thank God for His work in their lives. Ask Him to help you grow deeper in your walk with Him, even as you challenge them to press on to greater spiritual maturity.
Life is mostly routine, but some moments change one’s life forever. These may include the day you started your first full-time job, the day you retire, when you meet the love of your life and marry that special person, and the day your child is born. These are life-changing moments. More significantly, when people encounter God, their lives are changed. (PSG, p. 64)
Name some of your life-changing moments. Why are people often resistant to change?
Following his final confrontation with Laban at Mizpah (Gen. 31), Jacob continued his homeward journey. As he traveled, God’s angels met him, and Jacob named the place Mahanaim (32:1-2). The name means “two camps” and might have referred to Jacob’s camp and Esau’s camp or to the camps that Jacob set up for his family (32:3-8). Regardless, Jacob would soon experience two meetings-one with God followed by one with Esau.
Jacob learned from his scouts that Esau was coming to meet him, but he wasn’t alone. Jacob’s older brother was accompanied by four hundred men. Fearful and distressed, Jacob began devising a scheme for his protection. As noted above, he divided the people with him into two groups. He reasoned that if Esau attacked one of the groups, the second camp could escape.
To this plan, Jacob added prayer. Verses 9-12 of Genesis 32 contain Jacob’s first recorded prayer. In fact, it is the most extensive prayer in the book of Genesis. Jacob acknowledged his unworthiness and recognized that he had no claim on God’s mercy. He also admitted his fear of meeting Esau.
Jacob not only prayed for the Lord to rescue him from Esau, but also he implemented a plan that he hoped would soften any antagonism his brother might be harboring. Hoping to appease Esau’s wrath, Jacob sent a large gift for his twin ahead of him. He also sent his family across the Jabbok River.
Alone on the far side of the Jabbok, Jacob encountered God again, but in a much different way than his meeting at Bethel years before. In the wrestling match, a “man” dislocated Jacob’s hip and changed his name to Israel. Jacob named the location Peniel (Penuel), meaning “face of God” (32:13-32).
Genesis 33 records Jacob’s meeting with Esau. Jacob, still the schemer, devised yet another plan as he went forward to meet his brother. He arranged his family in a specific order with the members he felt closest to at the rear. Jacob then went on ahead. As he approached Esau, Jacob bowed to the ground seven times, perhaps in recognition that Esau was the ruler of the territory of Edom or Seir (33:3).
Jacob, however, was totally unprepared for the reception he received. Esau ran to him and hugged him. Together, the brothers wept. Although Esau initially rejected Jacob’s gift, Jacob urged him until he accepted it. During that meeting, Jacob compared seeing Esau to seeing the face of God (33:10). Jacob recognized in Esau’s look of forgiveness a reflection of God’s face.
The long estranged twins parted in peace. Esau headed to Seir/Edom, while Jacob moved to Succoth, a city in Canaan (33:11-17). Eventually, Jacob traveled to Shechem, purchased a plot of land, and built an altar to the Lord in recognition of his new name and his new life (33:18-20).
Read Genesis 32:22-32. What do these verses reveal about how God changes people when they encounter Him? (PSG, p. 65)
EXPLORE THE TEXT
22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two slave women, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions. 24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
(v. 22) Two wives: Jacob’s two wives were Leah and Rachel. Rachel, Leah’s younger sister, was the object of Jacob’s affection and gave birth to Joseph and Benjamin. Leah bore Jacob six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Conflict dominated Jacob’s family because he had two wives.
Marriage
“Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.” (Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Article XVIII, “The Family”)
(v. 22) Two slave women: This phrase designates Leah’s servant, Zilpah, and Rachel’s servant, Bilhah. When Rachel was unable to bear children by Jacob, she gave Bilhah to him as a concubine. Bilhah bore Jacob two sons, Dan and Naphtali. Later, Leah gave Zilpah to Jacob as another concubine. She bore him two sons: Gad and Asher.
A concubine was a wife of lower status-usually a slave. While the culture accepted such a practice in patriarchal times, it was never God’s plan. Scripture sets forth God’s ideal from the garden of Eden as the monogamous marriage of one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24). In cases where men took concubines, negative results, including disharmony and jealousy, prevailed in the family.
(v. 22) Eleven sons: At this point Rachel had not yet given birth to Benjamin. He would be born after the family settled in Canaan (see Gen. 35:16-20). In addition, Leah gave birth to a daughter, named Dinah.
(v. 22) Jabbok: This term, meaning “flowing,” identifies a river near the area where Jacob wrestled with God. Today, the river is called Nahr ez-Zerqa. The Jabbok is a tributary of the Jordan River, connecting to the Jordan from the east approximately fifteen miles north of the Dead Sea. In ancient times a dense population inhabited the Jabbok Valley.
(v. 24) Was left alone: The Hebrew verb translated was left refers to one portion of a quantity that has been divided. Generally, it designates the smaller part. In this case, Jacob was alone because he sent everyone else across the river.
Sometimes the one who is left feels alone, as Elijah did in his contest with Baal’s prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:22). The word rendered alone also conveys the idea of separation and isolation. Jacob’s encounter with God near the ford of the Jabbok River reminds us that a time will come in each of our lives when we must face Him alone. We cannot lean on anyone else’s faith. We must decide for ourselves how we will respond to Him.
(v. 24) A man: Bible scholars have typically identified this man as God or as an angel carrying God’s authority (see Hos. 12:1-5). Of the various Hebrew words for “man,” the word used here denotes man as an individual, in contrast to mankind in general. In some contexts the term can also be rendered “champion.”
Wrestled
The Hebrew verb translated wrestled provides a wordplay on both the Jabbok River and the patriarch Jacob. The name Jacob, meaning “cheater” or “deceiver,” conveys the selfish nature that he exhibited prior to his transformation at the Jabbok.
Physical strength had characterized Jacob’s life to this point. However, in this wrestling match, he received a blow to his hip that dislocated the joint. Ironically, Jacob’s resulting physical weakness led to moral and spiritual transformation.
25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. 26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied. 28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.
(v. 25) Could not defeat: The Hebrew verb without the negative “not” suggests the capacity or ability to accomplish something. This would apply not only in a physical sense, but also in an ethical or religious sense. So, with the negative, it indicates a lack of composure or control. For example, Moses later used it in Genesis to describe Joseph’s inability to keep his emotions in check during his encounter with his brothers (Gen. 45:1). It also highlights the inability of Moses’s mother to hide her young son (Ex. 2:3).
In a religious or moral sense, the term appears in Deuteronomy 17:15 where the Lord commanded His people not to set a foreign king over them. When used in the sense of wrestling or battling, the verb without the negative is often rendered “prevail.” In some sense, the man, though more powerful than Jacob, did not prevail in the wrestling match. Instead, the patriarch was declared the winner.
(v. 26) Daybreak: The Hebrew expression more literally means “the going up of the dawn” and denotes the time just before sunrise. In Genesis 32, the response of the “man” to the rising sun signified that Jacob was dealing with a superior Being (see Ex. 33:20,23). Isaiah prophesied that with the coming of the messianic age “a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness” (Isa. 9:2). Matthew quoted this passage to refer to the new age of hope and the promise that came in Jesus (Matt. 4:16).
(vv. 27-28) Your name: In the biblical world names were more than monikers. They possessed deep significance. A person’s name expressed the individual’s essence or nature. To know someone’s name meant to know the person’s character. Names might also convey destiny or hopes for a child’s future.
The Lord sometimes initiated a name change to reveal a transformation in character or destiny (see Gen. 17:5; Matt. 16:17-18). That is true with Jacob in this passage. Asking Jacob about his name forced him to acknowledge his nature as a deceiver.
In some situations, knowing a person’s name could also imply having some degree of power over them for good or for evil. However, it is doubtful that Jacob was trying to exert any control in this context. More likely, he simply wanted to know more about the One who was blessing him (v. 29).
Israel
Jacob’s divine opponent may have allowed him to win the wrestling match, but He still had authority over Jacob’s life. Demonstrating this power, He changed the patriarch’s name from Jacob to Israel. As noted, Jacob’s name carried the idea of being a “deceiver.” By changing Jacob’s name, God indicated a transformation in Jacob’s character.
Suggested meanings of “Israel” include “God strives,” “God heals,” “God rules,” or “he strives against God.” After his encounter with God, Jacob limped physically as a reminder of his struggle with God. But, more importantly, God gradually began to transform the way Jacob lived. Jacob’s struggle with God created a new moral strength and loyalty to God that guided the rest of His life.
(v. 29) Blessed: Jacob had refused to let go until his opponent blessed him (v. 26). This implies Jacob’s recognition that he was dealing with a superior Being. In ancient thought, blessings were generally conferred from the greater to the lesser. Jacob had stolen his father’s blessing, so he longed for God to provide a legitimate blessing for Him.
30 Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel - limping because of his hip. 32 That is why, still today, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because he struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.
(v. 30) Peniel: This place name means “face of God.” It is located on the Jabbok River, northeast of Succoth. During the period of the judges, Gideon destroyed a city or tower built on that site because the people there refused him provisions while he pursued the Midianites (Judg. 8:8-9,17). Jeroboam also did some building at this location (1 Kings 12:25). The site has been identified with a tel, a mound or small hill built up over centuries of occupation, about seven miles east of the Jordan. The tel, called Tulul edh-Dhahab, commands the entrance to the Jordan Valley from the Jabbok gorge. The location was also called “Penuel” (v. 31).
(v. 30) Face to face: This phrase indicates Jacob experienced a theophany, a physical appearance or manifestation of God. The Old Testament presents a basic assumption that to see God could be fatal (Ex. 19:20-21; 33:20; Judg. 6:22-23; 13:20-23). Yet we know that people did see manifestations of God and lived to tell about it (Gen. 32:24-32; Ex. 24:9-11). In Genesis 32, Jacob had a direct encounter with God, but he did not see the Lord’s full essence (which would have resulted in death).
As Genesis 32:30 reveals, a person who remained alive after seeing God was overwhelmed with awe and gratitude (Deut. 5:24; Judg. 6:22-23; Isa. 6:5). Such individuals realized that sinful human beings cannot survive seeing God’s face or being in God’s presence without His grace or merciful intervention. Jacob’s survival foreshadowed his face-to-face encounter with Esau (Gen. 33:10).
(v. 31) Limping: Besides Genesis 32:31, this particular Hebrew verb appears only in Micah 4:6-7 and Zephaniah 3:19. In Micah and Zephaniah, the term (translated “lame”) occurs in the context of the Lord’s compassion on His people. In Genesis 32, the reference to Jacob’s limping serves as a physical symbol of His wrestling match with God.
Although the match resulted in Jacob’s “victory,” that victory came with a painful injury that would always remind him that we prevail with God by yielding to Him (Heb. 11:21). No longer a deceiver, Jacob was a new person, beginning a new spiritual walk as “Israel” (one who prevails with God).
(v. 32) Israelites: This designation identifies the descendants of Jacob/Israel through his twelve sons. These descendants later entered the promised land became citizens of the nation or kingdom of Israel. After the United Kingdom divided in 931 BC, the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom became known as Israel and its inhabitants retained the name Israelites (see 2 Kings 17:6-12). The two tribes of the Southern Kingdom were known as Judah-the name of one of Jacob’s sons.
(v. 32) Thigh: The Hebrew word designates the side of the lower torso and upper section of the leg. The Israelites viewed the thigh (or hip) as the seat of vital functions, particularly procreation. In patriarchal times placing a hand under the thigh affirmed the strongest oath (Gen. 24:8-9).
Elsewhere in Scripture, striking one’s thigh could symbolize intense grief and repentance (Ezek. 21:12; Jer. 31:19). When his divine opponent struck Jacob’s thigh, He not only demonstrated His superiority, but He also indicated that the very basis of Jacob’s life had been changed.
Salvation
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. (See John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17.)
Use a Bible dictionary to learn more about a feature of Israel’s religious life.
The account of Jacob’s struggle with God at Peniel concludes with an explanation of the prohibition against eating the thigh muscle at the hip socket (Gen. 32:32). By observing this dietary practice, the Israelites honored the Lord as well as their ancestor Jacob. Read Leviticus 11:1-47 and Deuteronomy 14:1-21 for dietary restrictions God later gave His people regarding clean and unclean animals. Read a Bible dictionary article on “Clean, Cleanness.” Identify some possible reasons the Lord gave His people this legislation.