Good evening! Chapter 32 is a great one!! It didn’t stand out to me at first, but the importance was made clear to me as I was given more and more understanding of His Word. So we know that Jacob is a son of the promise and is returning to his fathers homeland by the command of the lord who promised to be with him. The first verse opens up the chapter with Jacob going on his way and “God’s angels met him.” God’s angels are always with us watching us, reporting back to God about us, and protecting us. Also verse 10 really hit me in the heart “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant.” I was raised by unbelievers and was an enemy of God for a very long time. And when I look around at what He’s given me as a gift today I can’t help but say thank you Lord! We know Jacob was afraid and he prayed for the Lord to rescue him and how he was encouraged when he remembered Gods promise to him which is a great example for us all to “hold every thought captive to Him”.... and then a turning point happens when he meets God that night and wrestled with him until daybreak. God said “Your name will no longer be Jacob... it will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” And the sun shone on Jacob that day “as he passed be Penuel.”
Doesn’t it also feel as though we struggle with God’s ways at times because of our human nature and we also struggle with man’s ways because of the Godly heart who lives in us... but because we have faith in Him and pray for deliverance from our enemies, we “have prevailed.” “It is finished.” As we read, ignore what you know about Israelites from a historical or cultural perspective. Understand that ‘Israelites’ is just a term for ‘God’s people’. If you also consider yourself God’s daughter, then you are a part of Israel. Everything that mentions Israel in the Word is not speaking of some distant middle eastern culture that we should ignore here in America, but instead when He mentions Israel, understand that He’s speaking directly to you and me and all of our brothers and sisters through Him because if we call ourselves His, then we are taking the surname of Israel in our marriage with Him.
Isaiah 44:3-5, 'For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.
Comments