Peniel

Jacob met God face-to-face and lived

Peniel is about 40 miles from the city of Jerusalem, near the ford of Jabbok (a shallow beach). This was where God gave Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites, a new name: Israel. It was there that the chosen people of Israel experienced a pivotal moment in the creation of a nation, and a major opportunity to establish the faith of their nation. The story began with Esau, Jacob, and their parents. Even though the two sons were born only a few seconds apart, their temperaments and fates were vastly different. Rebekah, the mother, loved Jacob, the quiet and introverted homebody. Isaac, the father, loved Esau, the lively, rough and outgoing brother, who always honoured him with wild game. God's power is perfectly illustrated in the weaknesses and imperfections of man, and in the different preferences of these two parents. He reveals to us His will to choose and bless their descendants at the same time.

When the father was about to bless Esau, the mother, because she loved Jacob and perhaps also because of what God said when she was pregnant: "two nations are in your womb; two tribes will come out of you. This tribe will be stronger than that tribe; the greater will serve the lesser", taught Jacob to deceive his father, whose eyes were dim, to obtain the blessing of the firstborn. From then on, Esau was filled with hatred and wanted to kill Jacob. Since Jacob was already of marriageable age, and his father had strong opinions about his eldest son Esau's marriage to a foreigner, and his mother was worried that his brother would be violent towards him out of hatred, both parents urged their youngest son Jacob to go to his maternal uncle's house in order to avoid disaster and to find a woman of his family to marry (Genesis 28:1-5).

With anxiety, Jacob departed alone. With the blessing of his parents, he looked up at the long and unfamiliar road. He must have felt helpless as he did not anticipate nor was he excited to go on this pilgrimage. When night came and he was tired of walking, he used a stone as a pillow and slept on the ground. In his dream, God appeared to him and showed him a tall ladder that reached to heaven. The angels were ascending and descending on it. God stood by the ladder and said to him, "I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.” (Genesis 28:10-13). God reiterated the vow from the covenant He had made to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, and his descendants: "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3). The LORD then appeared to Abram and said, " To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12:7).

Through this dream, God revealed a very important message of salvation and foretold that Jesus would come into the world and be the only way to salvation for all mankind. Jesus once said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). The ladder reaching to heaven foreshadowed how the body of the Lord Jesus is the only way to the heavenly Father.

“And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”” (John 1:51).

Jacob served in his uncle Laban’s house for twenty years for his two daughters and his flock, and he married and had children. It was a very trying time for him! We can draw lessons from this incredibly difficult journey of faith, which was the result of him taking the right of the firstborn when his brother was tired and later took advantage of his father's blindness to obtain the blessings of the firstborn. This showed that he and his mother had no faith in the fact that the word of God will be fulfilled; as recorded in Ecclesiastes 7:29: "God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

After serving in his uncle's family for seven years, Jacob became a family man. During those years, he persevered and bargained hard, all the while miraculously receiving God's blessing. He gradually came to have a large family and great possessions, which enabled him to leave his uncle’s house. When he was returning home, Jacob was not like the prodigal son who felt despondent and worried whether his father would forgive him and not take him in. Instead, on their way back to his father's house, he still felt guilty and ashamed of what he did to his brother Esau, despite all the years that had passed. On that night, Jacob unexpectedly experienced a surprising and terrifying event that completely changed his life and turned over a new page in the history of the chosen Israelites.

Jacob and company continued their journey home in great numbers, and the whole family slept in the open field. For the safety of his family, “He arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok . He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone.

And a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

So He said to him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Jacob.”

And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”

And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Just as he crossed over Peniel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.” (Genesis 32:22-32).

Jacob became lame just when he was about to face Esau, whom he feared, and needed the strength of his legs the most! After God touched him, he had no other choice but to live the rest of his life with complete reliance on God.

Before meeting Esau, Jacob sent his servants to Seir, where his brother Esau lived, to give him a message. And the men whom he had sent returned to Jacob, saying, "we came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” (Genesis 32:6). Jacob became afraid and troubled, and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, the herds, and the camels into two companies. He then put the two female servants and their children in the front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.

“Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. He crossed over before [his wives and children] and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.” (Genesis 33:1-5, 8, 10, 11).

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).

“Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” (Psalm 34:14).

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14).

The reason why God cared for Jacob was not just because of the covenant He had with his ancestors. It was also because Jacob had a heart that feared God and sought to make peace with his brother. This touched his brother, who had held a deep grudge against him. When the brothers finally met, the grudge was completely resolved. Jacob's thoughtfulness touched heaven and earth. As a result, the angel said that he had “struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed!” (Genesis 32:28). Therefore, Jacob named the place where he wrestled with God “Peniel”, the place where he truly met God face-to-face and lived. What a great grace!