SERIES B --- A CHOSEN PEOPLE --- STUDY LESSON 7

JACOB BECOMES ISRAEL

A NIGHT OF STRUGGLE AND A NEW NAME

From Genesis 32

After Laban left, Jacob and his caravan went on toward his homeland. Along the way, YHVH’s angels met him. [YHVH has set up camp here and this is His army!] Jacob exclaimed when he saw the angels. Therefore, Jacob named the place Mahanaim, which suggested the idea of two camps. From here, Jacob sent messengers to his brother Esau, who lived in the land of Seir, in the country of Edom, giving them specific orders. [Speak to Esau with the respect you would give my master,] said Jacob. [Tell him that his servant Jacob has been living with Laban, and that I have acquired oxen, donkeys, sheep, and servants, both men and women. Tell him that I am sending messengers to let him know that I am coming as a friend and hope that he will receive me as a friend.] When the messengers returned, they gave Jacob some frightening news. [Your brother Esau is coming to meet you; with four hundred men!] Jacob was alarmed when he heard that and he immediately divided the caravan into two companies. [If Esau destroys one company, the other may escape,] he thought. Then Jacob prayed fervently to Adonai. [O YHVH of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac, Adonai Who told me to return to my homeland and You would be kind to me, I am not worthy of any of Your mercy and truth which You have shown to me thus far. I crossed the Jordan River to Padan-aram with only my staff, and now I return with two companies. Spare me from Esau, my brother, for I am afraid of him. I fear that he will come here to kill us all, even the mothers and children. But You promised to take care of me, to make my descendants as numerous as the grains of sand along the sea, which are too numerous to count.] That night, Jacob stayed where he was and prepared a peace offering for Esau of two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep, twenty male sheep, thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. [Keep a distance between each group of animals,] Jacob told his servants. [When Esau meets the first group he will ask ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going?’ Then you will tell him that the animals belong to his servant Jacob, that they are a gift for my lord Esau, and that I am coming behind you.] Jacob told each group the same thing. [As Esau meets each group, you are to tell him what I have said,] Jacob ordered. [Be certain to tell him that his servant Jacob is behind you.] [Perhaps these gifts will cool his anger,] Jacob thought. [When he finally reaches me, he may accept me.] That night, while Jacob stayed in camp, he sent his gifts on ahead of him. But during the night, Jacob got out of bed and woke his wives and their two maids and all their children and took them across the river at the Jabbok ford. When Jacob returned to camp alone, a man appeared to him and wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he was not winning, he hit Jacob’s thigh and dislocated it at the joint. [Let me go!] the man said. [It is almost day.] [I will not let you go until you bless me,] Jacob answered. Then the man asked, [What is your name? Jacob, was the answer. [No longer will you be called Jacob,] said the man. [From now on, your name will be ‘Israel,’ for you have struggled with YHVH and man and have won.] [What is your name?] Jacob asked. [Why do you ask?] the man said. Then he blessed Jacob. Jacob named the place Peniel, or Penuel, for he said, [I have seen YHVH face-to-face but He has not taken my life from me.] The sun rose and Jacob limped away. Because of this incident, the people of Israel refuse to eat the muscle that covers the hip socket, for that is the part of the body where the Angel of Adonai struck Jacob.

COMMENTARY

JACOB’S TRAVELS

YHVH’s protection from Laban did not quiet Jacob’s fear of his bother Esau. The night before the two brothers met, Jacob struggled with his fear in prayer. That night, too, he wrestled with an angel messenger, and was given a new name. Israel. From this time on his descendants would be known as the [children of Israel.] The Jewish people, and the land of Canaan, would forever carry that new name. Jacob’s travels were limited to two long trips. One was from his childhood home in Beersheba through Bethel to Haran. Bethel was about sixty miles northeast of Beersheba. There Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven, with angels upon it. When he reached Haran, Jacob remained with and worked for his uncle Laban for twenty years. At Haran he married Leah and Rachel and there eleven of his twelve sons were born. Returning to Canaan, Jacob crossed the Euphrates River and passed through Gilead. At Mount Gilead, Laban caught up with him and formed a tense treaty with him. At Mahanaim, Jacob saw angels from YHVH. He also sent messengers to Esau. Jacob wrestled with YHVH’s angel at Penuel (Peniel) and also met his brother Esau there. In Canaan, Jacob moved first to Succoth, then to Shechem, and finally to Hebron. He remained at Hebron until in later years his son Joseph brought him to Goshen, in the land of Egypt, where he died. Jacob’s total travels throughout his lifetime were perhaps no more than two thousand miles. His descendants, the Jewish people, may be found in almost every land throughout the modern world.

Why NOT to use ice with injuries
When you injure something and it becomes swollen, it is your bodies natural response to heal the tissue and area. A natural response when there is damage to tissue is to increase the amount of white blood cells to the area to start eliminating the dead tissue and begin repair. By applying ice, you lessen the swelling, because you slow down the movement of the white blood cells to the area that are designed to repair the damage. This does not speed healing, but slows it down because the need for anti-inflammatory cells is decreased by the ice, which then will prolong the time it takes to heal. Arnica and DMSO are two great options in these situations that will drastically improve your ability to heal and heal quickly. These remedies work great for children and adult alike, and I would never go without DMSO in the house!

This is Paul Nison's wife from Torah Life Ministries. She wears a niqab (face covering), but she isn't Muslim. She is Hebrew Roots. I believe in modesty, but I think this is extreme. Thoughts?

Tamar, possibly the daughter of a pagan Canaanite priest, was joined to Israel through marriage, and became an honored ancestor of David and Yeshua, one of only three women mentioned by name in the genealogy of Matthew 1.

Rahab was condemned to death as a Canaanite of Jericho, but because she put her faith in the God of Israel, she was counted as an Israelite, and became an ancestor of Messiah as well as an example for all who would believe in Him.

Ruth was a pagan Moabite, an enemy of Israel, but like Rahab, she chose to put her faith in the God of Israel and was counted as an Israelite, becoming an ancestor of King David and Messiah Yeshua.

When Judah heard that Tamar had been "sleeping around", he made a public call for her execution. Contrast this to her discrete defense. She sent a message to him asking "Whose ring and staff and cord are these?" in Genesis 38:25. She tacitly pointed out that if she was guilty, so was he, but she did so in a way that gave him the option of admitting his guilt or denying it. Hence his statement in the v26:

*Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.*

Consider also how different Judah's public shaming of Tamar was from Joseph's decision to quietly put Mary away when he discovered that she was pregnant with someone else's child.

On this date in history, 12/13/2003: Saddam Hussein is captured by United States forces near Tikrit, Iraq. #otd #tdih #gulfwar2

The next 2 weeks will bring Christmas for Christians and Hanukkah for the Jewish believers. These holidays have nothing in common other than they both occur in the winter… or do they? Some have speculated Yeshua/Jesus was conceived at Hanukkah. Of course that would change the birth date to sometime in the fall of the years around the feast of tabernacles.

Thought for Today: Tuesday December 13:

Remember, the moment you were born, YHVH awakened the purpose He put within you – and He is attentive to that purpose every day of your life. So, today and always, may you experience YHVH’s Love and joy, may your life be filled with the blessings of His Goodness and Grace.