Genesis 32:11 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

Navigator

Genesis 32:11

Comments

‘Deliver me from the hand of my brother.’ Why does he pray as he does? Because he is frightened out of his life, and cannot bear to lose his life and he thinks of the little children. Because he fears Esau will smite him, and he has a promise that he will be able to take his family back to Canaan. But what is Jacob most afraid of? What does he find hardest to understand? It is this: that God who preserved the seed royal right through the life of Abraham, with all its hazards and its journeyings through strange and hostile places; the God who delivered his father, Isaac, may take the privilege from him. It is the seed royal that has got to be protected. I can divide my company into two bands, thinks Jacob, and I can say, ‘If one goes first, then if Esau is violent and they are destroyed with the mothers and the children, then at least I've got the other one, the other band, and they can run away. But will the seed royal be preserved? Because I don't know who he is and which band he will be in.’ This is the matter of greatest concern to Jacob. That is why the mother and the children are prominent in this. He probably thought, by the way, that the seed royal would be with Joseph, the best boy. But actually, the seed royal was with Judah. He didn't know which son carried the seed and which of his children it would be. So the provision of dividing his family into two groups wasn't necessarily going to work. We know that to Jacob rescue meant deliverance one hundred percent. He states his problem candidly. Was this lack of faith? Maybe, but he admits it. Some say this was cowardly of Jacob. We have to avoid gunning him down unnecessarily. We have every reason to believe that Jacob knew his prayer would be answered. He quotes the promise back to God.

Application

You pray to the Lord and say, ‘Lord I fear hell.’ Fear is not the best motive, but it is true. You open your heart to the Lord and tell him your inner most concerns. You ask him to help you trust in Christ and his victory over sin, death, and hell.

Jacob prayed for his real problem. He asks very specifically about what he needs. Not, increase my flocks, or give me a happy meeting with mother, but deliver me. You should pray for your greatest need. What is the point of praying for anything other than this? Our biggest need is to have our sins forgiven, to have new life in the soul. We need understanding of God’s way. If you do not know the Lord, come humbly and spell out your need. ‘I need life and conversion. I need a new life. Without this I will perish. Lord change and bless me.’

Jacob came with a promise to claim. It sounds cheeky, but that is how we are to pray. We must presume on the promise. If you come you will be blessed. Remind God, not because he’s forgotten, but because you need to build up your faith. You rest on the promise. Some say, ‘I have tried again and again, and nothing has happened.’ They are not trusting. They keep stopping to feel their spiritual pulse. We need to take refuge in the cleft of the rock. Christ is a great Rock; no one who hides in him is lost.

God had told Jacob to go even though he was frightened. We are sometimes afraid to witness. You may say that is sheer faithlessness, but no it is natural human weakness. Faith is seen by your going on to speak in spite of not wanting to.

Questions

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

Genesis 32:11 Commentary and Bible Study

Explain meaning of Genesis 32:11