Genesis 32:9 - Forerunner Commentary

Genesis 32:9

7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and ^adistressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.

8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and¹ attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

9 ^aThen Jacob said, ^b“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord ^cwho said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the ^amercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with ^bmy staff, and now I have become two companies.

11 ^aDeliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and¹ attack me and ^bthe mother with the children.

12 For ^aYou said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the ^bsand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

13 So he lodged there that same night, and took what¹ came to his hand as ^aa present for Esau his brother:

14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

Commentaries:

No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Genesis 32:9.

Genesis 32:9-12

This is a different man than left his parents some 20-odd years before. He now clearly saw the vision of a family that he was to become. He knew it was his responsibility to protect the family and obey God. He divided the group into two bands so that if Esau wanted vengeance, he was going to sacrifice himself for his family, so the family would still be safe. He was willing to sacrifice himself for the rest of the family because he knew God's promise would happen and he was doing what he had to do to get it done.

And now in all humility he tells God he knows what he has been, and what he is, and that he is the least of God's people, unworthy of God's mercies. He is not worthy of having a glimpse of the truth of the Family of God and his part in it, but he has grabbed on to that vision. He will not let go. He reminds God of the promise that He made of his descendants being as the sand of the sea, and he will do his part because he knows that God is moving forward, and He will do His.

Excerpted from A Glimpse at the Family of God

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