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Awesome Hands – Part 22

“Receive my present at my hand”

Last study we saw that Jacob lived out a type and shadow of our walk with the Lord in that He contended with the Lord via an angel of the Lord, and after this struggle Jacob received a new name.

Like Jacob, we too will come to a point in our walk where we are left alone to realize that all that we have accomplished or the hand we have been dealt with in the flesh is for naught when facing the immediate demise of the fleshly goods, thoughts or ways.

Just as Jacob did, we all too must “pass over the ford of Jabbok” to start our true walk with the Lord.

It is in this type and shadow of BAPTISM that we will “wrestle with an angel of the Lord” and be given a new name, a new life in Christ and a NEW WALK along the Way, Truth and Life.

First, we must realize that we are alone and none but the Lord can deliver and bless us so we must “contend” with the Lord unto the “breaking of the day.”

Gen 32:24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Gen 32:25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

We continue to wrestle with a man, and we know this “man” to be the new man, Christ in us. Isn’t it interesting that Jacob wrestled even WHILE His walk was wounded to the point that Jacob will FIGHT so that he will receive the blessing that he started off in pursuing

We, too, early in our walk with Christ, receive a deadly wound that is healed but this must be the case so that we can start the process of “dying daily” and also having Christ live in us daily as the resurrection.

Gen 32:26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
Gen 32:27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
Gen 32:28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Gen 32:29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

It is when we are willing to “sell all that we have and purchase the pearl of great price” that we are given a new name which no man knows except Him that receives it.

Mat 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Mat 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Mat 13:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

We must be overcomers, and in order to be overcomers there can be nothing between us and God. We must be willing to do whatever it takes to gain the first resurrection.

We must be just as Jacob who was in the night and “sent over all that he had…and was left alone” and was unwilling to let go of the blessing he wanted from God.

In like manner, it will later be Joseph who will be given a dream of rulership but must first go through a lot of trial and tribulation to get to that point.

We must all be overcomers and endure so that we can continue on to the prize for which we are set out to when.

1Co 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1Co 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
1Co 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

“Jacob lifted up his eyes”

In this study, we are going to continue the story of Jacob finishing the wrestling he has with the angel of the Lord and then continuing on to finally meet what he has feared so much.

First, I want to examine the first example of how Jacob describes his experience with the angel and what results in him having his whole walk altered.

Jacob has arrived at the point that he has wrestled with a “man” until the breaking of the day. Now that he has been blessed in this place, Jacob names it Peniel.

As with all naming that the Lord uses, we know that there is significance to all names the Lord uses.

Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Gen 32:31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
Gen 32:32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.

Jacob calls this place Peniel and then we are told it is because he believes he has seen God face to face, but there is also an additional piece of information in this naming that shows us where we are all at when we are at this point in our walk.

H6439

/

penu’e l / pen y’e l

BDB Definition:

Penuel or Peniel = “facing God”

1) a Benjamite, son of Shashak, brother of Iphedeiah of the family of Saul (noun proper masculine)

2) son of Hur, father of Gedor, and a descendant of Judah (noun proper masculine)

3) the place named by Jacob when he wrestled with God and located on the north bank of the Jabbok close to the Jordan (noun proper locative)

Part of Speech: see above in Definition

We are at the north bank close to the Jordan, where we are now seeing what the start of judgment is while in this tabernacle of flesh.

After all that Jacob has been through up until this point, he has just now received the new name and the new walk which the Lord as willed for him to receive.

There is going to be a rising of the sun and as SOON as the sun rising upon us, we are going to immediately find that there are giants in the land.

Gen 32:31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

And then a few verses later:

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Jacob has such a noteworthy experience at Peniel that he names the place Peniel because he thought he had seen God face to face, but soon he is going to have this same knowledge which doesn’t keep him from bowing seven timesàcompletely, to his carnal mind and fleshly ways.

Gen 33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
Gen 33:2 And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
Gen 33:3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
Gen 33:4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

Jacob is very quick bow himself to the ground “seven times”, and this is after he lifted up his eyes.

I find it interesting that as soon as Jacob has a profound experience, and the sun rises upon him, he “lifts up his eyes” and Esau is immediately in his view.

We have seen this same situation several times already while covering this awesome hands series.

Gen 13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
Gen 13:8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

Abram and Lot’s herdsmen were having strife between them and immediately Abram says to Lot, “let there be no strife” and as a result it is LOT who chooses all the plain of Jordan.

Then we see the faith of Abraham being tried in Gen 22.

Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Gen 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Gen 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
Gen 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

Abraham is in an extreme trial when he is going to sacrifice Isaac but the Lord stays his hand and we see the next example of “eyes being lifted up” a few verses later.

Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Gen 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

The last example we see of “eyes being lifted up” before getting to our study on Jacob today is found in

Gen 24:61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
Gen 24:62 And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.
Gen 24:63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.
Gen 24:64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.
Gen 24:65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.

I mention these moments because they were significant changes and events for those who had their “eyes lifted up” to see an event that was about to unfold and “up” signifies “His ways and His thoughts”.

It is easy to say that these events have nothing to do with one another, but we know God does nothing and says nothing in scripture by mistake.

So, what can we glean as we have our spiritual eyes lifted up to see the message that is hidden in what we are being told about our walk with the Lord?

When we “look up” or are in a situation where we are being confronted with what we have to do in order to serve the Lord or deny Him, all according to His will, then we will notice that we are continuing in the works that the Lord has planned for us according to the plan He has laid out for us.

Zec 2:1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
Zec 2:2 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.

This process only happens for those for whom the Lord has willed be used to live out the life of being a son of perdition AND being shown that this is the case. The son of perdition MUST be revealed, but the whole process produces and nourishes the new man in us all.

Luk 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
Luk 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

When we are given sight, that doesn’t mean we are suddenly able to do what the Lord says and aren’t going to be tried in the fire to have wood, hay and stubble burned out of us.

Truthfully, this process usually signifies a “proving” that the Lord puts us through so that He can show us what we are made of.

Joh 6:4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
Joh 6:5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
Joh 6:6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

This process generally produces the result of contrasting the actions of the old man with that of the new.

Joh 11:39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
Joh 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Joh 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

Again, this entire process shows us that as we “have our sight” directed up, we are going to get to know ourselves and by extension, the new man within. We must have these trials in order for the process of fire to work within us.

Joh 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
Joh 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

In this story with Jacob, this is no different this time. For Jacob, he is going to name Peniel because he believed he “saw God face to face.”

Now with Esau, what is his reaction going to be?

Gen 33:3 And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
Gen 33:4 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
Gen 33:5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
Gen 33:6 Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.
Gen 33:7 And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
Gen 33:8 And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.
Gen 33:9 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.

In this type and shadow, we can clearly see that Jacob had already instructed “all that he had” to pay respect to his elder twin.

Jacob made sure to let his brother know that he thought of him as his Lord. Esau tells Jacob to keep what he has for himself, but Jacob insist again that Esau show grace towards Jacob. Jacob really wants the endorsement of Esau.

Gen 33:10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.
Gen 33:11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.

Jacob is so committed to his actions that he literally attributes Esau to “seeing the face of God”. It was just a few verses ago that he named the place of wrestling with the angel Peniel for “having seen God face to face,” and now God can be seen in Esau?

Isn’t this how we all do things initially though? We are given tremendous deliverance from the Lord in our lives and then we go back to our vomit just like dogs.

We want so much to be accepted in the world that we highly exalt the flesh and needs and wants of our family so as to not strive with one another just as Abram did with Lot. We will do almost anything to not have to strive with our worldly lusts and needs in order to “keep the peace”.

Jer 6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

“Let us take our journey”

Gen 33:12 And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.
Gen 33:13 And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.
Gen 33:14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

As we have been discussing thus far, we want to get along with the world and our carnal mind to make things easy for us but we still are confident in our own selves.

Jacob mentions that the flocks are young and the children are tender to Esau to let Esau know he wants to move at his own pace. Still, Jacob certainly wants to find favor in Esau’s eyes without actually having Esau being able to “hold something over Jacob.”

We know the Lord has worked this all out for the benefit of Jacob and his family because Esau returns to Seir, but Jacob stays behind a bit. Seir is in the land of “Edom” and is south of the Dead Sea.

Jacob is now heading south from judgment which is represented by being north and heading down or away from his current position.

Jacob is heading towards what is more pleasing to his flesh, the land of Edom and Edom is south of the Dead Sea.

In other words, Jacob is heading in away from God in his thinking and understanding but of course this is all according to what the Lord has willed in Jacob’s like while he first starts off in this mindset

This is what we all initially do and we can see this represented in the “youngness” attributes of all that is with Jacob at this time.

Gen 33:15 And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.
Gen 33:16 So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

In other translations we see it said like this:

Gen 33:14 Please go on ahead of me, and I will follow slowly, going as fast as I can with the livestock and the children until I catch up with you in Edom.”
Gen 33:15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” But Jacob answered, “There is no need for that for I only want to gain your favor.”

As is the same pattern that we see being measured in Zechariah earlier, the Lord creates in us all the same walk with him as he first starts working with us.

The old man in us, typified by Esau, wants us to go away from the work of the Lord and to serve our own selves.

However, just like Jacob and later seen in Israel coming out of Egypt, the Lord has provided us a place to start to build up our house.

Gen 33:17 And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

The very first place that Israel comes to after leaving Egypt is the same place we find Jacob coming to when he builds a house for himself.

Exo 12:36 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
Exo 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.

Just as Israel the people were given to later spoil the Egyptians and go on into safety from their bondage and pursuit, we see this same pattern happen for Jacob.

Gen 33:18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
Gen 33:19 And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.
Gen 33:20 And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe- Israel.

When the Lord is working to guide and direct us to the new man in Christ, we too will be giving a place of safety, a place of peace, like Shalem.

When the Lord fights for us, we too will see that our enemies (though we are not aware that they are enemies at times, especially in our early walk as babes in Christ) are made to dwell in peace with us.

It is at the hand of the children of Hamor that we are able to buy a parcel of field to erect an altar to the “mighty God of Israel”.