I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps. I am unworthyThe Hebrew word here is "קָטֹנְתִּי" (qatonti), which conveys a sense of being small or insignificant. Jacob's acknowledgment of his unworthiness is a profound moment of humility. In the context of his life, Jacob had experienced God's favor despite his earlier deceitful actions. This phrase reflects a heart that recognizes its own limitations and the grace that has been extended to it. It is a reminder for believers to approach God with humility, acknowledging that all blessings are unmerited gifts from Him. of all the kindness
The Hebrew word for "kindness" is "חֶסֶד" (chesed), a term rich with meaning, often translated as loving-kindness, mercy, or steadfast love. It signifies God's covenantal love and faithfulness. Jacob is reflecting on the steadfast love that God has shown him throughout his journey. This word is central to understanding God's character in the Old Testament, emphasizing His loyalty and compassion towards His people. and faithfulness
The Hebrew word "אֱמֶת" (emet) means truth or faithfulness. It underscores God's reliability and trustworthiness. Jacob acknowledges that God's promises have been fulfilled in his life, reinforcing the idea that God is true to His word. This faithfulness is a cornerstone of the believer's trust in God, knowing that He is consistent and dependable. You have shown Your servant
The phrase "Your servant" indicates Jacob's recognition of his position before God. The term "servant" (עֶבֶד, eved) is used to denote humility and submission. Jacob sees himself as a servant of God, acknowledging God's authority and his own role in God's plan. This perspective is crucial for believers, as it aligns with the biblical teaching of servanthood and submission to God's will. Indeed, I crossed this Jordan with my staff
The mention of "this Jordan" and "my staff" highlights Jacob's humble beginnings. The Jordan River is a significant geographical marker in the Bible, often symbolizing transition and change. Jacob's reference to crossing it with only his staff underscores the simplicity and vulnerability of his initial journey. It serves as a reminder of God's provision and protection, transforming a solitary traveler into a prosperous leader of a large family. and now I have become two camps
The transformation from a single individual with a staff to "two camps" (מַחֲנוֹת, machanot) signifies God's abundant blessing and fulfillment of His promises. The term "camps" refers to the large family and wealth Jacob has acquired, illustrating God's faithfulness in multiplying his descendants as promised to Abraham. This phrase encapsulates the theme of divine blessing and growth, encouraging believers to trust in God's ability to provide and expand their influence for His purposes. Persons / Places / Events 1. JacobThe central figure in this passage, Jacob is returning to his homeland after years of living with his uncle Laban. He is preparing to meet his brother Esau, whom he fears due to their past conflict. 2. Jordan RiverA significant geographical landmark in the Bible, the Jordan River is where Jacob crossed with only his staff, symbolizing his humble beginnings and reliance on God. 3. Two CampsRefers to Jacob's division of his family and possessions into two groups as a strategic measure to protect them from potential harm by Esau. Teaching Points Humility Before GodJacob's acknowledgment of his unworthiness teaches us the importance of approaching God with humility, recognizing that all blessings come from His grace. Gratitude for God's FaithfulnessJacob's reflection on his journey from having nothing to becoming two camps encourages us to be grateful for God's faithfulness and provision in our lives. Trust in God's PromisesDespite his fears, Jacob's reliance on God's promises reminds us to trust in God's faithfulness, even when facing uncertain or challenging situations. Preparation and PrudenceJacob's strategic division of his family into two camps demonstrates the importance of being prudent and prepared while trusting in God's protection. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Jacob's acknowledgment of his unworthiness before God challenge us to reflect on our own attitudes towards God's blessings in our lives? 2. In what ways can we see God's faithfulness in our personal journeys, similar to Jacob's transformation from having only a staff to becoming two camps? 3. How can we apply the principle of humility before God in our daily prayers and interactions with others? 4. What are some practical steps we can take to prepare for challenges in life while maintaining trust in God's promises? 5. How does the account of Jacob's return to his homeland and his preparation to meet Esau inspire us to reconcile with others and seek peace in our relationships? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 28:15This verse connects to God's promise to Jacob at Bethel, where God assured him of His presence and protection, which Jacob acknowledges in Genesis 32:10. Psalm 103:10This verse speaks of God's mercy and grace, similar to Jacob's acknowledgment of God's kindness and faithfulness despite his unworthiness. Luke 15:21The prodigal son's confession of unworthiness parallels Jacob's humility and recognition of God's grace. People Esau, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Laban, Penuel, SeirPlaces Edom, Jabbok River, Jordan River, Mahanaim, Mizpah, Peniel, Penuel, SeirTopics Across, Acts, Armies, Bands, Camps, Companies, Comparison, Crossed, Faith, Faithfulness, Groups, Hast, Jordan, Kind, Kindness, Kindnesses, Least, Less, Love, Loving, Lovingkindness, Loving-kindness, Lovingkindnesses, Mercies, Nothing, Passed, Servant, Shewn, Showed, Shown, Staff, Steadfast, Stick, Troops, Truth, Unworthy, WorthyDictionary of Bible Themes Genesis 32:10 4019 life, believers' experience
4512 staff
7160 servants of the Lord
8276 humility
8291 kindness Genesis 32:3-21 5922 prudence Genesis 32:7-11 5567 suffering, emotional Genesis 32:9-10 4260 rivers and streams
6667 grace, in OT Genesis 32:9-12 4360 sand
8610 prayer, asking God Library Mahanaim: the Two Camps
And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim' (i.e. Two camps).--GENESIS xxxii. 1, 2. This vision came at a crisis in Jacob's life. He has just left the house of Laban, his father-in-law, where he had lived for many years, and in company with a long caravan, consisting of wives, children, servants, and all his wealth turned into cattle, is journeying back again to Palestine. His road …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Twofold Wrestle --God's with Jacob and Jacob's with God
'And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast shewed unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture "And He Said, Let Me Go, for the Day Breaketh. " --Genesis xxxii. 26
"And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh."--Genesis xxxii. 26. Let me go, the day is breaking, Dear companions, let me go; We have spent a night of waking In the wilderness below; Upward now I bend my way, Part we here at break of day. Let me go, I may not tarry, Wrestling thus with doubts and fears, Angels wait my soul to carry, Where my risen Lord appears; Friends and kindred, weep not so, If you love me let me go. We have travell'd long together, Hand in hand, and heart in heart, Both …
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns Of the Name of God
Exod. iii. 13, 14.--"And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." We are now about this question, What God is. But who can answer it? Or, if answered, who can understand it? It should astonish us in …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Jacob-Wrestling
"Lord, teach us to pray."--Luke xi. 1. "Jacob called the name of the place Peniel."--Gen. xxxii. 30. ALL the time that Jacob was in Padan-aram we search in vain for prayer, for praise. or for piety of any kind in Jacob's life. We read of his marriage, and of his great prosperity, till the land could no longer hold him. But that is all. It is not said in so many words indeed that Jacob absolutely denied and forsook the God of his fathers: it is not said that he worshipped idols in Padan-aram: that …
Alexander Whyte—Lord Teach Us To Pray The Great Shepherd
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. I t is not easy for those, whose habits of life are insensibly formed by the customs of modern times, to conceive any adequate idea of the pastoral life, as obtained in the eastern countries, before that simplicity of manners, which characterized the early ages, was corrupted, by the artificial and false refinements of luxury. Wealth, in those …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Pleading
We shall consider our text, then, as one of the productions of a great master in spiritual matters, and we will study it, praying all the while that God will help us to pray after the like fashion. In our text we have the soul of a successful pleader under four aspects: we view, first, the soul confessing: "I am poor and needy." You have next, the soul pleading, for he makes a plea out of his poor condition, and adds, "Make haste unto me, O God!" You see, thirdly, a soul in it's urgency, for he cries, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871 Explanatory and Biographical
INTRODUCTION TO [202]BOOK I English lyrical religious poetry is less easily divisible than our secular verse into well-marked periods, whether in regard to matter or to manner. Throughout its long course it has in great measure the groundwork of a common Book, a common Faith, and a common Purpose. And although incidents from human life and aspects of nature are not excluded (and have in this selection, when possible, been specially gathered, with the view of varying the garland here presented)--yet …
Francis Turner Palgrave—The Treasury of Sacred Song The Worst Things Work for Good to the Godly
DO not mistake me, I do not say that of their own nature the worst things are good, for they are a fruit of the curse; but though they are naturally evil, yet the wise overruling hand of God disposing and sanctifying them, they are morally good. As the elements, though of contrary qualities, yet God has so tempered them, that they all work in a harmonious manner for the good of the universe. Or as in a watch, the wheels seem to move contrary one to another, but all carry on the motions of the watch: …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial The Angel of the Lord in the Pentateuch, and the Book of Joshua.
The New Testament distinguishes between the hidden God and the revealed God--the Son or Logos--who is connected with the former by oneness of nature, and who from everlasting, and even at the creation itself, filled up the immeasurable distance between the Creator and the creation;--who has been the Mediator in all God's relations to the world;--who at all times, and even before He became man in Christ, has been the light of [Pg 116] the world,--and to whom, specially, was committed the direction …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Meditations for the Morning.
1. Almighty God can, in the resurrection, as easily raise up thy body out of the grave, from the sleep of death, as he hath this morning wakened thee in thy bed, out of the sleep of nature. At the dawning of which resurrection day, Christ shall come to be glorified in his saints; and every one of the bodies of the thousands of his saints, being fashioned like unto his glorious body, shall shine as bright as the sun (2 Thess. i. 10; Jude, ver. 14; Phil. iii. 21; Luke ix. 31;) all the angels shining …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety St. Malachy's Apostolic Labours, Praises and Miracles.
[Sidenote: 1140, October] 42. (23). Malachy embarked in a ship, and after a prosperous voyage landed at his monastery of Bangor,[576] so that his first sons might receive the first benefit.[577] In what state of mind do you suppose they were when they received their father--and such a father--in good health from so long a journey? No wonder if their whole heart gave itself over to joy at his return, when swift rumour soon brought incredible gladness even to the tribes[578] outside round about them. …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh A Treatise of the Fear of God;
SHOWING WHAT IT IS, AND HOW DISTINGUISHED FROM THAT WHICH IS NOT SO. ALSO, WHENCE IT COMES; WHO HAS IT; WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS; AND WHAT THE PRIVILEGES OF THOSE THAT HAVE IT IN THEIR HEARTS. London: Printed for N. Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, over against the Stocks market: 1679. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "a fountain of life"--the foundation on which all wisdom rests, as well as the source from whence it emanates. Upon a principle …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Fragrant Spices from the Mountains of Myrrh. "Thou Art all Fair, My Love; There is no Spot in Thee. " --Song of Solomon iv. 7.
FRAGRANT SPICES FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF MYRRH. HOW marvellous are these words! "Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee." The glorious Bridegroom is charmed with His spouse, and sings soft canticles of admiration. When the bride extols her Lord there is no wonder, for He deserves it well, and in Him there is room for praise without possibility of flattery. But does He who is wiser than Solomon condescend to praise this sunburnt Shulamite? Tis even so, for these are His own words, and were …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come A Believer's Privilege at Death
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Phil 1:1I. Hope is a Christian's anchor, which he casts within the veil. Rejoicing in hope.' Rom 12:12. A Christian's hope is not in this life, but he hash hope in his death.' Prov 14:42. The best of a saint's comfort begins when his life ends; but the wicked have all their heaven here. Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.' Luke 6:64. You may make your acquittance, and write Received in full payment.' Son, remember that …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Genesis 32:10 NIVGenesis 32:10 NLTGenesis 32:10 ESVGenesis 32:10 NASBGenesis 32:10 KJV
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