Towards the end of his life Jacob spoke about his experience of the Angel of the Lord: “The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil” (Gen. 48:15-16). Of special significance in his spiritual journey were his encounters with the Angel of the Lord at Bethel and Peniel.
Prior to Bethel, Jacob lived for more than seventy years in his father’s home in Canaan, a natural man who did not have a personal relationship with God. But he met the Lord at Bethel and determined that He would be his God. Between Bethel and Peniel, he spent twenty years in the employment of his uncle in Padan Aram, where he might be described as a carnal man who continued to be driven by his own desires and act independently of God.
But he met the Lord at Peniel and held onto Him. After Peniel, in his final fifty or so years in Canaan and in Egypt, he emerged as a spiritual man who increasingly had the mind of God and was submissive to His will.
Jacob at Bethel (House of God): Gen. 28:10-22
He saw a vision: Gen. 28:12
He had a dream and saw a ladder which extended all the way from where he was to where God was, and the angels of God ascended and descended that ladder. God was not remote and distant, but desired to have a relationship with Jacob. Moreover, the messengers of God were active on his behalf and divine help and blessing were offered to him.
The Lord Jesus gave new meaning to this when He told Nathanael that he would “see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (Jn. 1:51). In other words, the Lord Jesus is the One who links us with heaven, and with God, and the One through whom the blessings of God are communicated to us. He reaches up to God because He is eternal God and could say, “I came forth from the Father”; and He reaches down to us because He became flesh and could say, “I…have come into the world” (Jn. 16:28).
He heard a voice: Genesis 28:13-15
“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac” (Gen. 28:13). He was not yet the God of Jacob and, at this point in his experience, Jacob would have acknowledged this. But the God of his fathers was reaching out to him, declaring His interest in him and His desire to bless him. The covenant relating to the land and the seed which God had entered into with Abraham (Gen. 13:15-16, etc.) and which He had renewed with Isaac (26:3-4) was to be fulfilled through Jacob (28:13-14). What a challenge and an encouragement this must have been! He was lonely as he left his father’s house, but God said, “I am with you.” He was afraid of the unknown and of Esau, but God said, “I…will keep you wherever you go.” Perhaps he wondered if he would ever return to Canaan, but God said, “I…will bring you back to this land.” He seemed to be alone and the future was uncertain, but God said, “I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you of” (Gen. 28:15).
He made a vow: Genesis 28:16-22
The immediate result of this experience was that Jacob recognized that God was there. Consciousness of the divine presence produced fear, as well it might because it is an awesome thing to have dealings with God, given our sinfulness and the absolute holiness of His person. It also caused him to name the place “the house of God” and to vow, “If God will be with me, and keep me… and give me…so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God” (Gen. 28:20-22). The “If…then…” language might suggest that Jacob, true to his nature, was attempting to strike a deal. I prefer to see it not as an attempt to negotiate with God but as a declaration of his commitment to God, the proof of which is seen in his promise to give a tenth to God.
God had identified Himself as the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac (Gen. 28:13), but Jacob now affirms that He is to be his God. So it proved, because it pleased God thereafter to describe Himself as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3:6, etc.).
Jacob at Peniel (The Face of God): Gen. 32:24-32
What God wants: Genesis 32:24
Jacob had another encounter with the Angel of the Lord, beside the brook Jabbok where “a Man wrestled with him.” It was not in the first instance a case of Jacob seeking something from God; it was God who took the initiative and sought something from Jacob. It illustrates what had been going on throughout his life. God had wrestled with him with a view to his submitting, but always Jacob had resisted in his own strength. God had promised that the birthright would be his, but Jacob sought to secure it for himself by bargaining with his brother and deceiving his father.
Afterwards, in Padan Aram, God dealt with Jacob in patience, wisdom and love, seeking to impress on him the folly of his selfishness and self-sufficiency, but Jacob continued to do things in his own strength. For example, immediately before the incident at Peniel, God assured Jacob of His presence and Jacob prayed for deliverance from Esau (Gen. 32:1-12). But then he resorted to his own devices, preparing a contingency plan. All the way, God was wrestling and Jacob was resisting.
So it may be in our experience. “The Holy Spirit who dwells in us yearns earnestly.” God wrestles with us, striving for our affections and our submission so that we should be free from other attachments, from pride, and from self-reliance.
How God works: Genesis 32:25-27
It is as though God knew that there was to be no voluntary submission on Jacob’s part, so He touched his thigh with the result that he could only hold on in helplessness. He clung, recognizing his need and the blessing that there is in God. He confessed that he was “Jacob,” a supplanter, a deceiver, crooked, devious, and selfish.
This is the way it has to be in our dealings with God if we are to experience His blessing. We must confess what we are, acknowledging our sin and our need. We must cling to the One who can meet our need and trust only in Him. “‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore, submit to God…draw near to God and He will draw near to you…humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up” (Jas. 4:6-10).
When God wins: Genesis 32:28-29
He received a new name—no longer “Jacob” but “Israel,” “a prince with God”; he received new power with God and with men; and God blessed him. It is ironic that all along Jacob had resisted God, assuming that he had to look after his own interests and do things in his own strength. God’s desire for our lives is consistent with our best interests. He wants us to submit to Him in dependence and obedience. It is for our good because He wants to bless us.
At Bethel, the sun set (Gen. 28:11). What followed was one dark night in Jacob’s experience. But at Peniel “the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip” (Gen. 32:31). He never recovered from Peniel but carried with him the marks of that experience, a constant reminder of his weakness and of his need to rely on God. He was a changed man, not that he was free from sin, from trouble or from God’s discipline. God had begun a good work in him and continued to do it. As a result, that Jacob experienced bereavement and sorrow as trial succeeded trial. Yet the work of God in his soul became increasingly evident in his patience and faith, wisdom and godliness.
God had begun a good work in him and continued to do it, with the result that… the work of God in his soul became increasingly evident.