(a) As to the circumstances of the present case:—The covenant of God with Jacob is very definite. Jacob understands and manifestly pleads it, as we see in this chapter. These are his words as recorded: “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac”—the Lord [the Jehovah, signifying the faithful God of his people] “who saidst to 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 thy mercies and of all thy truth which thou hast showed 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 mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea which can not be numbered for multitude.”——It should be noted that the promise in this covenant precisely meets Jacob’s present emergency—“Return and I will deal well with thee: thou saidst, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea.” These points fully covered his present danger. Jacob doubtless had in mind the very explicit terms of this covenant as announced to him at Bethel: “I am with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest and will bring thee again to this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” There is therefore no room for mistake on this point. The Lord’s promise to Jacob is explicit, and in its terms guarantees perfect protection in his present peril. Why, then, it will be asked, was this night-long struggle?
We may find some light toward the answer if we remember that every promise of God to man must in the nature of the case imply certain conditions; and the promise in this covenant equally with all other promises. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” “Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss.”——As bearing on this very covenant let us recall the ground of the Lord’s confidence that he shouldbe able to fulfill his words to Abraham: “I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”——Now it will be in point to consider that these scenes of danger from Esau’s rage inevitably brought up between the Lord and Jacob the question whether the deception practiced upon Isaac to transfer to Jacob the blessing which legitimately fell to Esau could be passed over by the Lord without rebuke. Was it proper that the Lord should endorse it with no rebuke whatever? If he were ever to bear his protest against it, the present was the time.——Yet further, the fact had but recently come to Jacob’s knowledge that his favorite Rachel had stolen her father’s gods and taken them with her as she left the family home. Had Jacob been faithful to the God of his fathers in teaching and impressing the worship of the one true God and in protesting solemnly against idol-worship? And had he been firm and outspoken against such theft and deception as that of his beloved Rachel? Must not things of this sort be inquired into and definitely settled before the Lord could interpose with such manifest deliverance as would virtually endorse Jacob as right before God?——It ought not to escape our notice that while the narrative in the preceding chapter (31) recites the misconduct of Rachel and shows that Jacob then for the first time became aware of the extent of her idolatry, theft, and deception, so a subsequent narrative (35: 1–4) apprises us in a very significant way that both the Lord and Jacob remembered this wonderful night of struggle, and that some of the matters then in issue were set right. “God said to Jacob—Arise, go up to Bethel [that place of so many hallowed associations] and dwell there and make there an altar unto God who appeared to thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said to his household and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments, and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make there an altar unto God who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.” Yes, “he who answered me in that day of my distress,” before whom this whole matter wasreviewed and debated through that long, fearful night—who called me to account in that dread emergency and pointed out my sins and put my soul to most humble confession of past short-comings and to most solemn vows of future service;—let us amend our ways and our doings before the eye of this holy God who mercifully spared us in that fearful hour. These circumstances throw light upon this remarkable scene of prayer.
(b.) We may also call to mind the principles of God’s spiritual administration over his people in respect to answering their prayer.
Here it is safe to say that God never delays to answer prayer without some good reason. He could not delay from mere caprice.——On the other hand he may delay the blessing sought, for the purpose of holding it before the suppliant’s mind till he shall better appreciate its worth, and his own dependence on God alone for it, and that he may accept it more gratefully and prize it more adequately when it comes. The reasons for delay may often lie in this direction; but in the present case of Jacob we must look elsewhere, since in his fearful emergency this particular reason is scarcely supposable. His case was so urgent and involved interests so dear and so near to his very soul that his mind could scarce need to be sharpened to more intense desire or impressed with a deeper sense of dependence.
Again, God often holds the suppliant in suspense for the sake of throwing him upon self-examination. It may be simply indispensable both for the good of the suppliant and for the honor of God that he should be put to the deepest self-searching, to compel reflection and consideration for the purpose of convicting him of some sin that must needs be seen, confessed, repented of and put utterly away. We must not overlook the great fact that when God grants signal blessings in answer to any man’s prayer, it will be taken as a tacit indorsement on God’s part of this man’s spiritual state. It will be considered as God’s testimony that he is not “regarding iniquity in his heart”—that there are no iniquities palpable to the world and present to the man’s own consciousness—indulged and not condemned and forsaken. On this principle it often happens that God must needs compel the praying soul to the mostthorough heart-searching and to the most absolute and complete renunciation of known sin, before he can honorably and safely bestow signal blessings.
If now we place this obvious principle of God’s spiritual administration alongside of the well-known facts of Jacob’s history, we shall readily see reasons, apparently all-sufficient, for this long delay and this remarkable struggle of prayer before the blessing was given. The Lord was searching his servant and impressing some great principles of practical duty upon his mind under circumstances well adapted to insure very thorough reformation.
When Jacob at length prevailed and the Lord blessed him there, the crisis was past, and the danger really over. It was only for the Lord to put forth his finger and touch the heart of Esau:—then the revenge and murderous rage of the Esau that was, gave place to fraternal kindness and sympathy. We read, “Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him; and they wept” (Gen. 33: 4). The result therefore was far more and better than a mere escape with life from Esau’s murderous purpose. It was the reconciliation of long alienated brothers. At least it secured one precious scene of fraternal sympathy and love.——We read little of Esau’s subsequent life. The brothers met at the death-bed and grave of their father (Gen. 35: 29); perhaps their paths never came in contact again.
The scenes of Mahanaim have afforded to the godly of all future ages some new light on the great subject of prayer. This was the first strong decisive case on record of prevalence in prayer. Abraham interceded long for Sodom; but with no further result than to show that God was very condescending to hear such prayer, yet that the thing asked could not be granted.——Here is a case of positive victory—a real prevailing with God, reached, however, only after a most remarkable struggle. It is a great advance in the revealed science of prayer to have a case so illustrative as this of the great laws of prevailing prayer.
Jacob and Joseph.