3. Jacob’s transformation (32:1-32)

The theophanies of chs. 28 and 32 are of historical interest for the nation. They explain why Bethel is an important religious shrine and how the nation got its name, Israel. However, the position of this theophany is particularly interesting. It is sandwiched between Jacob’s preparations for encountering Esau (32:3-21) and the actual meeting itself (33:1-17). Evidently, the unexpected meeting with the night stranger (32:22-32) provides insight into the meeting with Esau. The perceived enemy seems not so much to be the brother as it is the stranger with whom Jacob must struggle. He must first be reconciled with the divine visitant before he can seek reconciliation with Esau.

Jacob’s primary concern is with the brother he has previously wronged (27:1-41). So he does everything conceivable to ensure a peaceful reunion. He first sends messengers to announce his arrival and to begin possible negotiation for safe passage (32:3-5). Esau’s only response to the messengers is an ominous approach with four hundred men. Jacob, seized with fear, plans ways to minimize his losses in battle (32:7-8; 33:1-3). He prays (32:9-12). In the prayer Jacob reminds God of the promises God made earlier (28:13-15) and appeals to his faithfulness (32-10), which the patriarch has already experienced in the Laban crisis. He asserts that the idea to return home was God’s (v.9). Recognizing that he deserves no special favors, he nevertheless pleads for mercy. Jacob is here placing his hope in God to deliver him. It is in that state of despair that God will once more demonstrate his grace to Jacob. God will stand again as guarantor of the promise.

On the day before the encounter, as an act of appeasement, Jacob sends generous presents ahead for Esau (32:13-21). Later he will show extreme deference to his brother as they approach one another (33-3). It is in the context of this impending meeting with Esau that the enigmatic encounter with the stranger occurs. This One, not Esau, is the real challenge before him. The most plausible identity of the stranger is God himself, and the canonical placement of the passage suggests that Jacob has to reckon with God, not Esau. That is the a priori relationship with which he must deal.

This conflict brings to a head Jacob’s lifetime of conflict (with Esau, Isaac, Laban, Leah, and Rachel). Can it be, perhaps, that all these conflicts really represented manifestations of this one? All this time can Jacob have been struggling against God? Finally, Jacob is to become a conqueror in a profoundly spiritual sense. He finds victory in spiritual surrender. Such surrender always involves a struggle. In this case it lasts all night (32-24), and it comes amid weeping and prayer (Hos 12:4). Jacob craves a blessing no matter what it costs him—and there is a cost. The patriarch sustains physical injury and limps away from the experience. However, the blessing that the struggle brings is presented in Jacob’s name and, by implication, transformed character. Jacob is forced to confess his old character by divulging his old name, “supplanter.” He becomes Israel, which may mean “God rules” (after von Rad). The father of the tribes of Israel prevails by submitting himself to God. That is the only kind of victory man has with God. When day breaks, the stranger is gone. Jacob is gone. Only Israel is left. The transformation of the patriarch is complete. He is ready to meet Esau. Peniel will forever serve to remind us of a God who transforms the lives of men and women.