B'reshith/Genesis
CHAPTER 32
32:3. Then Yaaqov sent [yishlakh] messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region of Edom.
As he returns to the Land according to YHWH’s directive, what is foremost on his mind is dealing with Esau. Though he had been able to put his fears of Esau out of his mind for twenty years (unless he had stayed the last six years in order to put off this inevitable confrontation), he now knew he had to again face Esau, from whom he had run for his life. (27:41ff) Esau was not as crafty as Yaaqov, but in the past twenty years he had become powerful enough to have his own nation. Yet the word for “region” here is the same word as “field” in 25:27. So Esau is still a “man of the field”, which Yahshua says represents the world. (Mat. 13:38) Here, being a “man of the world” refers not to the beneficial things out in the world, but to someone whose priorities only have to do with things that do not last—fame or temporary wealth. He has no spiritual pursuits, but only seeks what makes him feel better. On his path of return, Yaaqov has to deal with how he will face the people of the world, and we can learn from how he goes about it.
4. And he gave them orders, saying, "You shall say to my master—to Esau—'This is what your servant Yaaqov says: “I have lived with Lavan as an outsider, and remained there until now.
The rabbis consider Edom (Esau) to be figurative of the Roman Catholic Church. Lavan is similar to Esau. They have much in common. Both are about their possessions, but with different “flavors”. For Lavan, it is about the gold; for Esau, the hunt. Both have been jealous of and competing with Yaaqov. Lavan used Yaaqov, and the relationship with him was broken, but with Esau, there is still some sense of brotherhood remaining. So did he leave the Church only to come back and face the Church? In a way, yes. But he had been brought into Lavan’s house (29:13), so Lavan represents Christianity as an institution, where many are also detained. Esau, on the other hand, is always defined in individual terms: “a man (singular) of the field”, not a “house” as such. So he represents the individuals who are part of Christianity, who are motivated by “What’s in it for me?” Like Esau, they marry themselves to foreign things that displease the fathers of Israel, considering themselves heirs to the covenant but not placing any value on it, except as it benefits him. Lavan was Yaaqov’s provider to some degree, though he proved an enemy, much as the church that nurtured us to a point then wanted to withhold our further growth so we would always be indebted to it. But now he is presenting this to Esau as his credentials. Living with Lavan had prepared him to know how to deal with Esau. This is a veiled threat: “You have heard what Lavan is like. If I could not only survive but thrive under him and come out richer, I can probably handle you too.” The message he sent, as we will see, is couched in kind words, but is two-edged. He does not play haphazardly with anything. His every move is carefully thought out, and he chooses his words well. He gives his messengers what in Hebrew is a military or strategic order, because he knows that war is a possibility. He wants peace, but understands he must shake Esau off his high horse with psychological warfare, by putting some fear in him, or he will probably just come out and kill Yaaqov. By sending messengers (probably the biggest, smartest, and most eloquent of his servants), he sent the message to Esau, “I am not so easy to kill now, because I have allies.” Esau might think twice before he tries to attack him. All the way back at creation, the first thing YHWH ever said was not right was for a man to be alone. (2:18) And it is still true. We need community, fellowship, and helpers. We have to be with others to be able to love our neighbor as ourselves. Like Yaaqov, we have left the house of Lavan, and are returning to the Land of our fathers and the dwelling place of YHWH. We have reclaimed our birthright and become people of tents, who study and tend to flocks (one another). When we left the Church, most of us did so alone, out of necessity, simply to be faithful to the truth. But now there are people like us all over the world who are coming to the same conclusions because when they read Scripture they cannot escape the obvious. We are no longer alone. Yet he calls Esau “master” because, though he knows he does not want to do things Esau’s way anywhere else, he is going into the place where Esau is in charge, and does not want his messengers to have the wrong attitude—one which might come back and bite them. We are not out to impress the church; in fact, we must be patient with them if they want to learn, for we have been where they are now. But once they stop ignoring us, we will have to face them and send the same message Yaaqov did, probably sooner than we think.
5. "'”Yet now my condition is such that I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female slaves. And I have sent word to tell my master this, in order to find favor in your sight.”'"
He thought Esau would respect him more if he mentioned his possessions, since Esau was the kind of man that places the highest value on someone who has the ability to accrue wealth. Yet he is also making it clear to Esau that he is not out to get anything more from him. There was no need for compromise, because he did not need anything more that Esau had; in fact, he would give Esau some of what he had. YHWH made him wealthy, but, unlike Esau, this did not motivate him, and he was certainly not going to serve anyone else again in order to gain wealth. Lavan had been selfish to the core, ready even to sell his sister to gain wealth. This may also be a warning that though their slick uncle’s motives were worse than Esau’s, Yaaqov had still come away in better condition than he, so he would do well to avoid oppressing Yaaqov in any way that resembled what Lavan had done. He is subtly yet respectfully saying, “I know how to deal with people like you; I haven’t lost my touch.” Favor: He is not pretending that he wants to be close to Esau, but simply wants no more trouble from him, so he essentially bribes him so that he will just leave him alone.
6. But when the messengers returned to Yaaqov, they said, "We managed to reach your brother, and he is coming to meet you—but 400 men are with him!"
The Hebrew word for “spill” (as in blood) has the value of 400. So when Yaaqov, a man of studies, heard about his elder brother coming with 400 men, what else could he expect but that he wanted to kill him?
7. Then Yaaqov was afraid; indeed, he was greatly distressed. So he divided the people who were with him—as well as the flocks, herds, and camels—into two companies.
Fear can be beneficial if we respond to it properly. Sometimes it keeps us out of life-threatening situations. Yaaqov did not curl up in a ball and cry; he prepared for what this encounter might mean. "Two companies": from the same root as Machanayim (the "double camp" in v. 2). It has a military nuance to it in Hebrew as in English. It might be war and it might be peace, so he had one camp for each. When fearful, he found his balance. Some were on the right and some on the left:
8. And he said, "If Esau comes upon the one company and attacks it, then [at least] the company that is left will escape."
He did not sell himself to either side, but like the word “to spill (blood)”, the Hebrew phrase “for shalom” also has the value of 400. So it could be either. Who really wants war? Only those who can send someone else to do the fighting in their stead. Yaaqov did not know whether it would be an army or a welcoming party. Esau probably did not yet even know for sure which way he would approach Yaaqov. So Yaaqov prepared for either eventuality, amd once one’s heart is ready for both, it is easiwer to breathe. Some people will fight to keep their Sunday worship, forcing proof texts out of Scriptures that really mean something else, but others will see the beauty of the Sabbath—that it is really a privilege that they actually HAVE to stop working for a whole day!
9. Then Yaaqov said, "O Elohim of my ancestor Avraham, and Elohim of my father Yitzhaq, O YHWH, You are the One who said to me, 'Go back to your land and your relatives, and I will deal well with you'.
Yaaqov recognizes the faith of his fathers. Avraham was told to leave his land, what was familiar, and those to whom he was born, but it sounds like Yaaqov is being told the exact opposite. Yet Avraham also left the place Yaaqov was returning from, to get into the proper context, and Yaaqov was returning to the proper context—the father who had never left the Land YHWH had made part of the covenant. So he had to go back into what was familiar in order to be in the proper context of being Israel. So Yaaqov is saying, “Avraham, who left his home, and Yitzhaq, who never left the homeland, belonged to You, and I, who have both left and returned, am also Yours. I will carry on the covenant.” We are also leaving what we were born into, because we have been reminded that we have a greater context, a larger role to fill—that of continuance of the promise made to our more ancient forefathers. If you belong to Yahshua, you have to be one of the lost sheep of the House of Israel. (Mat. 15:24) And if you are, you have the Torah to keep—and that is a blessing, not a curse, as you have long been told.
10. "I am not worthy of any of the mercies and faithfulness that you have shown to Your servant, for I crossed over this Yarden with [only] my walking-stick, and now I have become two camps!
11. "Now deliver me, I beg You, from the hand of my brother—from the hand of Esau—because I am afraid he might come and attack me, mother and children [included]!
12. "You also said, 'I will certainly deal well with you, and I will make your descendants like the sand of the sea which is too much to count—because they are so many!'"
This is one of the few places in the Torah that someone’s prayer is quoted verbatim. Yaaqov reminds YHWH of His own words, not because YHWH needs to be reminded, but because He wants to be. He is not trying to manipulate YHWH by repeating His words back to Him. Moshe did this all the time. Like any parent, He wants to know that we remember what He has told us. It pleases Him to know that someone is actually listening! Why should He do what we don’t even remember He said? And he only asks for what he has already done all he can to bring about. He does not ask YHWH to do by magic the part he himself could do. Yet when we put in the effort, He often does multiply it. We can say it, too: “You said You would regather the scattered tribes of Israel; would You please gather them?” Yaaqov shows that he has remembered YHWH’s words for twenty years, nor has he taken it out of context. Yet YHWH had not told Yaaqov that his descendants would be like the sand of the sea, but only mentioned the dust of the earth. (28:14) Is he trying to “pull a fast one” again when he says, “You said…”? No, Yaaqov knew that the two went together in YHWH’s promise to Avraham (13:14-16; 22:16), and he has recognized that YHWH’s dealing with him is not about himself alone, but something much bigger. He has to do with the seed of Avraham and the Land that was promised to them. By claiming the fullness of the promise as his own, he is taking responsibility for the covenant of Avraham. And now it is our turn to take the same responsibility. We have never been uncountable until now, because no one counts the House of Yosef. But do not be afraid to say who you really are; others will respect you for it, and will have to deal with it like Esau did. Saying “I am Israel” rocks those around us and rocks us too. By seeing our lives in the Scriptures in this way, we can be sure of where we are headed.
13. And he remained there that night…
…
24. And Yaaqov was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the ascending of the dawn.
25. When he saw that he was not prevailing over him, he touched him on the socket of his hip, and Yaaqov's hip-socket was dislocated while he grappled with him.
26. Then he said, "Let go of me, because the morning has dawned.” But he said, "I will not let you go until you bless me!"
27. So He said to him, "What is your name?" And he said , "Yaaqov."
28. Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be Yaaqov, but Isra-El, because you have striven with both Elohim and men, and have prevailed.”
29. And Yaaqov inquired and said, "Now you divulge your name, please." But He said, "Why do you ask about My name?" Then He blessed him there.
30. And Yaaqov named the place P'ni-El ["Face of Elohim"], "because I saw Elohim face to face, and yet my life was spared."
31. And the sun rose upon him as he crossed over P'nu-El , but he was limping on account of his hip.
His walk (Hebraically, a metaphor for how one lives) was permanently altered. Once you come up against the truth, you have to weigh everything else in light of it. Nothing can ever be the same afterwards. He had a constant reminder that he was no longer an individual, but a people. There are still times we will wrestle also with those who think we are not really Israel, but the burden is on them to prove it. If we persevere in dealing with what we fear or are not sure about, the sun will rise on us, too, and though we will walk differently, we will keep walking and arrive at our Home. So send the message!
Commentary on
Parashat VaYishlakh
Messages
for Edom
