(This study is part of the Bible study Jacob And The Dance Of Two Camps that I recently added. Because of how significant it is, I thought it was important to add it as its own study.)
In Genesis 32:22-23, I believe we are given a clue of what is about to occur within Jacob’s heart right before he reunites with his older brother, Esau, that he hadn’t seen since he stole his blessing. It’s also a picture, in type, of what is occurring this very moment within the hearts of those numbered among the Israel of God made up of both Jew and Gentile followers (Galatians 6:16);
“That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons [the 12th, Benjamin (“son of the right hand”), was yet to be born] and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.”
(NIV)
The Hebrew for Jabbok (yab-boke') is defined as “pouring forth, emptying.” Jacob’s inner issue that had affected his entire past was about to be confronted in order for it to be emptied from his heart so as to have the favor of God when he met his brother face to face.
That night, while all alone, he wrestled with God, not letting him go until he received His blessing. Interestingly, he had received his earthly father’s blessing through deception, but he was about to discover that only through his surrender, fully trusting God, could he receive his Heavenly Father’s blessing.
In order to bring Jacob into submission to His will, the Lord caused a physical pain in his body while they struggled together. Remember, Jacob also struggled with his twin brother while in the womb (Genesis 25:22). It was through this confrontation between himself and God that would cause Jacob to be transformed from a “heel-catcher,” named for when he grabbed Esau’s heel at birth (i.e. supplanter), into a “God-catcher” that would not let go until He blessed him. In the final breaking of his fleshly stronghold, Jacob would be made ready to cross over and meet his elder brother.
Remember that earlier Jacob had deceived his father into giving him his brother’s blessing. It would be through a Divine encounter that the emptying of himself, of his continued practice of controlling and manipulating, would finally cause Jacob to realize that he needed to fully look to, and trust in the Lord to bring about His will, His way. The love of God cornered him into dealing with his inner issue of trusting in the strength of his flesh to bring about God’s promises rather than the Holy Spirit. As he would soon learn experientially, it is only in our being emptied that we are able to be filled with God, and safely cross over into His presence. Jesus is our example.
In his letter to the Christians in Philippi, Paul spoke of the attitude of Christ that they, and we, should have toward one another. He said;
“Do nothing from selfishness [2052- “self-seeking, factious, rivalry”] or empty conceit [2754- “empty glorying, empty pride”], but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form [3444- “shape; fig. nature; the external appearance”] of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped [see Genesis 3:5], but emptied [2758- “to make empty; to make void (i.e. deprive of force, render vain, useless, of no effect”] Himself, taking the form [3444] of a bond-servant [1401- “a slave, a servant, one who gives himself up wholly to another’s will”], and being made in the likeness of men.”
(Philippians 2:3-7/NASU)
Jesus, while being fully God, laid aside this Divine “form,” willfully choosing instead to take the lowly “form” of, not just man, but a bond-servant. The following article titled “What is a bondservant?” helps us to understand, biblically speaking, what this means;
“In some Bibles the word bondservant is the translation of the Greek word doulos, which means “one who is subservient to, and entirely at the disposal of, his master; a slave.” Other translations use the word slave or servant.
In Roman times, the term bondservant or slave could refer to someone who voluntarily served others. But it usually referred to one who was held in a permanent position of servitude. Under Roman law, a bondservant was considered the owner’s personal property. Slaves essentially had no rights and could even be killed with impunity by their owners.
The Hebrew word for “bondservant,” ‘ebed, had a similar connotation. However, the Mosaic Law allowed an indentured servant to become a bondservant voluntarily: “If the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life” (Exodus 21:5-6)…”
By not regarding “equality with God a thing to be grasped,” thereby emptying Himself of all selfishness and empty conceit as an example for us to follow as the bondservant of God, becoming obedient even to the point of death on a cross, Jesus was “highly exalted” by the Father who bestowed on Him the “name above all names” (Philippians 2:9-11). In order for us to be exalted with Him, this is the way for us to follow.
Satan, on the other hand, offers a different theology that, when accepted as truth, causes us to fall away from God, as what occurred at the beginning of mankind in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis, chapter three, he deceived Eve by appealing to her flesh, saying that it was possible to be like God, to attain “equality with God” (Genesis 3:1-7).
While describing the second coming of the Lord and our gathering together to Him, Paul speaks of this self-exalting attitude that will permeate the hearts of God’s people at that time in his second letter to the church in Thessalonica;
“Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs [like Esau’s] and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:1-4/NIV)
The “man of lawlessness” is not just the antichrist as the devil wants us to believe, but more significantly the Christian who, like Esau, after receiving Christ and His right of the firstborn among many brethren, thereby being given His “right to become children of God,” rebel against His lordship over them (John 1:11-13) and “find no place for repentance” even if sought with tears (Hebrews 12:17).
God In The Form Of A Man
It’s interesting to note that Genesis 32:24 says Jacob wrestled with “a man” until daybreak. Hosea 12:3-4 says;
“In the womb he grasped his brother's heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame [3201- “to prevail, to have power, to be able”] him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there.”
In his struggle with God, we are told that Jacob “wept and begged for his favor.” This is a major difference between the two brothers. The writer of Hebrews tells us God’s response to Esau when he wept and sought God for His favor;
“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.”
(Hebrews 12:15-17/NIV)
This is a New Testament warning to Christians that we dare not miss. Some will because of the deception in their minds regarding the truth about salvation. Esau sold his birthright concerning the inheritance that was his as the firstborn son. By taking it lightly, he would lose it with no chance to regain it. We too can lose our right to the inheritance in Christ through open rebellion without repentance. May the fear of the Lord keep us from the disaster of Esau.
The difference that I see between the two is that when Jacob was asked to do something by God, he did it, moving in the right direction. The problem, though, was that he had to learn to wait upon the Lord to bring His promises into being rather than himself through control and manipulation. He leaned the right way, but had to learn to fully submit to the right way. Esau, on the other hand, would not do what God said in open rebellion against His will. It would cost him dearly.
After their wrestling match, Jacob named the place Peniel (i.e. “the face of God”), saying, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” (Genesis 32:30) The following insight regarding Jacob’s encounter with God is from the article “What Does Israel Mean? Exploring This Important Biblical Name”;
“So just to clarify- Jacob wrestled God but in the form of a man… yet, like an angel, brought a message from God to change Jacob’s name and character. This man/God sounds familiar…
Secondly, we aren’t sure what exactly happened. The word used for “wrestled” is a bit of a mystery verb in biblical Hebrew. It only appears twice in the Bible, in verse 24 and 25. The root is connected to dust particles, which could mean rolling in the dust.
But when Hosea says Jacob wrestled an angel, he uses a different Hebrew word. In this case, it’s a word that means “to prevail” or “have power as a prince”.
So, one could say, Genesis 32:24-25 says, this Man/God came to Jacob to “get dirty”, roll around the dust with him. Then, He gives him a new name and character, as one of prevailing power and influence with God.
Do the actions of this Man/God sound familiar?”
The answer would obviously be, “Yes, His name is Jesus.”
The Final Infilling
John 2:1-11 – See the note below.
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; [see the Bible study The Third Day]
2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."
4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come."
5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."
6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification [see Hebrews 1:3], containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim [the “fullness” in Romans 11:25].
8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him.
9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom,
10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good [2570] wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."
11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
NASU
NT:2570 kalos (kal-os')
(Strong’s exhaustive Concordance)
of uncertain affinity; properly, beautiful, but chiefly (figuratively) good (literally or morally), i.e. valuable or virtuous (for appearance or use, and thus distinguished from NT:18, which is properly intrinsic):
KJV - better, fair, good (-ly), honest, meet, well, worthy.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
beautiful
a. beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent (Luke 21:5)
b. good, excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore well adapted to its ends: joined to the names of material objects, universally (1 Timothy 4:4)
c. beautiful by reason of purity of heart and life, and hence, praiseworthy; morally good, noble (Heb. 5:14)
d. honorable, conferring honor: marturia (1 Timothy 3:7)
e. affecting the mind agreeably, comforting and confirming (Hebrews 6:5)
Jesus first public miracle was at a wedding. The symbolism within this event is critical to understand. This is a picture of what is about to occur in our day, at the end of this age. Six is the number for man. It was the day in which we were created (Genesis 1:24-31). The six stone, empty waterpots used for the Jewish custom of purification represent those who will be emptied of self. Through their obedience to the final call to prepare themselves by faith, they’ll be made ready (i.e. purified) through the inner cleansing process of sanctification as vessels of honor for the Spirit to be poured into. Their inner wineskin will be made ready, and able, to contain the good/best/new wine of the Spirit at the end of this age. They will then pour out of themselves the “best wine saved for last” into those who answer the final call to repent and come to the wedding feast of the Lord. This is called “the fullness” by Paul in Romans 11:25. It’s our completion in Christ. A picture of our being gathered together in this appointed time is found below in 2 Kings 4:1-7. Without our being emptied, we cannot be filled.
2 Kings 4:1-7 – See the note below.
1 Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves."
2 Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil."
3 Then he said, "Go, borrow [7592- “to ask, to enquire, to seek, to borrow”] vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few.
4 "And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside [5265] what is full [4392- “full, fullness, what fills, fully”]."
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured.
6 When the vessels were full [4390- “to fill, fulfill, overflow, ordain, endow”], she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not one vessel more." And the oil stopped.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest."
NASU
OT:5265 naca` (naw-sah')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; properly, to pull up, especially the tent-pins, i.e. start on a journey:
KJV - cause to blow, bring, get, (make to) go (away, forth, forward, onward, out), (take) journey, march, remove, set aside (forward), still, be on his (go their) way.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
to pull out, to pull up, to set out, to journey, to remove, to set forward, to depart
a) (Qal)
1) to pull out, to pull up
2) to set out, to depart
3) to journey, to march
4) to set forth (used of wind)
b) (Niphal) to be pulled up, to be removed, to be plucked up
c) (Hiphil)
1) to cause to set out, to lead out, to cause to spring up
2) to remove, to quarry
Within this story of Elisha and a widow is another picture, from the Old Testament, of those who will partake of the fullness of Christ, and those who will not. As pictured in John 2 above, the oil of the Holy Spirit will only be poured into emptied-of-self vessels of honor. Paul spoke of these vessels in his second letter to Timothy;
“Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
(2 Timothy 2:20-22/NASU)
The widow that cried out to Elisha was in a state of hopelessness, with no apparent way of escape, until the prophet of God showed up and her dire situation would quickly change. She was told by Elisha to seek out vessels that could be poured into. This reminds me of a parable Jesus told His disciples in Luke 14:16-24 of “a man” who was preparing a great banquet (“wedding feast” in Matthew 22:1-14). “…and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.” First of all, we need to notice what time it was when the servant was sent out to those who had been invited (see Matthew 22:3), that is, the “called” ones. It was “at the dinner hour” when the “sent one” (i.e. apostle) went out letting them know that the “appointed time” of the Master had come.
The dinner hour was near the end of the day. The Greek for “hour” is defined as “a certain, definite time or season.” It is my firm conviction that this time has come. We are in the final moment of this age when Christ is sending out His trusted servants, letting His people know that the time for the wedding feast is here. Everything has been made ready for them to come, but like those in the parable, those who have already received the Master’s invitation (i.e. “received Christ”) are now making excuses why they cannot, or should I say, do not want to come.
After summoning the “called ones,” and then hearing their response, the servant returned to his Master. Jesus then says;
“And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner [or, I believe, “shall partake of the final infilling of the full-fillment of the final feast”].’”
(Luke 14:21-24/NASU)
The definition of the Greek word for “compel” is, “to necessitate, compel, drive to, constrain, whether by force, threats, etc., or by persuasion, entreaties, etc., or by other means (2 Cor. 12:11).” In a legal sense, it means, “to cause to do or occur by overwhelming pressure and especially by authority or law.” The reason for saying all this is that if we believe we are in the “dinner hour” of this age, then we shouldn’t be surprised by the lackadaisical response within much of the church to come to the Lord’s feast. We are being told that if they refuse to come, then it’s time to go to the highways and byways, compelling others to come and fill the house of the Lord. We are to go looking for the “vessels at large” who can be filled with the Spirit and be “set aside” (i.e. sanctified) for the Master’s use.
Once in the place of the Lord’s choosing for His feast, the doors will be shut and the final infilling of the Holy Spirit will take place through the outpouring of the “filled to the brim” vessels of honor pictured in John 2 above. For their open rebellion against their Master (i.e. the spirit of anti-Christ), the Christian’s who fell away from devotion to Christ in the great apostasy will be bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness where there will weeping and gnashing of teeth (see the Bible study Outer Darkness).
Regarding a sign to observe that it’s the time of the end, John wrote this;
“Dear children, this is the last hour [same word used for the dinner hour]; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.
(1 John 2:15/NIV)
The spirit of antichrist has permeated the church in America. Many Christians fight against (i.e. anti) the will of the Lord in their lives, revealing themselves as a god seated on the throne of their heart (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). Having begun the race in Christ, they have now dethroned Jesus as Lord within them and will therefore, if unrepentant, be cut off from Him (see the Bible studies Cut Off, and The Spirit Of Antichrist).
Song of Solomon 6:8-10 – See the note below.
8 "There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens [5959- “virgins”] without number;
9 But my dove, my perfect [8552- “to be complete, finished, perfect”] one [259- “one, united”], is unique: She is her mother's only daughter [259]; She is the pure [1249- “pure, clean, sincere, empty”] child of the one who bore her. The maidens [5959- “virgins”] saw her and called her blessed, the queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,
10 'Who is this that grows like the dawn, as beautiful as the full moon, as pure [1249] as the sun, as awesome [366- “terrible, dreadful, awe-inspiring”] as an army with banners?'
NASU
These are the descriptive words of the “Beloved” (i.e. the Lord) toward His Bride in the church. She is declared by Him to be the perfect, united, completed “one” in Him that is pure in heart, empty of selfish motives and desires (see the section One Select Rib in the Bible study Eve; The Life Giving Bride). Like Queen Esther, she’s the Queen above all queens that will be exalted above all others. As with Peter, James and John, she is the inner circle of the inner circle. (Add Psalm 24…)
The writer of Psalm 45 celebrates the marriage of the King. It’s a type revealed for us of the “one” exalted above the others; Christ first, and then His Queen and her virgin attendants. She is the “perfect one” who is the “pure [i.e. “clean, sincere, empty”] child of the One who bore her.” Verses 13-15 say of her;
“The King's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work; The virgins, her companions [7464- “a female companion, companion, an attendant”] who follow her [310- “behind, after (wards)”], will be brought to You. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing [NIV- “led in with joy and gladness”]; they will enter into the King's palace.”
(NASU)
She is the “one” who has, above the others, gained a greater degree of glory (1 Corinthians 15:41). The other virgins, her companions/attendants will also be brought to the Lord. They will be led forth, into the presence of the Lord’s dwelling place with great joy and rejoicing.
It’s interesting that she is said to grow like the dawn, as beautiful as the full moon, and as pure as the sun. It was at the dawning of a new day when Jacob’s struggle with God ended. Genesis 32:31 says that the sun rose upon him, just as he crossed over Penuel. Between the two passages, I see the Son of God rising upon His servants that have wrestled with their past, and overcome. They will be “as beautiful as the full moon (i.e. they have entered into the “fullness” of God), “as pure as the sun” (i.e. empty vessels of honor filled with His glory), and “as awesome as an army with banners” (i.e. the army of God whose banner over them is the love of God, filled with His authoritative power).
The following note of Psalm 45:9 is taken from the section The Right Hand/Side Queen in the Bible study Eve; The Life Giving Bride;
This Psalm is a wedding song, describing the location and covering of the queen, the bride of the king. It is a picture of the Bride of Christ. The right hand represents the authority of God that she will reign with in the coming age known as the millennium, the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth. The “gold from Ophir” which was known for its purity represents the glory of God that she, “the pure child of the One who bore her” has received.
As I mentioned earlier, through Solomon she is declared by God as “my dove, my perfect [8535- “complete, perfect, sound, wholesome”] one [259- “one; properly, united”], is unique “: She is her mother's only [259] daughter; She is the pure [1249- “pure, clean, sincere, empty”] child of the one who bore her.” (Song of Solomon 6:9/NASU) The faithful servants of God will be the perfected “one(s)” of the Lord (i.e. joined together as one in true unity of the Holy Spirit) that He has given birth to (i.e. those who have been “born again”; see James 1:18). She is the “blameless” one among God’s children with whom He is well pleased (Genesis 6:9; see the Bible studies Noah; A Sign Of The End and Well Pleased).
Because they have loved righteousness and hated wickedness, the Lord has anointed them with the oil of joy that He received from the Father, above others in the body (Psalm 45:7, Jude 24). They have kept themselves pure in eager anticipation of their Lord’s appearing (1 John 3:2-3), and are therefore dressed in readiness (Luke 12:35).
Notice that the queen stands at the King’s “right hand.” This is the place Christ is now seated at near the Father. Within Scripture, the right hand represents the power and authority of God (Matthew 22:44, 26:64, 28:18). The Hebrew for this phrase can also mean “right side” which caused me to think of the “place” God removed Eve from. She is a picture of the fashioned Bride of Christ, the faithful bride of her Husband that has been granted His ruling authority, and is seated next to Him.
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