𝗩𝗮𝘆𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗵/ "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵"

𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝟯𝟮:𝟰–𝟯𝟲:𝟰𝟯

This week's Torah portion picks up with Jacob heading back to the land of his father. On the way he sends messengers ahead of himself to alert his brother Esau to his return. Jacob hopes that by sending gifts to his brother, he will forget about the stolen blessing and not kill him (or any of his wives/children/servants/livestock). The messenger return telling Jacob that his brother, along with 400 other men, are coming to meet him. Gen 32:7-8: 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐𝘧 𝘌𝘴𝘢𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦.” I want to point out what one commentator noted here that is significant about how Jacob divided all that was with him. He did it in 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 - this is a prophetic picture of what will come much later when the Northern tribe (Israel/Ephraim) and Southern tribe (Judah) of Israel separate into two kingdoms under King Jeroboam and King Rehoboam. We know that in the 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 they will be brought back together though, as was prophesied in Ezekiel 37! (this has not happened yet as the Northern Kingdom (Israel/Ephraim) is still dispersed among the nations)

But then a beautiful thing takes place. Jacob begins to 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 the LORD of His promises to him in Genesis 32:9-12: 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘖 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘤, 𝘖 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, ‘𝘙𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶,’ 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘑𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘴𝘢𝘶; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, ‘𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.’” Shew. I don't know about you but there have been seasons in my life where I have also recounted to the LORD the things He has shown me or spoken to me. Things which I know wouldn't come to pass if He didn't intervene to protect them. And because I know (by faith!) He is a GOD who keeps His Word, I can rest assured that what He said, will come to pass!

I want to highlight something else in the above text which will be part of what the LORD revealed to me, personally, in this week's portion. Jacob said, "𝘖 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘤". He didn't say, 'My God', but identified Him as the GOD of his fathers. But not for long....we will come back to this in just a bit. Jacob is about to have another encounter, of a divine nature. The great 𝘄𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲 as found in Gen 32:24-31. The 𝘄𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲 which left Jacob with a limp and a new name!

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩; 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦.” 𝘚𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦?” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.” 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦?” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥.” 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩.

Many scholars would say (and I would agree) that Jacob was wrestling with Yeshua in this encounter. One commentator also pulled out something in the name change here - 'because he has striven with God and with men and has prevailed' - do you know that in Revelation 2:17 we are told that those who overcome will also get a new name written on a white stone (and the hidden manna)? "𝐻𝘦 𝘸ℎ𝘰 𝘩𝑎𝘴 𝘢𝑛 𝑒𝘢𝑟, 𝘭𝑒𝘵 𝘩𝑖𝘮 𝘩𝑒𝘢𝑟 𝑤𝘩𝑎𝘵 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘚𝑝𝘪𝑟𝘪𝑡 𝑠𝘢𝑦𝘴 𝘵𝑜 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑐𝘩𝑢𝘳𝑐𝘩𝑒𝘴. 𝑇𝘰 𝘩𝑖𝘮 𝘸ℎ𝘰 𝘰𝑣𝘦𝑟𝘤𝑜𝘮𝑒𝘴, 𝑡𝘰 𝘩𝑖𝘮 𝘐 𝘸𝑖𝘭𝑙 𝑔𝘪𝑣𝘦 𝘴𝑜𝘮𝑒 𝑜𝘧 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘩𝑖𝘥𝑑𝘦𝑛 𝑚𝘢𝑛𝘯𝑎, 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝑖𝘭𝑙 𝑔𝘪𝑣𝘦 𝘩𝑖𝘮 𝘢 𝘸ℎ𝘪𝑡𝘦 𝘴𝑡𝘰𝑛𝘦, 𝑎𝘯𝑑 𝑎 𝑛𝘦𝑤 𝑛𝘢𝑚𝘦 𝘸𝑟𝘪𝑡𝘵𝑒𝘯 𝘰𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑠𝘵𝑜𝘯𝑒 𝑤𝘩𝑖𝘤ℎ 𝑛𝘰 𝘰𝑛𝘦 𝘬𝑛𝘰𝑤𝘴 𝘣𝑢𝘵 𝘩𝑒 𝑤𝘩𝑜 𝑟𝘦𝑐𝘦𝑖𝘷𝑒𝘴 𝘪𝑡.’" Whoa! A name which no one knows but he who receives it! How cool is that!

The moment of impact. Jacob and Esau come face to face - and we are told in Gen 33:4 that, "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘴𝘢𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘱𝘵". A reunion - one of peace and not war. At least, for now. And this leads me to where I want to end today. The completion of what the LORD revealed to me, personally.

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘗𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘢𝘯-𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘳, 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗘𝗹-𝗘𝗹𝗼𝗵𝗲-𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 (𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹). Genesis 33:18-20 𝘼 𝙫𝙤𝙬 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙. Last week's Torah Portion included the dream of Jacob's Ladder, and after this dream Jacob made a vow to the LORD. He said in Gen 28, “𝘐𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥. And so it was, the LORD brought Jacob, now called Israel, back to his father's house in safety. And so we see Jacob, who just a few verses earlier calling the LORD the God of his father Abraham and Isaac, now calling Him his GOD. The 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹. This really hit me because I think of all the times I myself have said, "Lord if you will, then I will...." Have you ever done the same? It can be scary sometimes when the LORD lays out His plans for us - and so, we look for reassurance, bargaining even. But in the end, a promise made should be a promise kept. I told the LORD if He would just bring me to peace in my life, after years of domestic violence, I would serve Him and love Him and do all I could to honor Him. And so it is, to this day, I continue to fulfill my vow as He has done exceedingly more than I could ask, think or imagine! What grace we have, friends! I love that we can dream with the LORD and yes, even wrestle with Him, too, but ultimately whether the outcome is as we desire or not, we should praise Him. I believe Jacob gave us a glimpse of that as well. You see as he was dividing up into two camps all that belonged to him, Judah followed at the end with his mother Rebecca and Jacob. I believe this too was a prophetic picture that even when facing the darkest moments of our life, regardless of the outcome, we should choose to finish our prayers with praise! 𝗔𝗟𝗪𝗔𝗬𝗦. You might just find that the greatest moment of your life, is hinging on it. I also believe that in the moments leading up to the encounter with Esau, Jacob began to climb the stairway/ladder to Heaven as in his first dream. He had begun to walk in humility. Wow.

This song popped up in my mix this past week, and I felt it so deeply connected to what the LORD revealed to me in this weeks Portion, that I wanted to share it with you, too. I challenge you, even in the midst of the unknown, the mundane, the bad news and the good, to just take a moment and praise Him. He is so worthy, friends! To Him belongs the glory, forever!

https://youtu.be/PBWM4laHANw?si=3mIcEt_ecnKwr4LV