Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #2 of Genesis 32, and we are going to read Genesis 32:1-8:

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

I will stop reading there.  We were discussing the fact that Jacob went on his way, and we used that study to talk about how God outlines the “way,” which is the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the way, and the Word of God, the Bible, defines how the way of God goes: we go the way of God’s commandments.

Jacob has left Haran and he is on his way to the kingdom of God, going the way of God’s commandments, or the way of the Word of God, the Bible.  And the angels of God met him, and it says in Genesis 32:2:

And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

Some commentators tie this encounter with the angels of God to Jacob’s earlier experience which we read about in Genesis 28:10-12:

And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

Some theologians in their commentaries on the book of Genesis have suggested that Jacob met angels on the way to Haran, and now he is meeting angels on the way back from Haran.  So they totally misunderstood what is happening in Genesis 28 concerning the ladder and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it.  Regarding that ladder, we know that the Lord Jesus refers to it in John 1:51:

And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

The ladder is a figure of the Son of man, who is Christ, and Christ is the Word.  So the angels of God are the “messengers” of God because the word “angels” can properly be translated as “messengers,” and it should have been translated that way here.  So the messengers of God are ascending and descending upon the ladder, who is Christ, and we know they are not angelic beings.  One reason we can know that is because if they were angelic beings, the order would have been reversed because they abide in heaven, so they would have initially descended, and then ascended back to where they came from.  But the order here in Genesis 28:12 and in John 1:51 is that the angels of God were ascending and descending upon the Son of man, so they first go up before they come down.  That is because it is speaking of the moment of salvation during the day of salvation when God would save sinners, they would immediately be seated in “heavenly places,” and to be in heavenly places, they would have to go up.  They are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and they are immediately dispatched back to the earth, as it were, and sent with the Gospel.  And being sent, they are messengers of God.  That is why we see the word “angels” here because it is the same word as “messengers.”  In any case, this was in a dream, so it was God bringing divine revelation to Jacob to show him the Gospel that would come.  It is really a picture of the salvation program of God.  As people become saved, they become messengers of God to carry the Gospel, so they are sent forth and “descend” back to the earth.

But in Genesis 32, we have a different story.  Again, it says in Genesis 32:1:

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

Who were these angels?  We always have to ask because angels or messengers could be men or it could be Jesus, the Messenger of the Covenant.  But it is plural, so a possibility is that it is the Triune God, or it could be angelic beings, the creature angels.  We do not think it is God Himself here, where it says, “the angels of God met him.”  Typically, when God speaks of Himself as an angel, like “the angel of JEHOVAH,”, or when it refers to Christ as the Angel or Messenger of the Covenant, it is singular, so it is not the Triune God  And it is not man.  It would not make any sense if it were men.  We would have to ask, “What men?”  This is indicating a “host,” and we will talk about that word shortly, but this word “host” indicates a great number.  So if Jacob met a great number of men that were messengers of God, and when he saw them and said, “This is God’s host,” then who are they and where did they come from?  Remember, there was not as yet a nation of Israel, and this is the Old Testament where the prophets of God are few and far between, so it is highly unlikely (or even impossible) that these are men, which leaves us with “angelic beings.”  They were actual creature angels that met Jacob on his way. 

Again, where was he going?  He was going to the land of Canaan, representing the kingdom of God.  He had his flocks with him, and he had his children with him, who would soon be the twelve tribes of Israel.  So they are “Israel,” the people of God that had just been delivered by God from the hand of Laban, a type of Satan.  They have come out of the land of Haran, the land of Laban, representing Satan and the kingdom of darkness, and they are on their way to the Promised Land, God’s kingdom.  Therefore the angels of God met him, and Jacob said, “This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.”

The word “host” is Strong’s #4264, and it is translated a few different ways.  It is most often translated as “camp.”  And in relationship to Israel, it is translated this way a great many times.  But it can also be the camp of the enemies, like the Philistines or some other enemy nation.  It is translated as “camp,” “army,” “band” and “host.”  In this same chapter, it says in Genesis 32:7:

…and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

The word “bands” and the word “company” are translations of the same Hebrew word translated as “host.”  By the way, the name of the place was “Mahanaim,” and that word basically means “two hosts.”  It is a compound word.  Jacob called the name of the place “two hosts” because it was where he split his forces – his family and servants – into two hosts.  That is where the name comes from, but it is also true that Jacob was referring to the angels when he said, “This is God’s host.”  And he called the name of the place “Mahanaim.”  At least we think that is what is in view.

As far as the word “host,” this word is also translated as “camp” in Joel 2, where we read about the host of God’s army, and this would identify with God’s elect people as the army of God in the Day of Judgment.  We read in Joel 2:9-11:

They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And JEHOVAH shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of JEHOVAH is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Notice that it says He is executing His Word, the judgment written.  It is the execution of the written Word of God that is being carried out in the Day of Judgment by the “host” or “camp” of God, the people of God and the great multitude that God has saved.

If we go to Ezekiel 1, we will see another reference to “host” that is kind of interesting, where it refers to the appearance of God as “living creatures,” and we read in Ezekiel 1:22-24:

And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

Again, this is describing God.  He is in view with these “living creatures,” and it tells us about the “voice” of the Almighty, which would be the Word of God.  And the “voice of speech” would also refer to the Bible, the Word of God.  Then it says, “the voice of speech, as the noise of an host,” so that ties God’s Word to the host.  And that would fit in with the Lord sending forth His people with His Word, and yet, He Himself is the One who is speaking through them.  So this could be in view whenever we find the word “host.”  But, again, these angels of God met Jacob and it was a brief encounter, and he called them God’s host, but then it seems they departed.  There is nothing further said about them here, and everything shifts, and the focus turns to Esau and the fact that he is coming with 400 men.  So what happened to that great host?  If they were men that were God’s host, they would have stayed on Jacob’s side, and he could have said, “Stay here with me because my brother Esau is on the way with 400 men.  And the last I heard from him, he wanted to kill me, so he might be on his way to destroy me.”  We know that Jacob was thinking that way because of what it says in verse 7 about him being greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided his people.  That is the reason he broke them up into two camps or two bands.  So it does not make sense for them to have been people of God that suddenly appeared, and then they were gone, especially since the situation would have called for them to help Jacob and remain with him. 

But, actually, that is why God had the angels make their appearance.  It was to encourage him and comfort him concerning the fact that he was not alone.  You know, anywhere in this world is a dangerous place, especially when traveling through strange lands.  And there comes 400 men led by his brother who was hostile to him, so he was in an extremely dangerous place.  So before this encounter with Esau, God is giving him assurance through the appearance of His angelic host, these spirit beings.  They appeared, and Jacob was enabled to see them, but then they disappeared, but he could have confidence that there are invisible forces of God that reside in the spiritual realm, and they are on his side.  It was an assurance that God was with him.

There is an historical situation in 2Kings 6:8-18:

Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a placeshall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, JEHOVAH, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And JEHOVAH opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

Here, we see there was a great host of the enemy that was coming to take Elisha, and the servant of Elisha was afraid because he saw this great host that compassed the city.  They had horses and chariots, and he said, “Alas, my master! how shall we do?”  But God had opened Elisha’s eyes first to see the host of God that also had horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.  You see, God was illustrating through these horses and chariots of fire that were invisible.  They could not be seen by the servant’s eyes or by the eyes of the enemy, but only by Elisha and those whom God would open their eyes to see, so Elisha prayed for his servant, and he saw the host, too.

What would that do?  It would give them great security, comfort, and strength.  We can see our weakness in this world because we are so “few.”  God’s people are a remnant.  We are the few, and we have no help in this world, as there are no armies of men that are coming to help us.  There are no governments that will support us and fight for us, or assist us in our time of need.  Who will help us?  Will the churches help us today?  Of course not!  They are on the side of the enemy, so in one sense, God’s people are more alone than we have ever been in the history of the world, so that could cause us to fear and be distressed, as was Jacob.  And yet, God is almighty and all-powerful, and He has an army or host that would easily destroy any worldly army.  Actually, it could destroy all the world’s armies gathered together.  That is what Judgment Day is all about; it is the army of God against the army of Satan.  It is the whole world that is against God and His kingdom, but it is “no contest.”  It is not an even fight because of the enormous power of God Almighty, and God would have us to know that.  Through giving Elisha’s servant a glimpse ( Elisha, a type of Christ and his servant, a type of elect), I am sure it calmed his nerves. 

God showed His power, although we do not read that the horses and chariots of fire came down and did battle with physical weapons of destruction.  God simply struck the whole enemy army with blindness in an instant.  They could not see, and they did not know where they were.  If you remember the story, Elisha then led them right to the army of Israel who then compassed them about.  The king of Israel excitedly asked, “Shall I smite them?”  They did not smite them, but it just shows the enormity of God’s awesome power.

So when we get a glimpse of spiritual creatures, the armies in the spiritual realm, while we dwell in this realm, it serves to encourage us.

So one last thing is a similarity we see in Luke 2.  It is the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it says in Luke 2:11:

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Then it says in Luke 2:13:

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven…

(The “angel” would also be the Lord Jesus.)  So the angels appeared, and they were called “the heavenly host,” and then they were gone in an instant.  It was a brief encounter.  They made an appearance, and then they disappeared, very similar to what we see in Genesis 32.  They are angelic beings.  And in Genesis 32, we can also understand them to be angelic creatures.