_ANGELS ON LIFE’S PATHWAY_ ‘Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.’ Genesis 32:1 Every man lives two lives—an outward and an inward. The one is that denoted in our present text: _ Jacob went on his way_. The other is denoted in a later verse (24): _ Jacob was left alone_. In either... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE ANGELS OF GOD_ ‘The angels of God.’ Genesis 32:1 To the Christian, to the member of the Church of England, with his Prayer Book in his hand, there is a prayer in which we speak to God and recall the existence of a world unseen around us, and beyond us a great realm, the realm of holy souls,... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE DIVINE ANTAGONIST_ ‘And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.’ Genesis 32:24 There are two decisive and determining moments in the life of Jacob. The wrestling with the angel of the Lord was the second of these, even as that marvellous vision... [ Continue Reading ]
_‘WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN AM I STRONG’_ “He said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except Thou bless me.’ Genesis 32:26 Esau, with all his amiable qualities, was a man whose horizon was bounded by the limitations of the material world. He never rose above earth;... [ Continue Reading ]
_A NEW NAME_ ‘No more Jacob, but Israel.’ Genesis 32:28 I. THE VERY TWOFOLD NAME OF JACOB AND OF ISRAEL is but the symbol of the blending of contradictions in Jacob’s character. The life of Jacob comes before us as a strange paradox, shot with the most marvellous diversities. He is the hero of f... [ Continue Reading ]
_LIFE’S SUNRISE_ ‘And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.’ Genesis 32:31 I. FROM THE GREAT CONFLICT WITH SIN NONE COME OFF WITHOUT MANY A SCAR. We may wrestle and prevail, but there will be touches of the enemy, which will leave their long and bitter mem... [ Continue Reading ]