And Jacob sent messengers before him unto Esau his brother, unto the land of Seir in the field of Edom, and commanded them, saying, Thus say ye unto Esau my lord, Thy servant Jacob saith unto thee, I have been with Laban without, and have been hitherto among the strangers, and have oxen, and asses, and sheep, and menservants, and maidservants, and have sent to declare unto thee my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. The messengers came again to Jacob, saying: We came to thy brother Esau, and he also cometh to meet thee with four hundred men. And Jacob was sore afraid, and was troubled: and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two armies, and said, If Esau come upon the one army, and smite it, the remnant shall escape. And Jacob said, O God of Abraham my father, O God of Isaac my father, O Lord, thou hast said unto me: Return to thy land, and to thy friendship, and I will do thee good; I am too lowly of all the mercies and of all the faithfulness which thou hast done to thy servant. For I had no more than this staff when I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two armies. Deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esan; for I am afraid of him, lest he come, and smite my mothers with my children. Thou hast said, I will do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered before the multitude. And he tarried there that night, and took of the things that were present gifts unto his brother Esau, two hundred he goats, twenty rams, two hundred sheep, twenty rams, and thirty suckling camels with their fillings, forty kine, and ten bullocks, and twenty asses with ten fillings. And he put them under the hand of his servants, one herd at a time, and said unto them: Go before me, and leave space between one herd and another. And he commanded the first, saying, When Esau my brother shall meet thee, and shall ask thee, To whom belongest thou? and whither wilt thou go? and know it, that
Thou shalt say, It belongeth unto Jacob thy servant, which sendeth gifts unto Esau his lord, and goeth after. So he commanded the second and the third, and all that went after the herds, saying, As I have said unto you, so say unto Esau, when ye come upon him. And say ye also, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he thought: I will propitiate him with the gift that passeth before me, after that I will see him; peradventure he will accept me." So the gift went before him. But he stayed the same night in the camp. And he rose up in the night, and took his two wives, and his two maids, and his eleven children, and went to the fords of Jabok, and took them, and led them over the water, that they might pass over that which he had: and he abode alone on this side.
1 Until now Jacob was still a pilgrim, as his fathers had been; he had neither a house nor a dwelling of his own when he sat down; he lived under heaven with all his servants, at God's mercy. But Esau, his brother, had long since sat down and taken his own land, had already become a mighty lord with his children, so that Jacob had to fear and humble himself before him as a wretched stranger, even though God's promise was that Jacob should be lord and Esau serve him. Now this is also a strange chapter, in which we again have a miraculous work of God, but to be seen as if it were only the work of a child, so that Jacob would walk around. At the end of the previous chapter, Moses wrote how he went on his way from Laban, and among the ways he met the angels of God, and when he saw them, he gave the place a name in remembrance of it, and called it Mahanaim, that is, Camp or Army.
2 Then God had strengthened and refreshed him so that he should not be afraid of Laban. Was it not a bold deed and a firm faith that he was allowed to set out into a foreign land with his wife, child, large household and all good things, to escape from his brother-in-law, who was extremely bitter against him, and to go through the people, where he was unknown?
was? An army of the angels of God was with him over this, only so that he would be stronger and bolder; so that he stood in a high, insurmountable faith. But now it is the other way round for a Hui to become so weak; he who was not afraid of Laban at all, yes, was sure that the angels of God were standing by him, now almost despaired of his brother whom he does not see.
(3) This is what I said, how God rules so strangely in his saints, makes them so strong that they are not afraid of the devil or death. And again, when one thinks that they should be the strongest, he makes them so weak that they are almost terrified of a tree leaf; as Christ [Matth. 14, 29. 30.] did with Petro. When he stepped out of the ship to go to him on the water, he was bold and sure, fearing no one, but as soon as he saw a wind coming, he trembled and sank.
(4) There is a precious thing about faith, and great power. Yes, if it were in our power to overcome it, or, if we have it right away, to keep it. There is no doubt that faith does everything that the devil and death must give way to it; but where is the art of staying with it and keeping it? God has reserved it for Himself to give and take away faith when He wants, and to make it strong or weak as He pleases. Therefore, it must happen to Jacob as well as to us, for the sole purpose of learning to know what God has in mind. We must not raise Jacob too high. He is a great saint, but it can soon happen that he becomes weaker in faith than I am. So God can give me a high, strong faith at this hour, but again, before you look around, let me sink and give the faith to some great sinner.
(5) Why then does he let his saints go thus, and not always remain in strong faith? So that they do not become proud again, or think that they have it from themselves, and make themselves God. That is why he has to map and mix it in such a way that they know that he is God, recognize himself, and remain in humility; which he wants to have, not only from us, but from the highest saints, even from his own mother;
[They must all let themselves be brought low and say: I am nothing and can do nothing; so that we are all equal before God; although there is a difference according to the gifts, which are not ours, but also all his. This is one of the main parts of this chapter, how the faith of the holy patriarch almost disappears, and yet he seizes it again, as we shall hear.
006 The land of Seir, or Edom, where Esau dwelt, and which was named after him, is not far from the way. For Edom and Judah meet together. Because Jacob has to travel hard along this road, he sends messengers ahead of him to find out what his brother's attitude is toward him. For he is still afraid of him, because he had taken away his firstborn and his blessing, and therefore he had to leave his father and mother twenty years ago, so that he would not strangle him. For this Esau had now become mighty, and lord in the land, so that it let itself look at everything, as if the word was nothing, which God had said: "The greater shall serve the lesser", and must become before the reason a liar. For this, Jacob must call Esau a lord, and fall at his heels, and beg for mercy, with wife and child, as a sovereign; yes, he even holds him like an angel. How does this rhyme with the promise? Or, is that kept which is promised? It is all written to us. For we also are lords over the world through Christ, and yet must fall under its feet. So that it all goes contrary to what God does. We are to say that we are masters of all things, and let them rule and have the upper hand. But it is according to the spirit; but the body must let itself be thrown down, and be subject.
(7) But that Jacob says in the text, "That I may find grace in your sight," is spoken in Hebrew; German and Latin do not speak so; for we give grace only to princes; but it is as much said, "Let me find grace in your sight," as we say, "Be favorable and gracious to me; do not be angry with me; or be my friend, and I will be your friend also. Thus [Luc. 1, 28.] the angel Mariam greeted the Virgin: "Hail, thou that art gracious" or "Blessed art thou"; for what is grace to-
What could be more pleasant than that? As we say of a maid, Thou fine, kind maid. Which our lumpen preachers interpret to mean full of grace, as full as a bubble full of wind; just as if grace were a thing that God pours into the heart, as one pours wine into the candelabra, so that (it) overflows above. We can call it no better than holdselig, to whom an everyone is hold and favorable; from it our German name Huldreich is made. In Hebrew it is called John and Hannah.
8 Then follows how Esau marches against his brother with four hundred men, which he does not do in bad faith, as the following chapter shows. Jacob is still horrified and thinks it is murder and death, since there is peace. What a miserable, weak faith has become there! Esau is in the sense and thought: I am richer and mightier than my brother (as it is said that he ruled in the land and was a mighty prince), and have been angry with him now twenty years. I have grown so much that I am a lord; he is still a beggar, has neither house nor farm, roams the streets with his cattle so bare that they could be taken from him every hour. What shall I now avenge myself on him? I will give it to him and let it be. So he shows him with his splendor, so that one should see how powerful he is, that it is to be seen as a defiance. As if he should say: Yes, how finely you have taken my firstborn from me! You have robbed me of the blessing secretly from the father, so God has blessed me for it. So he forgets his anger and goes to meet his brother to receive him. But Jacob is so stupid and despondent that he cannot help but think that he will pour out his anger on him and his servants.
In such anguish and distress he knows no help nor refuge but in his dear God, and pours out all his heart before him. This is also the best part of this chapter. When faith becomes weak and begins to falter, there is no other counsel or refuge than to Him who makes it falter; just as St. Peter cried out on the water when he was about to sink: "O Lord, help me! Now this is a great art, to whom grace is given in trouble, that he may flee all human help and comfort, and take hold alone.
and keep the word and promise. Then the sheep was thirsty from the heat and also drank. Now we have heard [Cap. 28, 15.] how God had promised him that he would be with him and protect him wherever he went and bring him home again; but now he has let him sink so low and be stuck in fear that he knows no help to seek but from him.
(10) So he comes and presents his need to God, and does no more than to impress upon him his promise, and makes a strong, fiery prayer. For this is not called praying, standing in church, babbling and chattering; but fear teaches to pray rightly; as one says, Hunger is a good cook. The same drives him to fear that he will perish with his wife and child, for he did not care so much for him alone. He had a promise that had to come true. Yes, even if he were slain, Jacob's children would also be born from stones. But God leaves him in fear, so that he may show the power of his word in our weakness.
(11) He does not tear out his natural heart, but leaves the fear in him, more for his own than for himself; but he keeps the word and prays. It is not much words or much hours, as the work saints measure their prayers by length; but behold how mightily he asks. If you want to pray, do not come with a full belly, but first get a fear and distress that presses you to pray, or leave it, and put such distress before him, and take hold of him when you can hold him, that is, by his word, like Jacob, and say: "Lord, there is the misery and calamity that presses and presses me, I would gladly be rid of it. 7, 7. Luc. 11, 9.]: Ask, and you will receive, these are your words, I come and ask, so you have prayed right, and are certainly heard, because God has promised it, and necessity compels.
12) It is only a pity that we do not feel our heartache and do not let it go to our hearts, otherwise we would have reason and need enough to pray every moment, especially if we were true children of God and saw that His holy, noble name, in which we were baptized and
1) "one" is missing in the Wittenberg and in the Jena.
so that he may adorn us and bless us when we are blasphemed in an abominable and shameful way. Where are the Christians who lament and cry out? So also we have daily cause and high time to pray that his kingdom come to us, because we see that it goes so weakly in us, and is hindered by the devil and flesh and blood; and so henceforth in all other things. This will not go to anyone's heart, which is a sign that we are not in fear. Therefore I have said more: We do not find in the dear fathers such mad, foolish works as we do, but vain earnest, righteous works, though they seem small.
(13) So this prayer must be answered, for it has all the characteristics of a right prayer, that it goes in right faith to God's goodness and trust, and appeals to God's word and urges him on, and then presents his need with earnestness. [It has been so powerful that even if Esau were still his mortal enemy, and had set out with all his might to strike him with all his servants, he would still have had to become his best friend, or else go to ruin himself. What now follows in the text of the gift, as he has arranged it, is not much to speak of, without it indicating that Jacob had an even 1) good, that he sends fivefold gifts before, which alone would now be a poor man's good. [We want to deal with the last piece of the chapter.
V. 24-28 A man wrestled with him until the dawn. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the joint of his thigh; and the joint of his thigh was dislocated from wrestling with him. And he said, Let me go, for the dawn is breaking. But he answered: I will not let thee go, for thou blessest me. And he said, What is thy name? And he answered, Jacob. And he said, Thou shalt no more be called Jacob, but Israel: 2) For thou hast fought with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
1) even - respectable, significant.
2) Marginal gloss: Israel. Israel comes from Sarah, which means to fight or overcome; hence also Sar means a prince or lord, fund Sarahl means a princess or woman, and Israel means a prince or warrior of God, that is, one who wrestles with God and "wins"; which is done through
(14) That the previous prayer was answered is evident from the struggle and fight he is engaged in here. But see how God acts when He hears someone, that this proverb is true: God often meets us who could greet Him. Jacob is stupid and despondent before his brother, so God comes and wants to strengthen him, and makes him even sicker. That would be a good comfort to me, when I work in the mud, and he puts me in it completely. God frightens him and makes him afraid, but he starts to call and pray, so he comes and wants to strangle him.
(15) But how the battle was fought, we shall not know in words. It will remain only with those who have experienced and tasted it, otherwise no one will understand it. But we cannot know what it was. So let us learn how he behaves when he hears, namely, as if he wanted to destroy us. This is what he did to the children of Israel [Ex 5:9]; when he wanted to bring them out of Egypt, he let Pharaoh attack and torment them more than ever before. When he brought them out to the Red Sea and they thought they had passed through, Pharaoh came up behind them so that they could not get out anywhere, so that death was in front of them all, and the Egyptians were sure they had them as surely as a thief on a rope or a chain.
16 So also with Christ: When he wanted to make him a king, he did it with great wonder and power; but when he should be best, he lets him die on the cross, as a desperate wicked man; but he manages it in such a way that he comes forth in the same moment, when all reason had despaired of him, and becomes king forever. Like the children of Israel, when they were in the midst of death, without all help and counsel, he tears the sea from one another, so that they pass through dry, that if the sea had not given room, a cloud would have had to descend and make room. So he also goes with us: if we call on him to be saved from death, he first leads us into it. This is what he does now 3)
the Glanbe" who holds so firmly to God's words until he overcomes God's wrath, and attains God's own to the gracious Father.
3) Jenaer: only.
so that he may disgrace reason, which does not believe, but wants to know how, where and when; so that faith may have room, and let God make it.
(17) So Jacob also hopes here that he will be saved from his brother; then he first comes into trouble that he fights with him, and wants to take his life and limb; he also did not know at first who the fighter was. Now think for yourself, if a stupid, frightened man is to fight with a spirit, how he feels; if he hears a little noise of a devil, he pales and bids 1) that the world becomes too narrow for him. How horrible would it be if one were to fight with the devil alone and defend himself? Then he imagines such thoughts, of which no man can say. Nature teaches us what fear and hardship is a death struggle.
(18) It was the same with him. He saw that the one who could strangle him with one finger and could not get rid of him lay against him and wrestled with him. So he also did not know whether it was a good or evil spirit, because otherwise it would not have been a fight, if he had known that it was God or a good angel, but more a comfort, and would not have become angry with him. But he does not think otherwise, because it is a spirit that thinks to strangle him. Before, he had cared for his wife and child so that they would not perish; now he must let it all go and forget it, and think where he will stay. It will not have meant life to him alone, but both body and soul, that he had to wrestle with him for temporal and eternal life. [He] stood there and pretended to him as if God did not want to be, and had to be of the devil. But it was a clear image that he accepted and fought with him, so that not only the body was tired and weary, but also the courage and soul lay in terror and trembling.
(19) What then is the power to protect and resist, and finally to win? It is ever2) a poor, powerless strength of our body against a spirit; however, if the courage remains and is not broken, the body also remains strong. As long as the heart does not
1) bidmen - quake.
2) "je" is missing in the Wittenberger.
If a man despairs, he thrusts his power and strength into his body; but when his courage is gone, all is finished, so that the body cannot stand on its feet.
020 So the heart remained firm in him at the word of God, saying, Thou hast said, I will do thee good, and make thee a great seed. The word is the life, strength and power of the man, which he grasped in his heart and held so firmly that it had to remain true, and [thought]: He wants to strangle you on the spot, deals with me as if he were ordered by God; now let him do it, God has said that he wants to bring me back home to the land; this must happen, should Himinel and earth tear; come devil or angel, or he himself, and suggest it to me differently, I do not believe it.
(21) He had to take off his old skin and break it, and felt nothing in body and life, except that he had trusted in the truth, which could not be deceived. If we had also been tempted in temptation, how God's word strengtheneth and maketh strong, we could understand it; but because it is not tempted, it is cold, and savoureth not. But when it comes that one must let go hands and feet, and can only receive the word, then one sees what power it is, that no devil is so strong as to overthrow it, even if he bites it and wants to devour it; but [it] is to him a burning, fiery spear. It is a small word that has neither appearance nor prestige; yet when it is grasped by the mouth or speech in the heart and tried, it is perceived for what it can do.
(22) So Jacob stood and fought valiantly, saving and winning body and soul through the one strength, as the text says, that the man saw that he could not overcome him, namely, that he had such courage and mind, and was not despondent. So he came to the highest strength through and in weakness, when fidgeting drove him in the last need to hold on to the word alone. This is, as often said, God's art, that he makes something out of nothing, piety out of sin, life and blessedness out of death. Thus the good Jacob must use all his strength to
3) support stönen.
The new power and strength that he who could not overcome men before, now wins over angels.
23 For it must be left alone that it was a true battle, that the angel attacked him with all his might, not scolding him; so he also fought with all his might, and overcame; not that he struck him down, but so that he stood so firm that the angel could not restrain him. For the power of God's word is over all the world, devil and angel.
(24) But the battle did not last long, for the text says that he arose in the night and brought over the women and children with all the army; it may have been an hour or half an hour before day. Now the night is terrible in itself; so God leaves him alone, that he can seek no comfort or help; [he] must stand and fight bare and naked. Such examples are not found much more in Scripture; [it] is high and strange, but therefore done and written, that one may learn how ineffable power the word of God has.
025 Thus saith the angel, when the battle was ended, Thou shalt no more be called Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast fought with God and with men, and hast prevailed." The name Israel comes from the word Sarah and El. For the Jews, when they want to make nomina propria, they commonly put the letter Jod, that is J, in front. As if they say Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Josaphat, Jezekias, Jehezkiel. But Sarah means in German to fight and to overcome, and El means God, so it becomes Israel, that is, a God-fighter, qui luctans cum Deo vincit, that it understands both in itself, fighting and winning. How is it possible that one can fight against God? Is he not omnipotent? First of all, the text indicates what kind of battle it was, that the infernal fire was aimed at him, and he also felt hell, and [it] can be seen as if the angel was God himself. The prophet Hosea also stated it [Cap. 12, 4.] almost in this way, and Christ is everywhere depicted in such figures that he let himself be seen as an angel. When in the 18th chapter, v. 20. above, about the angel who was with
Abraham spoke. Item in the other book [Cap. 3, 4.] follows, how the angel Mosi appeared in the bush, and says, how God spoke with him. But be it as it may, it was done in God's stead.
26. wrestling with God is nothing else than wrestling with the wrathful God, who sets himself against man as an enemy [Luc. 22, 44.]; he does not only want to be judge, but, what is even more horrible, he also wants to be the master of the rod and to kill life. When he is after life, he does not reach for the skin, but into it, so that the marrow pines away, and the legs become as friable as the flesh, as also happened to Christ in the garden of oil [Matth. 26, 37. 38.]. Therefore it must be made great. When he attacks a man, it is so hard and heavy that no one understands it except the one who tries it; because he himself wants to fight with the man, there is vain strife and the fear of hell; in addition, all creatures are death to him, because they all hold it with God. Thus he takes away man's heart, so that he sees nowhere that is on his side. How can he win in such fear?
(27) The sophists cannot say anything about it, because it does not sound to their ears as against the article, that he is omnipotent; therefore also the Latin text has shied away from saying: You have fought with God, and have been defeated. But it goes thus, as I have otherwise said: God has given the world two kinds of word, the law, which wraths and chokes, and the gospel, so that he comforts and makes alive. Now when the word falls, by which he promises us grace, never let it go, let the law turn it before or behind; though after it fall all unkindness, hell, and sin, let it not be taken away from you in any way, and only speak freely: After the gospel there is no wrath. For as soon as this has come to pass, God has made Himself rightly known; for He is by nature goodness, therefore you must adhere to it without ceasing. But if any other word falls upon it, think that it must either be false, or that God wants to tempt you. This is what God does, for he wants to make his own completely strong: [he sets himself against the kind, comforting word, and wants to see how firmly they cling to it; he sets himself up as if he never wanted to give them the word.
Doing good, man feels that God is doing it; this is also the most painful. If one thought that the devil or a man was doing it, there would not be so much distress, but if the conscience says that God is doing it, there is fear and distress.
(28) Now "overcoming God" does not mean overcoming his power, but overcoming that which he is and is felt in our conscience; as the Scripture says that God changes when we are changed. He is without change in Himself, nor does He change Himself so strangely to us; this makes our conscience change; as the 18th Psalm, v. 26, 27, says: "With the holy you are holy, and with those without change you are without change, and with the perverse you are perverse"; He always remains kind, nor is there anything else in my conscience but that He is angry. So he is nothing to the damned but vain wrath, punishes them only with their own conscience.
(29) Jacob would have done the same if he had let the word go, but because he does not want to conclude according to his feelings, but holds fast and lets himself be torn apart, he has won. So if I overcome him in me, I have overcome God by taking hold of the word of his goodness and keeping it, and by overthrowing that which would make him angry. Thus we overcome, not His majesty, but His work that He does for us. Therefore let us learn that these things are written to instruct us, whether we also meet with such things, that we may know how to keep God, that we also may become Israel.
(v.29-32) And Jacob asked him, saying, Tell me, what is thy name? And he said, Why askest thou what is my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Pniel, 1) because I have seen God face to face, and my soul is recovered. And when he came over before Pnuel, the sun went down upon him, and he limped on his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel do not eat a high vein on the joint of the hip until this day, because the high vein was touched on the joint of Jacob's hip.
1) Marginal gloss: Pniel or Pnuel means God's face or knowledge; for through faith in the strife of the cross one learns to know and experience God rightly, so there is no more need, so the sun rises.
030 Now the battle is over, and when the angel comes from him, he calls the place Pniel, that is, the face of God. But what does God's face mean? The Scriptures have this word in great use now and then. The prophets use it and praise it mightily, and say that one must see God's face in this life; as David says in the 4th Psalm, v. 7: "Lift up over us the light of your face." Item, Psalm 67, 2. "God be gracious to us and bless us, and let His face shine upon us." So then, to see God's face is to recognize Him without all veneer, just as he who sees a man's face knows Him rightly. For when one sees a man's back, he cannot know whether he is an enemy or a friend. For he who is angry with me turns away his face from me; again, he who is favorable and pleasing to me lets me see him under [the] eyes. Therefore the face of God is called nothing else than the revelation and the clear knowledge of his nature, how he is minded, that is, his goodness. From this also comes knowledge of ourselves, so that we think nothing of all our nature.
(31) Therefore, all who believe see God's face without ceasing, that is, they recognize how God is goodness itself and looks upon them with eyes of mercy. Now Jacob thinks that since God has ceased and is no longer angry, it should be pure mercy; he now sees and recognizes him well, as it is true that he had said that he should be his beloved child; from this he becomes so full of joy and pleasure, so great before the affliction, that he says: This place must be called the face of God, because I have seen God rightly there, and my soul is healed, that now I fear no one; for afterward he feared Esau no more, though he humbled himself before him.
32 Lastly, the text says how the angel, when he fought with him, touched the joint of his hip, that it was dislocated above the wrestling, and he became limp in the hip; therefore the children of Israel do not eat a high vein on the joint of the hip. What high vein he means, I do not know; I think he means the vein that goes over the joint. In the struggle he brings this about that he becomes limp or lame in the hip, so that it is nevertheless a bodily
lich wrestling has been. Therefore, the hip vein is sanctified or banished that one has not eaten.
(33) In the figure God has indicated so long before that God's children are not to be counted or reckoned according to flesh and blood, but according to the spirit and rebirth. That is why the arch-father of all God's people had to become lame at the hip after he had seen God and had become a spiritual man; for the part of the body, namely the loins or hips, is used by Scripture to give birth to all men.
34. but to eat is nothing, but to preach and to teach, that so much is said: it must be preached and said to the Jewish people that no one is God's child because he was born or came from [the] patriarchs. The glory is even laid down, that each one for himself, without all glory, may rely solely on God.
grace, and thereby go before God; so that the Jews confess that they want to come to God, that they do not have it because they are of Abraham's seed, but because Abraham has it, that is, because they have the same faith. Thus everything that is preached about our works and free will falls away. God had foretold this before, because it was foreseen that the people of the fathers would take their fathers in high esteem and defy them, so that the birth would no longer be valid before Him, but would remain for a time until the promised Christ came, and then cease. So we have this noble chapter, in which you see the wonderful counsel that God uses with his saints, for our comfort and as an example that we may keep this in mind daily, whether he also plays with us so that we are prepared for it.