You're the word of God as you find it in Genesis, the 32nd chapter, beginning at verse one. So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, this is God's camp, and he called the name of that place, Maha Nayan. Then Jacob sent messengers before him to He saw his brother in the land of Seer and the country of Eden. And he commanded them, saying, speak thus to my Lord, Esau. Thus your servant, Jacob, says, I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. And I have said to tell my Lord that I may find favor in your sight. Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, we came to your brother, Esau. And he also is coming to meet you. And 400 men are with him. So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. And he divided the people that were with him and the flocks and herds and camels into two companies. And he said, if Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape. Then Jacob said, oh God of my father, Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac. The Lord who said to me, return to your country and to your family. And I will deal well with you. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth, which you have shown your servant. Where I crossed over this Jordan with my staff. 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, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For you said, I will surely treat you well and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. So he lodged there that same night and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau, his brother. 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 ewes and 20 rams, 30 milk camels with their colts, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 bulls. Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself and said to his servants, pass over before me and put some distance between successive droves. He commanded the first one, saying, when Esau, my brother, meets you and asks you saying, to whom do you belong and where are you going? Who are these in front of you? Then you shall say, they are your servant, Jacob's. It is a present sent to my Lord Esau and behold, he also is behind us. So he commanded the second, the third and all who followed the droves, saying, in this manner, you shall speak to Esau when you find him and also say, behold, your servant Jacob is behind us where he said, I will appease him with the present that goes before me and afterward I will see his face, perhaps he will accept me. So the present went on over before him but he himself lodged that night in the camp, the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let's pray together. Father, we do thank you for your word and we thank you that you have gathered us unworthy Jacob's into your presence and just as angels dwelt in the midst of Jacob's camp and Jacob then dwelt in the midst of that camp, so angels dwelt in the midst of this camp and we dwell in the midst of a heavenly camp. We don't see it and we don't see you that these things are more real, father and the pews upon which we sit, the sounds of voices that we hear and the bibles we hold in our hands. Your people need encouragement from these realities, O Lord, and so by your spirit come to us, take the truth of your word and impart that encouragement to your folk, to your people. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Maybe seated. I want to encourage you to be here next Sunday. You will have the privilege of hearing Dr. Bruce Waldke preach. Dr. Waldke worships with us when he is in town. He lives half the time or will not quite half the time but some of the time here in Orlando where he teaches at the foreign seminary the rest of his time he lives in Canada when he teaches at Regent College. Bob suggested a couple of weeks ago it might be a good idea to hear from the expert on Genesis. I mean God is really the expert but I think a lot of us agree that after God and the Holy Spirit Dr. Waldke is probably the expert of very very distant seconds to be sure. But someone who has lived in this book for years and years and so he's going to be preaching next week and I encourage you this week to pray for him and to pray for yourselves as he prepares and as you prepare he gets the privilege in the Lord's providence of preaching from what is arguably the most significant and thrilling passage in the whole book of Genesis this encounter which Jacob has at the Jabic River so you can read that for next week and and do pray for Dr. Waldke as he prepares and pray for yourselves as you prepare for worship and for the word next week. This last week a week ago yesterday Barbara and I were at the farmer's market in Winter Park. I said the light will thing to do on a Saturday morning we go get a cup of coffee and we get a pastry and just wander around and buy tomatoes and sweet corn and green beans and then take it all home and in the evening cook it and it's just a it's a great place great place to be and last Saturday as we were heading home I'm having enjoyed our coffee and our pastry and just as we were sort of heading out of the market a scene unfolded before us that has unfolded countless times in markets around the world a little four or five-year-old boy stepped in front of us and he was surrounded surrounded by big people and Barbara I just sort of trying to avoid him kind of stepped around him but as we stepped around him we heard him say softly dad and then the soft little plea for dad got a little bit louder dad dad and then the look of cum left his face and this expression of panic terror took over you've seen those television commercials where one face morphs into another face and then into another face well this little face morphed from the face of calm into a face of terror and then you could see the face beginning to contort and the tears beginning to well up in the little boy's eyes just a matter of seconds 15 or 20 seconds 30 seconds at the most dad dad dad and then not 10 feet away came the sound of another voice hey buddy I'm over here hey buddy it's okay I'm over here and the little boy hearing the voice the familiar voice turned on his heels and his face morphed from the face of abject terror back into a face of calm and peace and delight and he high stepped it in the direction of that voice having heard the voice of his father you don't see Jacob's face in this passage you don't hear his frightened plea for his father you don't watch his disorientation but it's there the terror the dread the fear verse seven tells us that Jacob experienced quote great fear and distress now this is after messengers have been sent and those messengers have returned and instead of bringing greetings from Esau they simply bring the report that Esau is fast approaching and that he has 400 men with him in the midst of all of that in the midst of Jacob's coming back in the direction of Esau in the midst of his uncertainty about the kind of reception that Jacob is going to have with Esau he experiences fear and distress he's alone he's afraid he's uncertain among other things you see in this passage and there is a lot here but among other things that you see in this passage you get a reminder of Jacob's circumstances real circumstances circumstances that produced in him a fear like the fear of the little boy in the market but in addition to the reminder of his circumstances you get in this passage a source of his comfort but then beyond a simple source of comfort you get a reminder of Jacob's confidence
you have his circumstances rehearsed for you and then you see the source of his comfort and then you get another reminder a reminder of the reason for his confidence Jacob's like that little boy alone afraid and uncertain why is that well just remember what his circumstances are remember who Jacob has been remember what Jacob has done remember that he's a deceiver remember that he has extorted from his brother his birthright his brother's birthright his brother is the eldest son was to have received all of the privileges of the eldest and first born son but if you go back into the earlier chapters of Genesis you know that Jacob extorted that birthright from his brother Esau and then you know as well that he extorted his brother's blessing he stole his brother's blessing from his father Isaac and if you go back to Genesis 27 41 that particular verse you get an insight into Esau's mindset with respect to his brother Esau after he has lost his birthright after he has lost his blessing after he has been deceived by his younger brother watched his father be deceived by his younger brother he says when the days of mourning are at an end when my father is dead and he is gone and the period of mourning for him is over I'm going to kill my brother and you read on in that passage Rebecca learns of Esau's designs and because of her affection for the younger of the two brothers Rebecca warns Jacob of Esau's fury and of his intent and they conspire together and Jacob flees Jacob runs from his family and by his own admission in verses 13 and following of chapter 32 the only thing he takes with him in effect by the clothes on his back he refers to his staff all he has is his staff his walking stick he leaves in haste he is on the run and then he finds his way to Laban and he engages in the same sort of practices with Laban that he engaged in with his father and with his brother only finds only he finds in Laban one who meets his match and now these two deceivers these two prince extortioners play this game with one another seeking to extort from one another riches but in the providence of God Jacob gets rich at Laban's expense gets so rich in fact that there is a conflict between the two families and so now Jacob is forced to leave Laban's home and to take his wives and his children with him and Jacob is again on the run this time from Laban and is making his way bastion of his family he is on his return home and in the passage just before the one that we've read this morning Laban and Jacob finally part but understand that they part having made a peace treaty these words that you find in Genesis 31 50 and following these words are often seen in greeting cards may the Lord watch between me and the while we're absent one from the other you see that in cards that people give to each other when you want to say goodbye to a friend you give him a card and it's got that verse in it may the Lord watch between me and the while we're absent one from the other looking forward to a great reunion and a great return that's not the thrust of these words the words are part of a treaty arrangement between two people who are at enmity with one another and they pile up some rocks and they call the God of Israel Jacob does and Laban calls the gods any gods he can think of any gods that come to mind they call upon the gods to witness this treaty so that if either of them should violate any of the stipulations of the treaty they will fall prey to the wrath of that God there's enmity between Jacob and Laban and they have to sign a peace accord in order to live at their borders in harmony with one another the point is the Jacob can't go back he can't return there is no safe harbor behind him there's not only hostility behind him because of his deception and because of the enmity that exists between Jacob and Esau there is hostility in front of him the man is trapped he's in a pinch and as Jacob gets closer and closer and closer to Esau being alone and afraid and uncertain the sense of uncertainty and the sense of fear and the sense of aloneness all of these things you've got to believe only intensified and increased only it wasn't an increasing dread in the span of 15 to 30 seconds like with a little boy in the market it was a sense of dread that grew day after day after day and here's the great thing about this passage and this is one of the most comforting and encouraging truths that you find anywhere in the scriptures it represents a theme that the scriptures come back to again and again and again and again in the midst of that uncertainty in the midst of his fear in the midst of his aloneness God speaks to Jacob and says to Jacob I am with you I'm with you it's interesting that he said that to Jacob when Jacob left the land and headed in the direction of Laban's land you go back to Genesis 28 and that passage where Jacob sees these angels ascending and descending upon this ladder that reaches up into heaven as Jacob leaves the land in the in the direction of Laban God says to him to your descendants and make this promise you will be as the dust of the earth you will spread abroad to the west and to the east to the north and the south and in you and in your seat all the families of the earth will be blessed be hold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you the promise of God to Jacob as he left the land of promise was that God would be with him and now as he comes back into a situation of great uncertainty God says in effect the same thing I am with you how does he do it how does God convey this idea that he is present with Jacob he does it by the presence of these angels the very first thing that Jacob encounters as he makes his way away from Laban and in the direction of Issa the very first thing that he meets is a company of angels not a single angel not even a dozen angels but likely hundreds and hundreds of angels the angels of God meet Jacob and so numerous are the angels of God that Jacob calls this place where he meets these angels he gives it the name two camps two camps of angels use new testament figures two legions of angels two armies of angels beings not seen to us beings only seen occasion but hundreds and hundreds of angels meet Jacob upon his return to the promised land and in those angels God is saying the unseen God the invisible God is saying to Jacob I'm with you I haven't forgotten you and I'm with you it happens all the time in the scriptures the marvelous instances where God's people have the veil pulled back if you will the curtain is torn and they get to peer into the unseen realities of this world in which we live second Samuel 5 well David is going up against the Philistines waging war against the Philistines God says to David don't go up against the Philistines until you hear the sound of marching in the tree tops when you hear the sound of soldiers marching in the balsam trees that's the sun to you that you will go up against the Philistines and you will vanquish them you will be victorious against what does God say he's saying all kinds of things he's saying you don't win this war in your own strength it's not by your armies that you will vanquish the Philistines it's not because you're smart it's not because you have resources it's not because you're good it's not because you're rich it's not because you're any of those things it is because I the Lord of hosts go before you and I defeat the Philistines that's one thing that's being said the other thing that's being said is I am with you don't be afraid of the Philistines you see it in 2nd King 6 this is such a when Elisha is in Dothan not the one in Alabama but the one where he's surrounded by the Arameans and Elisha and his servants on the city walls look out into the plain and they see the armies of the pagan king arrayed against the little city and against all of Israel and the servant is profoundly troubled and Elisha prays and asks that the eyes of his servant be opened and God hears the prayer and answers the prayer and the eyes of the servant are opened and he looks into the hills and he sees the hills surrounding the Aramean armies filled with fire and chariots filled with angels of glory and what is God saying to Elisha and to the servant I'm with you God is saying to Elisha and the servant the same thing that Jesus said to his disciples through the apostle John greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world the unseen one in the midst of his people God is saying to Elisha I'm with you who was with Shadrach Meshach and a bednego in the fire who caught the attention of King Nebuchadnezzar this fourth one like a son of man who blazed more brightly than the fires the angel of the Lord the pre-incarnate Christ and what is God saying I am with you when Jesus was arrested and Peter took off his sword and locked off the hear of the servant Jesus told him to stop it and say what do you think that at a words command I could summon 12 legions of angels and my father would send them 72,000 unseen warriors who would defend Jesus against any attack any assault any opponent
and here is Jacob facing fear with fear behind him uncertainty in front of him here is Jacob and not one angel but a vast vast host of angels and God is saying I as I said I would be and with you and these angels are evident on it we are like Madonna aren't we we are material boys and girls and we think the whole world is material the folks there are vast vast unseen hosts of angels beings with extraordinary power vast vast companies of defenders and protectors who surround the people of God and in camp in their midst you don't see them and they are not please forgive the strong language they are not these idiotic television actor and actresses who occasionally touch people with their presence but they are the army of Almighty God and they come and defend and fight for the God of heaven and earth and the people of God and that's what Jacob saw there is more here this morning than meets the eye the scriptures don't say a lot about angels but they are real and they are powerful and some of them surround the throne and they cry night and day holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts heaven and earth are full of his glory and when we at communion say to you lift up your voices and unite your voices with angels and archangels and all of the company of heaven and sing with them holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts your voices join those voices and there is a marriage and a union between the scene and the unseen and with one voice and jealous and human we sing the praises of God don't think for a moment that's theater that is the union of the scene and the unseen and they participate in this worship and they stir up their own hearts the worship of God who deserves to be worshiped and there are other of those angels who come to the aid of David who come to the aid of Elisha who come to the aid of Shadrach Mishak and Abednego who come to the aid of Jesus who come to the aid of Jacob and they are a reminder that God is with his people do not be afraid God is present how present there are a couple of words that the theologians use they use the word immensity to describe how God is present with his people and when they use the word immensity they mean that God fills all space there is no place where God is not he fills all space these angels do not fill all space they are simply a reminder to Jacob that God is with him has been with him will be with him they are a reminder to him that God accompanies him wherever he goes God is immense God fills all space
you know Psalm 139 Psalm 139 is a hymn a song you know the Psalter is the hymn book of Israel people sang these things in their gatherings for worship Psalm 139 verse 7 where can I go from your spirit where can I flee from your presence now if you're not a Christian that's a terrifying thing
but you see God doesn't mean for this to be terrifying for the Christian it's terrifying for the non Christian it can be terrifying for the Christian when the Christian is involved in things that are contrary to the will of God to the character of God it's troublesome to know that there is no place where I can flee from your spirit but you see God intends for Jacob to know and God intends for us to know that there is a real source for our comfort in knowing that God is present where can I go from your spirit where can I flee from your presence if I go into heaven you're there if I go to hell if I make my bed in hell in sheol in the nether world behold you are there as well if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea what David is envisioning what he is imagining is the first rays of sunlight as they shoot across the horizon and pass him and go well beyond him to the uttermost parts of the sea if I could travel at the speed of light if I could catch the wings of the dawn I can't beat you there you're already there you're present in that remote place even there your hand will lead me your right hand will hold me if I say surely the darkness will fall upon me even the night shall be light about me why because you are present with me
immensity means that God fills all space and because he fills all space he is present with his people no matter where they are the theologians use another word it's similar but there's a shade of difference at least as I understand that they also use the word omnipresence that means all present and what they mean by that is is more than what they mean when they say that God is immense that he fills all space what they mean to say by that is that the totality of his being the entirety of who he is is present in every point of space he is all present he is all present right here it's not that his head is stuck in one corner of the cosmos and his foot is on planet earth and his arms are upon or around Orion and his right hand touches and dramatta but the totality of who he is in the beauty of the entirety of his being his goodness his justice his mercy his kindness it is all present right here what what are your circumstances like how are they Jacob like where is the fear where is the uncertainty you see God is present you don't see these angels but they're here I'm sure of it if I'm to trust the scriptures which I believe I may because when God speaks he speaks truth and everything he says I can trust if I'm to believe the scriptures the scriptures give me plenty of evidence of the fact that there is more here than meets the eye and these angels are present and they are a reminder to us that God himself encamps in the midst of Israel God is here and God will be with you when you go and not just his hand or his arm or his leg or his backward parts that Moses saw that the entirety of his being accompanies you is a source for your comfort God is present he's present with you why do you say oh Jacob and assert oh Israel my way is hidden from the Lord do you not know have you not heard the everlasting God does not grow weary or tired his understanding is inscrutable unsearchable he's present with his people and Isaiah can say his understanding is inscrutable that is it knows no gaps it knows no limits he knows everything because he sees everything and he sees everything because he is present but with the Jacob but more than that here's the third thing if you didn't know we were on number two we were the source of Jacob's comfort is God's presence but Jacob has a greater confidence and simply knowing that God is present everywhere his confidence is in God's covenant faithfulness he may be confident because of the covenant in Jacob's prayer which prayer is his first prayer by the way and it is also the longest single prayer in this whole book in Jacob's prayer he acknowledges not only that God has been with him but he acknowledges that God has been merciful and that he has been faithful new came James those words are translated mercy and truth they are merciful and faithfulness and those are covenant words they're very very important words mercy or kindness describes the acts of a superior who comes to the aid of the helpless and that's what God does when he establishes a covenant he the superior the God of heaven and earth comes to the aid of the helpless and his faithfulness means simply that he can always be counted upon that he will never ever fail his people ever there are no asterisks in the margin no footnotes directing you to the notes at the end of the page or the end of the chapter where you get a bit of a discussion about the qualifiers that there are for God's mercy and faith thinking of the divine he is always merciful he is always faithful to his people he's a great picture of that in Psalm 73 Psalm 73 is one of my favorite Psalms probably is one of yours as well the Psalmist is reeling from his experience in life because what he sees in life is the wicked prospering and the righteous suffering he sees fools getting off scot free which is never really the case I hope we know not if God is really present and really knows nobody gets off scot free but as he looks at the world and he sees the world operating it seems that the wicked are prospering and it seems that the righteous are perishing and his heart is grieved verse 21 and he is vexed in his money he's confused he's twisted he's distorted he's turned upside down but then verse 22 I was so foolish and so ignorant I was like a beast before you nevertheless I am continually with you and you hold me by my right hand and you will guide me with your counsel and afterward receive me to glory whom have I in heaven but you it's a wonderful picture when a child is in distress in the vast majority of cases with which hand does that child reach for a parent with the right hand and here's the Psalmist in distress confused irration turned up vexed and perplexed and in the midst of it he reaches up his right hand and there is the hand of Almighty God to grasp it and to hold it and to lead him on merciful faithful and kind what are your circumstances today how is your world Jacob like fraught with fear and uncertainty
John Calvin says the essence of the Christian faith is to believe not to do but to believe to believe folks this is the truth and the only application I can make is to plead with you that no matter your circumstances you believe it because it's true let's pray together oh father help your people in their Jacob like circumstances to know that you are kind and merciful that you are faithful that you are with them and encourage their hearts in Jesus name they men