(Post #19) Jacob & The Angel

Henry Commentary (Out of Context – Paraphrased).- Perhaps Jacob retained such instances of idolatry and superstition, and had his idols in their gardens [the “one” he followed]. In the day of vengeance secret wickedness will be brought to light and brought to the account; for, I know their works and their thoughts. God knows both what men do and from what principle and with what design they do it; and therefore is fit to judge the world, because He can judge the secrets of men.

Bible Prophecy Ministry.- The world is drawing closer and closer to an affixed point in human history that shall catapult the whole world into the epic drama of the Great tribulation. That epic era is depicted in the life and times of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob.

Jeremiah 30:7 “Alas! for that day is great, (Tribulation era-Day of the Lord) so that none is like it: it is even the time of “Jacob's Trouble”; but he (Israel) shall be saved out of it.”

ISAIAH 14:1-2 “For Jehovah will have pity on Jacob, and will chose yet among Israel, and give them rest on their [home] land. And the alien [the non Israelite- the Gentile left helpless in the face of oppression- who of necessity relied upon others for justice, since they were not in a position to demand it, or mete it out themselves] shall be joined to them; and they shall cling to the house of Jacob [in the thick of the battle of life- for Jacob is in enemy territory and threatened by a hostile world]. And peoples [the Persians - "light bearers" of justice] shall take them and bring them to their place. And the house of Israel [whose very covenant safeguards the liberties of others] shall possess them [in an ethical sense] on the land of Jehovah for slaves and slave girls [as a people who meekly accept the law of the land, being ruled by the laws of a democratic society not the law of the jungle], and they shall be [in such a posture -socially restrained] captives of their [law enforcing] captors [restoring and maintaining the boundaries of the law], and [in such a social posture] they shall rule over their [lawless and cruel] oppressors [the ruthless Babylonians- a formidable political world power of underground organized crime- involved in a secret bid for worldwide domination - biding dominion through a the New World Order].”

Bible Prophecy Ministry.- The story in Genesis 32, in which Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord, is a prophecy of the final conflict, called “The day of the Lord.” As the father of the Twelve Tribes, he is central to the development of many Bible themes. The very course of his life foreshadows the future of his people, even to the coming dark night of the “Great Tribulation”. There are amazing similarities between his persona and the inner nature of national Israel. In and of themselves, the names of Jacob and Israel, literally define the people called by God to secure the land grant promised to his grandfather, Abraham.
Thus, the name of Israel means, “one who fights God and prevails.” Modern Israelis also point out that under the rules of Hebrew grammar, the name also means, “One for whom God fights and prevails.” Taken in turn, each of these name meanings represents the long history of Israel and its people.

Having passed through a long, dark night of personal tribulation, Jacob became Israel. In his struggle, he received both injury and blessing. Thus, he became the archetype for the future struggle of the nation of Israel. Israel's struggle had barely begun. It stretched out across the centuries to come, and even today, its culmination is still future to us. Once more, Israel will wrestle with the Lord for a blessing. Bible prophecy tells us that Israel will win that blessing, but not without a physical and spiritual struggle, and not without battle scars.

Jeremiah 30:3-7 "For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. “And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it."

In this scripture passage, we are reminded of Jacob's long dark night of struggle, when he wept, pleaded and fervently prayed through the night, all the while being embroiled in a physical contest with the angel of the Lord. Jeremiah is struck with the turmoil of this period, and describes it as being so startling that it looks like a physical impossibility. The nation of Israel will labor as a woman giving birth. Like their ancient patriarch, they will struggle to remain alive and realize the dream of bringing in the Kingdom. But, as Jeremiah says, Israel will be rescued from the turmoil in the end. -Bible Prophecy Ministry

Henry Commentary.- He (God) will appear to the comfort and joy of all that are faithful to Him in the setting up of His kingdom in this world, the kingdom of grace, the earnest and first-fruits of the kingdom of glory. The time shall come that He will gather all nations and tongues to Himself, that they may come and see His glory as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ. The church had hitherto been confined to one nation and in one tongue only God was worshipped; but in the days of the Messiah the partition-wall should be taken down, and those that had been strangers to God should be brought acquainted with Him and should see His glory in the gospel, as the Jews had seen it in the sanctuary. As to this, it is here promised, that some of the Jewish nation should, by the grace of God, be distinguished from the rest, and marked for salvation.

Calvin Commentary.- He (God) says that the time is at hand when He shall assemble all the nations, that He may cast off the hypocrites and ungodly, and gather and adopt a people to Himself from among them. The Jews were puffed up with pride, and despised all other nations as unholy. But the Lord declares that He will adopt those nations (as His), that they may be partakers of His glory, of which the Jews (ejectors of Jesus testimony) prove themselves to be unworthy.
This is a remarkable passage, which teaches us that God is not confined to any people, so as not to choose whomsoever He pleases, by casting off unbelievers whom He formerly called to Himself. Isaiah now threatens them in this manner. “Think not that God is in want of peoples when you have revolted and have rendered yourselves unworthy of His grace, for He will have others…

(Prophesy)

Mathew, Jamieson, Brown Commentary.- It shall come that I (Jehovah) will – the time is come that I will gather all nations – against Jerusalem, where the ungodly Jews [the “men of scorn” , the wolves who – having secretly joined themselves to the forces of the Anti-Christ] shall perish; and then the Lord at last shall fight for Jerusalem against those nations; and the survivors shall “see God’s glory”.

Isaiah 1:7-9 “Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. The Daughter of Zion is left like shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege. Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.”

(FOR NOW: The Wrath of Jehovah - Against Jacob)

Isaiah 2:6-11 “You (God) have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob [into the palm of the enemy, the ruthless Babylonians]. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans. Their land is full of silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures. The land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots. Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made. So man will be brought low and mankind humbled- do not forgive them.”
“Go into the rocks [places of lawful refuge and safety- in the times of invasion by the enemy- flee to safety from the danger]; hide in the ground [the shelter of the righteous abodes of man- until the danger has passed] from dread of the Lord [when in wrath He turns His hand from the face of the enemy- and allows the Babylonians to conquer the saints] and [find refuge in] the splendor of His majesty! The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”

(Post #18) Wolves - Men of Scorn

ISAIAH 66:18 “For I (Jehovah) know their works and their thoughts- it [the “evil intentions and devices of the apostate”] comes to gather all the [different] nations and the tongues [those nations that differ from one another by their language], and they shall come [to this particular point and place] and see My glory [i.e., the exalted pristine holiness of the Almighty].”

Henry Commentary.- The sense is, that though their abominable rites were celebrated in the deepest recesses of the groves, yet they were not concealed from God. The sense is, that the period would come when Jehovah would collect all nations to witness the execution of His vengeance on His foes. “They shall come and see My glory,” that is, the manifestation of My perfections in the great events referred to here- the destruction of His enemies, and the deliverance of His people. It seems to me, that there is involved here the idea of the judgment or punishment on the enemies of God, and at about the same time a collecting of the nation… In some future time (from the date of this writing 1847 A.D.), Jehovah would manifest Himself as the punisher of His enemies, and all the nations also would be permitted to behold His glory, as if they were assembled together.

Oswalt Commentary.- This verse marks the transition to the final word of hope. Its form is difficult, but if the text it correct, the sense is that the evil works and the twisted plans of rebel humans will serve only as a foil for the greater revelation of the glory of God. (Paraphrased) The gathered people of the world, including ethnic (nations) and linguistic (tongues) groups, will see His power and His righteousness.
The message of God is not for the descendants of Jacob but for the world, and those of the world who respond to it are the true children of Jacob. The message has been given the Israelites as a trust to be proclaimed. It is not national election or cultic righteousness that makes people the servants of the Lord, but obedience to His word. From the very outset Israel is expected to be the means whereby the nations are drawn to the mountain of the house of the Lord to learn the Torah (the body of wisdom and law contained in the Jewish Scripture) of God.
When those who rely on God in humility are delivered from the hands of oppressors and aggressors, and stand up to possess the earth, then the world will know that God is the Lord indeed. This has already happened in part in the formation of the church. The Christians were despised and rejected, but God vindicated Himself through them, and the nations were drawn to the glory of God. So also at the end of all things, we may expect another such ingathering as the world sees the deliverance of the righteous and the judgment of the wicked.