Parashah 8: Vayislach (He sent)

Parashah 8: Vayislach (He sent) - Genesis 32:4 - 36:43.

Haftarah (Writings and Prophets): Hosea 11:7 through 12:12.
B'rit Hadasha (New Testament): 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; Revelation
7:1-12.

Summary & Overview

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Genesis
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32:3 | Jacob Sends Presents to Appease Esau

32:22 | Jacob Wrestles at Peniel
33:1 | Jacob and Esau Meet
33:18 | Jacob Reaches Shechem
34:1 | The Rape of Dinah
34:25 | Dinah's Brothers Avenge Their Sister
35:1 | Jacob Returns to Bethel
35:16 | The Birth of Benjamin and the Death of Rachel
35:27 | The Death of Isaac
36:1 | Esau's Descendants
36:15 | Clans and Kings of Edom

Last week we looked at Jacobs life after leaving his home and family where he
married Labans two daughters Leah and Rachael. He worked a total of 20
years for Laban to earn his wives and livestock and fled to move away form
Labans control. After Laban caught up they made peace and made a covenant
before parting their ways.
As the Parashah opens, Jacob is once again on the move. This time he is
returning home, to the Land of his father Isaac. Before he can return he has to
face his Character, the Consequences of his deeds and his brother Esau in
order to enter his homeland again.

Reconciling with Esau

The next chapter in Jacobs life started where he sent out messengers to Seir to
his brother Esau in order to seek reconciliation after 20 years. As discussed
previously, the number 2, 20, 200 etc. means Restoration of Relationships and
this links perfectly with Jacobs decision to face Esau.
Jacob sends messengers ahead of him to meet with Esau. The messengers
came back and reported that Esau and 400 men are coming toward him to meet
Jacob. Is this good news or bad news? You can think what is going on in
Jacobs mind and thought that Esau is going to kill him as promised.

Hebrew Study Tip

Every Hebrew Letter also represents a number that has a meaning in it
self. When you see numbers in Scripture they can represent letters on
their own or words, linking the number to letters or words.
There is a deeper meaning to this scene of Esau meeting Jacob. The number of
people coming down to meet Jacob is 401, that is 1 + 400 where the Aleph

is

is represented by the number 400.

Adding these two gives you the Aleph Tav that is another indicating the
represented by the 1 and the letter Tav

Name for the Messiah as stated in Revelation 22.

Q What does this mean?
On the Physical level Jacob is encountering Esau but on a Spiritual level his real
encounter is with the Aleph-Tav or the Messiah.
Personal Application: There is no situation in life that we wrestle with that
is not YHVH in disguise. Isa 45 states that YHVH hides himself. He also
reveals Himself in ways we do not always understand or expect. There are
two aspects to this; every difficult situation you face is YHVH drawing
closer to you, revealing your impurities, in Jacobs case, it was fear. The
other aspect of facing difficulties is that He is with you in the situation and
has provided the outcome that normally involves you being changed.

Wrestling with YHVH

Jacob was wrestling with a Man.
Q - Was it an Angel, was it Yshua was it YHVH?
When you receive a gift, are you fixated with the
packaging, what it looks like and what it is made
off or are you interested to unfold the gift that is
wrapped within the packaging?
Q - What is more important, the Messenger or the message?
Looking at the Messenger and not the message is the same as you giving a dog
food on the floor and point to the food but the dog keeps on sniffing your finger.
The more you point the more interested the dog gets in your finger, only
focussing on the messenger, missing the message and the food.
Q Who is more important, Angels or the Word?
Q Who is more important, the Word or the Father?
Q What is more important, an experience with His Spirit or the Father?
Q Who is more important, Yshua or the Father?

We tend to be obsessed with the supernatural aspect of Angels and having an

experience and we keep on seeking the Angels or the experience missing the
Father. Some people are so obsessed with an experience or miracles that are
all good things that comes from YHVH, but they miss Him at the end focussing
on His hand, what they can get from Him instead of finding Him.
Then you get the other extreme where people worship the Word and never build
a relationship with the Father, Whom the Word actually points to. All of these
examples explain what Religion looks like where people seek and love the
process or message or experience or fellowship with one another more
than they love or seek the Father. Remember He is our exceedingly Great
Reward. Dont be like a stupid dog sniffing His finger and miss the One Whos
finger it is.
Back to the Man Jacob wrestled with. Some believe it was an Angel and some
believe it was Yshua. I believe it was the latter because YHVH expresses
Himself in the Physical though Yshua His Right Hand as well as the fact that
the 401 men pointed to the Messiah that he would face. The gift that he
received was the promised of the Covenant made to Abraham that he will get
YHVH, the Father, Who is his exceedingly great reward.
Facing Esau and having the wrestling match with the supernatural gave Jacob
direction, changing his name and his character. After the encounter with the
mystery Man, Jacob was touched on the thigh and made him walk with a limp
from there on. This physical change in his walk represents YHVH changing his
halechah of his walk, the way he approach life and conduct himself within
different situations. Every real encounter with YHVH will change you.
Q - If you have not changed after you had an encounter, was the encounter
really with Him?

Jacob Divided His Household

Gen 32:6-8 Then the messengers returned
to Jacob, saying, We came to your brother
Esau, and he also is coming to meet you,
and four hundred men are with him. 7 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. 8 And he said, If Esau
comes to the one company and attacks it,
then the other company which is left will
escape.
Gen 33:2 So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two
maidservants. 2 And he put the maidservants and their children in front,
Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.
We see Jacobs character once again as the schemer, taking things in his own
hands, dividing his people into two groups.

We see the motive of his actions is driven by fear and not faith. If he had faith he
would not have acted this way and divide his people in order to protect them
form his perception of what is coming.
Personal Application: We sometimes create an enemy that is larger than
the real one and sometimes mistake YHVH in disguise with the enemy.
David called it a shadow of death that means that it is not real, it is only
an outline of an image of death and in this case, Esau that is definitely
going to kill him. Fear will make everything bigger that it really is but at the
end you will see that you have overreacted and that the issue or enemy
was just an outline of the shadow your own fear created.
Jacob sends one camp, Leah and her children before the other, Rachael and
Joseph, showing to Leah and her camp their importance. What went through
their minds and what did they think of Jacobs actions? He might have been
portrayed as a poor leader with no faith, a loveless husband and a careless
father. They probably felt like the bait at the end of a fishing line.
Personal Application: It is never a good thing to divide the people
because it is a symbol of disunity. Peoples lack of faith can cause disunity
especially if it exists within leadership. In this example we find wisdom for
spiritual leaders; whenever the enemy comes to attack the Congregation,
do not fear or make plans to minimise the casualties, rather equip the
saints to enable them to defend themselves against the enemy and to
stand in faith, trusting that their maturity will overcome whatever is coming
their way. Leaders like to make people dependant of themselves, just like
we see here with Jacob, and when the enemy comes, there is no one to
stand with the leader and he has to make a plan to preserve his people.
The Word is the sword that YHVH gave us to overcome Satan in our midst,
teach people to use it and the unity will be sustained.

Jacobs Gifts to Esau

Gen 32: 13-15 So he lodged there that same night, and took what came
to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: 14 two hundred female goats
and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milk
camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys
and ten foals.
Jacobs gift consists of:

200 female goats

20 male goats
200 ewes
20 rams
30 milk camels
40 cows
10 bulls
20 female donkeys
10 foals
4

Each number represents something different and combining all the meanings af
all the letters will tell us a story that contains YHVHs wisdom.
We find the number 2 repeating 5 times. Number 2 means Restoration of
Relationships and the number 5 means Grace. This is the message Jacob was
sending to Esau giving him these gifts, that he might find favour in the eyes of
his brother and be gracious to him so that their relationship can be restored.
We also see the number 30 that means Covenant and this is similar to when
Laban followed after Jacob they ended up making a covenant to appease the
situation. The relationship was broken over a Covenant dispute and needs to be
restored for the sake of the Covenant.
The number 40 means, Work of the Messiah and this confirms what we have
already discussed where the situation Jacob faced was the Messiah in disguise
and the outcome of facing Him was a changed man.
The number 10 occurs twice and the number 1, 10 means unity or Echad as
well as Completion. This is in relation to the Covenant YHVH made with Jacob
where the relationship between YHVH and Jacob needs to be restored or
strengthened so that they can become one or Echad so that YHVH can become
Jacobs exceedingly Great Reward as promised.

Jacob Crossed Over

Gen 32:22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two
female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok
Then Jacob and his family crossed over the Jabbok. The concept of crossing
over have come up and is the same a s the Hebrew word ibree that is
translated as Hebrew. Abraham crossed over and became the first Hebrew.
Q What does it mean to cross over?
To cross over means to leave everything behind and follow YHVH will all you
have. We are all familiar with the term to be born again, to cross over from
darkness into the light and to cross over mans just that. This is where Jacob
really made a personal decision to follow YHVH will everything he got, which
included his family.
The word Jabbok means, to empty out and that is exactly what Jacob did and
that is also what happens we you make that personal decision to follow YHVH
giving your life to Him. When you ask Jacob when he was saved he will
probably say that it happened that night at the river Jabbok, when he emptied
myself out before YHVH and crossed over to become a true Hebrew just like
his Grandfather Abraham.

Q Can a Jew be saved without accepting Yshua?

The Crossing over of Abraham and Jacob is an interesting concept of
Salvation of people pre-Yshua.
Q - Did Jacob encounter Yshua and accepted Him as his Lord and Saviour?
Yes, Yshua came to him in the form of Esau and 400 mean that caused him to
make a real commitment to follow YHVH and that night of the encounter where
YHVH changed his name, his character and he became a new creation.
Q - What did Yshua or Jesus look like when you accepted Him as your
Saviour?
You were probably in a desperate state or faced situations that you could not
bear any more. Then you cried out to God and asked Him to take over your life
so that He can make things better through saving you. This is what Jacob did,
the only thing that sounds different is the Name of the Saviour. We know Him as
Jesus or Yshua and Jacob know Him as YHVH saves because of His
Covenant. Yshua means YHVH Saves and as the example with the dog
looking at the hand pointing to the Father, we tend to only focus on Yshua and
forget that it the Father that saves.

Jacobs Wrestling
Gen 32:24-28 Then Jacob was left alone; and
a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of
day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not
prevail against him, He touched the socket of his
hip; and the socket of Jacobs hip was out of
joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said,
Let Me go, for the day breaks. But he said, I
will not let You go unless You bless me! 27 So He
said to him, What is your name? He said,
Jacob. 28 And He said, Your name shall no
longer be called Jacob, but Israel;[b] for you have struggled with Elohim
and with men, and have prevailed.
Q Why did Jacob wrestle with this man?
Jacob feared for his life and was terrified and know Esau and 400 men are
coming for him fuelled with vengeance. It was dark and then someone jumps
him and his first reaction was to defend himself thinking it was Esau that came
to kill him. They wrestled that implies that Jacob wanted to gain control over his
attacker to stop him from killing him. Jacob thought Esau wanted to kill him but
he did not what to kill Esau, he just wanted to stop him. This wrestling match
was to gain control over the over person and this went on all night long.
Personal Application: No matter what situation you are wrestling with in
your life, it is not what you think or expect. As we have seen earlier that
Esau and his 400 men revealed Messiah in disguise and eventually it
happened where Jacob wrestled with Messiah physically (I believe). The
problem you go through is Yshua in disguise and you would like to gain
power over the problem but the Problem (Yshua) wants to gain power over
you so that He can change you.

Q When did this wrestling match end?

The wrestling match continued during the night until the light came on.
Light is another word for Truth or Revelation and YHVH will reveal to you
what it is He wants you learn within that situation you are wrestling with.
Once you receive the revelation, the wrestling will stop. So, when you face
difficult times or wrestle with something, ask YHVH what you need to learn
form this and ask Him what you need to change in your life so that the
pain can stop or the situation can be resolved sooner.
Q Why did the Man want to leave when the light came?
Isaiah tells us that YHVH hides Himself and the light
would reveal Him and blow His cover. Realising this
we see that this was not about fighting an opponent to
win, it was more like interacting with a sparing partner
that you need to train yourself and the wrestling match
suddenly became one sided where Jacob wrestled in
order to overcome himself and his weaknesses. This is
why YHVH uses real situations to train us up so that we
will be able to live life, walking in His Promises successfully.
All the fights you have, all the situations you face are actually fights against
yourself, that inner man called Esau (or Nefesh) and the heart (Nashama) so
that you can overcome them and become more like Him.
Q Why did the Man touch Jacobs hip?
Was this man playing dirty, injuring Jacob because He could
not overpower Jacob? In a sense yes, our wills are so strong
that YHVH cannot change it unless He weakens us in some
way so that we can become humble and accept what He is
offering. The dislocated hip had a permanent effect on Jacob
that changed the way he walked or his walk or halechah.
The way you walk from a Hebrew perspective means that way
you conduct yourself and do everything. It includes everything
you think and say, the way you act and react. YHVH touched
Jacob and changed his walk (halechah) or character and he became a new
man or new self as Paul describes in Ephesians.
Eph 4:22-24 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay
aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of
deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on
the new self, which in the likeness of Elohim has been created in
righteousness and holiness of the truth.
You are being created into the likeness of YHVH, being exposed to situations
wherein YHVH hides Himself so that you can wrestle with Him and that He can
change you into a new man, laying off the old and walk in the newness of life
with a new changed character.

The wrestling match concluded with Jacobs name being changed from Jacob to
Israel and YHVH blessing him. Your name is your character and your destiny
and Jacobs character changed form that day on (being born again, I believe)
and his destiny changed from being a schemer to becoming the father of the
Nation that is YHVHs people, Israel.

The Kiss of Esau

After the encounter with YHVH, Jacob saw Esau
and his men, and divided his camp into two
groups where Leah and her maidservants and
children were placed before Rachael and her
maidservants and Joseph last. When Jacob and
Esau met , Esau ran to meet him and kissed him
and they wept.

Hebrew Study Tip

Jots and Tittles are referred to in Matthew 5:17 where Yshua said that
not one jod or tittle of the Torah will pass away until all is fulfilled. When
Yshua made reference to the jots and tittles, Torah teachers of His day
knew what they were, but were confused as to what they meant. Today,
Christians and Christian teachers have no idea what Yshua is referring
to. A jod is referred to as the smallest letter in the Aleph-Bet but also
means dots placed above letters or words. (see example below). Tittles
are either enlarged letters or letters that are written smaller than other
letters in order to draw the attention of the reader or to emphasize or
connect two thoughts or words. Smaller letters normally change the
meaning of the letter to the opposite meaning where larger letters can
emphasize its meaning.
Gen 33:4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his
neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Interestingly we see Esau and Jacob embracing where Esau, who wanted
Jacob dead, kissing him compared to the previous section where Jacob
wrestled with YHVH, Who promised to bless him, fighting with him. What is
going on, things are different than they appear. Lets find out, the meaning is
hidden within the Hebrew text.

The Jots (small dots above each letter) are placed above the word translated as
kissed. Many sages say that the kiss of Esau was not genuine but rather a bite
to the neck with the jots indicating teeth marks.
Q What do these teeth marks represent?

A bite that is hidden in a kiss can send confused messages to the receiver of
that kiss. Esau swore to kill Jacob but here he leaves slight teeth marks in the
neck of Jacob that look to the others like a kiss, but Jacob knew it was not over
yet. This is a prophetic sign hidden in Scripture that point to future events where
the descendants of Esau will become enemies of Jacob and his descendants,
who will still try to kill them. This teeth mark is the sign of that promise to kill
and is even evident until this day.
This is not the only place in Scripture where these jots are found; there are
other places in Scripture that also has these jots that actually links these
passages together. The jots of Moses come in four places in Scripture and are
sequenced as follows:
Esaus kiss Gen 33:4
Jacobs flock (Starting the story of Joseph and Messiahs redemption)
Gen 37:12
Aarons counting of the Levites Num 3:39
In the passage in Deut 29:29 The secret things belong to YHVH our
Elohim, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that
we may observe all the words of this Torah.
These passages are connected and tell a prophetic future story form where the
hostility started with the Kiss of Esau, the hostility regarding the Birthright and
the Covenant. Then it emphasizes the starting of the events regarding Josephs
life that will dramatically change when his brothers sold him as a slave. This is a
beautiful prophetic picture of Messiah and the jots in this passage are actually

above an Aleph-Tav
that points to the Messiah. These Jots signals the
start of the redemption process as depicted in Josephs life story. Next is the
counting of the Levites that indicated the receiving of the Torah and the
facilitating of YHVHs Word through the Levites to the people of Israel,
preserving the Birthright and Covenant Message to the Nation and their
generations to come. Lastly, it is bout the secret things and the revealed
things. The Word of YHVH is the revealed things that goes hand in hand with
observing His Torah, following His Direction till you reach the Promised Land
(Kingdom). The hidden things are the things that belongs to YHVH, things only
He knows that will be revealed as the timeline unfolds into the future, extending
towards the Coming of Messiah. Within His timing He will reveal these secrets to
His people in order to guide them until His Coming.

Prophetic Picture of Jacobs Life

All of us, before entering the Land or the Kingdom, have to face who we are and
stand in judgement before our selves. The cleansing must take place and you
have to face the evil you to confront him/her in order to be changed so that you
can enter the Land YHVH promised.
The whole story of Jacob returning is about YHVHs people returning (teshuvah)
or repenting before Him before they can enter His Kingdom. We all have to
cross the river, wrestle with YHVH so that He can change our names /
Characters. Part of this is to face Esau, our flesh and fears, all we have done in
prior to our return. Everything we will look at in this study is about confronting
ourselves, facing YHVH, facing our enemies and prepare to enter the Kingdom.