Parshat Vayishlach
(And He Sent)
by
Rabbi Cliff Maynard
Senior Rabbi,
Rock Of Israel Congregation,
Vice President,
National Jewish Fellowship of the AG
The name of this Parshat Vayishlach (and He sent), gives us insight to a dual message. The name implies that Jacob sent (and we will see he did), but I like to think it also implies Adonai sent. This is a very important point that needs mentioning. Finally, Jacob is free to go and live as he has dreamed of for the past twenty years. He has worked to gain his family and freedom and, to return to the land of his fathers; the Holy Land promised to Abraham and all Jewish people. As he finally packs up and heads out (I believe he has traveled and is getting ready to make camp), he has the first encounter on the road to“home” that must have set him back just a bit. We read in Genesis 32:1 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is G-d’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim. In the Hebrew makh·an·eh’ חָנָה (strongs #H2583) and it is used as (host/camp)
1. encampment, camp
A ) camp, place of encampment
B ) camp of armed host, army camp
C ) those who encamp, company, body of people).
I believe Jacob camped there and received divine advice from G-d on what he was about to encounter. I love this verse as it gives us hope, knowing that even though trials may be waiting down the road ahead, an army may be coming towards us to destroy us, yet G-d will send his army of angels ahead of us to warn and assist us. The next verse proves this because we see Jacob is sending messengers’ out to meet with Esau. There is no mention of anyone else warning Jacob that Esau was on the way to meet with him. Let’s read on…3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 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. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” 6 Then the messengers returned toJacob, 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.”
From the next few verses, we learn that G-d himself will speak to us, if we “camp” with Him, sit at his feet, pour out our heart to him and listen to His counsel. I like the fact that it mentions Jacob did not run back to the safety of his father–in-law, nor did he try to go around the problem, neither did he try and handle it on his own, but Jacob continued to “camp” right there with the Host of G-d. I believe G-d himself was in the camp, evidenced by the fact that we see that Jacob “said” not prayed, or cried out but “said.” Let this be a lesson to us, we should all learn to stay in the presence of G-d in the midst of trouble and allow Him to work it out for us, moving only when we are released to move.
9 Then Jacob said, “O G-d of my father Abraham and G-d of my father Isaac, the L-RD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. 11 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. 12 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.’ 13 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. 16 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.” 17 And 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? Whose are these in front of you?’ 18 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.’ 19 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; 20 and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For 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.” 21 So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.
May we all “lodge in the camp” of The L-RD!
As we end this parshat we learn that Jacob’s trouble is not just as a result of some bad blood between him and Esau. Yes, G-d could fix that, and we see that he does, yet that would not have fixed the “problem” for the problem was not found in an angry brother, but within Jacob himself. I have often discovered that when I have encountered G-d in times of trouble, it has brought to the surface things within myself that He wanted to correct. Many times, those things were a stumbling block to my becoming who He wanted me to be in Him, and even what He needed to accomplish through me.
The rest of the parshat deals with Jacob wrestling with G-d. The wrestling match definitely has a dual purpose, of which the outcome of his immediate life and future life would depend. Jacob goes into the wrestling match the “old Jacob”, then comes out of the contest with G-d blessing him to the life changing, New Name of Israel. It ends with the restoration of relationship with his brother and the establishment of “Israel.” What do we learn from this? No matter how bleak a situation may seem, G-d can change it!
Let me end with a few words of encouragement….ISAIAH 26:4 Trust in the L-RD forever, for the L-RD, the L-RD is the Rock eternal.
Psalm 9:9-12 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You. Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion! Declare His deeds among the people. When He avenges blood, He remembers them; He does not forget the cry of the humble.
Friends, May you find the angels of Adonai encamped around you….May you take lodging in the camp of The G-d of Hosts…. May you find peace in His presence and may the desire of your heart be for more of Him.
IN Yeshua,
Rabbi Cliff Maynard
Rabbi Cliff's Blog 