Nothing is more devastating to an athlete, an artist, a corporation or a church than to be making progress in a particular area and then to be overwhelmed with a sense of pride and complacency. We tend to rest on our laurels and fail to press for greater growth and maturity.

The same principle applies to the matter of security. Christians are forever secure in the salvation of Jesus Christ, but there is a complacency which can be destructive and counter-productive in our spiritual lives. We can wrong conclude that eternal security means there is no need to press on, no urgency and no imminent danger in our Christian experience. Ironically, the moment we feel secure, we are in the greatest danger. When we become aloof to the intensity of the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged and start to ignore the enemy who seeks to destroy us, we are beginning to fall into the enemy's grip. This is all too common for Christians, as Jacob illustrated.

Jacob expected the worst when his brother was coming his way, but once the danger passed, he became forgetful of the divine command and his own vow to return to Bethel. A false sense of security made Jacob careless in his actions and brought him to a point of very grave spiritual and physical anger. Except for the questionable actions of his sons and the providence of God, Jacob coudl ahve been virtually destroyed.

We modern American Christians have been lulled into a false sense of security by our comfortable and easy way of life. Americans live in a nearly cradle-to-grave protective shell, never wondering when our next meal will come or where we will sleep tomorrow night. Christians can feel even more comfortable because of pre-Tribulation theology that teaches that that we won't be around the face the really bad times anyway because Christians will be raptured before then. Some, believing this, begin to live carelessly and find ourselves in danger of some serious spiritual defeats. We can learn much from Jacob about how to avoid complacency and over-confidence in our spiritual walk.

Please read Genesis 33:1-16 for the text of Jacob and Esau's meeting. It would seem that the moment the wrestling match with the Angel ended, Jacob saw Esau coming. He immediately moved to the very vanguard of his entourage, reasoning that it was him whom Esau hated, so any harm done should fall on him first. As Jacob went out to meet his brother, he genuflected repeatedly in a token of his newly found humility.

As a writer, I can imagine this scene. Esau perhaps rode up rapidly to Jacob. Leaping from his mount, he ran toward his brother while Jacob watched with great anxiety, gaze fixed upon the weapons Esau carried. How shocked, how stiff he must have been when Esau wrapped him in a warm and tender embrace with tears of genuine joy. To his great relief, Jacob realized that Esau had come as a forgiving friend and brother rather than an avenging foe.

They talked over family and then turned their attention to the droves of livestock. Jacob reiterated that these were a gift, an expression of love. Esau tried to politely refuse the gift as unnecessary, but Jacob persisted and prevailed.

"No, please take them," Jacob said. "If I have found favor in your sight, accept my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, it is as if I have seen the face of God." Genesis 33:10

Jacob had learned very recently that to prevail with God was also to prevail with men. Now Esau had welcomed him with open arms, Jacob saw God's protection in the face of his brother. The one was the result of the other. God, not Esau, had been the obstacle to Jacob's entry into Canaan. Now that he had prevailed with God by means of petition and clinging to Him in faith, Esau was no longer a foe, but a friend.

Esau is a magnificent picture of graciousness and forgiveness. In remarkable similarity to the words of teh father of the prodigal son at his return (Luke 15:20), Esau accepted Jacob's generous gifts and offered to accompany his brother on the journey to Canaan. Jacob appreciated the offer, but explaiend that he could not travel as the same pace as Esau. His entourage were women, children and flocks, not men at arms. Esau still offered an escort for the journey, but Jacob turned it down, assuring Esau that all he wanted was his brother's favor. Esau failed to recognize that Jacob had resorted to his old habit of deception. He said he would meet Esau at Seir, but it seems he had no intention of actually doing so. The disasterous results of Jacob's side trip would indicate that Jacob took another wrong turn in life.

Jacob traveled to Succoth and built a farm there. This was, in a very real sense, a step backward for Jacob. Geographically, Succoth was in the opposite direction from Seir, and more importantly, from Bethel, where Jacob had been instructed to return. Moses did not provide a reason for Jacob's move, but we can make some guesses. Jacob may not have been eagar to face Isaac who he had deceived and from who he must seek forgiveness. Jacob may not have wanted to spend much time in close proximity to Esau, who seemed quite able to protect his own interests. Jacob had promised God a tithe when he returned to Bethel, so he may have been reluctant to part with some of his prosperity. Finally, the most practical reason is that the Jordan Valley where Succoth was located is far superior pasturage than the mountainous area around Bethel.

More distressing than the direction of Jacob’s travels was the duration of his stay at Succoth. Historians say that Dinah could not have been older than 6 or 7 when Jacob left Paddan-aram, but by the time Jacob moved to Shechem, she was of marriageable age, which would have been at least 12 or 13. Several years must, therefore, have passed between the meeting of Jacob and Esau and the events of chapter 34. Some of those must have passed at Succoth, where Jacob built a house and became a settler rather than a sojourner.

We are not given any reason for Jacob’s departure from Succoth to Shechem. All Moses told us was that Jacob arrived "safely" at the city of Shechem (verse 18). His camping near the city is reminiscent of Lot’s ever closer attachment to the city of Sodom, until he was a citizen. Again, Jacob did not appear to be a man passing through, for he purchased a piece of property from a man whose name he would some day like to forget.

Outwardly, Jacob appears to have been a religious man like Abraham. He built an altar, for example. However, while Abraham built altars "to the Lord" and both he and Isaac called upon the name of the Lord in worship, Jacob built his altar when he got around to it, as if it were a religious formality rather than an act of faith. It is extremely difficult to worship God where we are not supposed to be.

Jacob's daughter Dinah struck up a friendship with some of the girls in Shechem, which drew attention from an admirer, named Shechem, who was the son of Hamor, the man Jacob bought land from. While she was alone, Shechem raped her. The rape was an abomination, but the boy claimed to love Dinah and want to marry her. His father sought to assuage the rage of Dinah's brothers by stressing Shechem's great love for her and noting that such a marriage would pave the way for many other benefits. They could marry Canaanite women, for example, and engage in local business more easily. Hamor was willing to pay any dowry to appease they rage.

Jacob's sons were not content with such an offer, but they were willing to exact revenge in a different way.

"Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem had violated their sister Dinah. They said to them, "We cannot give our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace to us. We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters to marry, and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. But if you do not agree to our terms by being circumcised, then we will take our sister and depart." Genesis 34:13-17

To me, it's odd that these words are attributed to Jacob's sons rather than Dinah's brothers, but it may be that Moses was calling attention to their deceit. They had learned well from their father. The only concession Jacob's sons required could only be declined with great difficulty. Circumcision would unite the Canaanites with the Israelites so that intermarriage would be acceptable and permissible. If this rite were not followed, then no intermarriage could take place.

Of course, circumcision would physically incapacitate the Canaanites, making the slaughter of Hamor, Shechem adn all the inhabitants of the city much easier to accomplish. There is no defense for what they proposed.

Jacob’s silence is even more evil than his sons’ schemes. His sons proposed intermarriage with the Canaanites only as a means to induce them to be circumcised so that they could be overcome more easily. Jacob silently and passively accepted the agreement with the people of Shechem, fully expecting to carry it out. Jacob planned to allow his descendants to intermarry with the Canaanites, but his sons had no such intention. Jacob, in comparison with his sons, was even more guilty than they! His willingness to allow this intermarriage was not only contrary to the purposes ad promises of God in the Abrahamic covenant, but it is also a direct violation of the instructions which his father had given him in Genesis 28:1-4.

On good faith, Hamor and Shechem went to their fellow citizens and convinced them to comply with the proposal of Jacob’s sons. It seemed a reasonable offer and Shechem was eager to have the marriage performed. The other men of the city were convinced on financial grounds. A temporary inconvenience would eventually offer substantial profits. What was the downside?

Little did the people of Shechem realize the intentions of Dinah’s brothers, whose anger could not be appeased by anything less than the revenge of blood. Weakened by their circumcision, the men of the city were virtually helpless when attacked by Simeon and Levi. They killed every male, and the rest of their brothers were quick to share in the spoils. All of their wealth along with the women and children was taken.

The shallowness of Jacob’s stern rebuke was exposed by his sons response: "Should he treat our sister as a harlot?" The issue of morality had never been raised by Jacob. Granted, the sons’ deception and destruction hardly seems moral, but they had some sense of the abomination that had taken place concerning their sister, while Jacob was strangely silent and passive on this point.

Reviewing Jacob's life is interesting. Whenever he was in the greatest danger, God was with him. As he fled Esau's wrath, he met God in Bethel. While hotly pursued by his frustrated father-in-law, God curtailed Laban's plans with a warning. Upon returning to face his brother, Jacob met a host of angels. In truth, Jacob was always safest when his life seemed in greatest peril.

On the other hand, he was never in greater danger than when he felt safe. Jacob felt safest when hsi brother was out of sight, yet Esau would have provided him with an escort of armed and loyal men. Jacob felt secure when his cattle coud feed on the lush grass of Succoth, near the city of the Canaanites, where his daughter was raped.

Most of us are inclined to trust God and obey Him when we sense grave danger and feel that our only hope is in God. Sadly, we all tend to slack up on our diligence and devotion when things are going smoothly. We think we can handle the easy times by ourselves and let God handle the crises. Most Christians are foxhole Christians.

The Israelites learned a powerful lesson from reading this as they were about to enter the land of Canaan. Their only security was in God. Their greatest danger in the promised land was not the size of the inhabitants or their military prowess, but in becoming carelessly complacent about spiritual purity and resisting false pride. Of course, they had the powerful memory of being trapped between the Red Sea and the soldiers of Egypt and discovering they were perfectly safe because they were where God wanted them to be.

The great danger for Israel was what would happen once they were in the land. During the years in which they wandered in the desert, they were, humanly speaking, in a most dangerous situation, but God miraculously provided for them and used those circumstances to teach them that the most important matters of life were not food and drink, but obedience to the will of God and the keeping of His word (Deuteronomy 8:1-6). The greatest danger which Israel would ever face was not the persecution of the Egyptians, for that kept them pure. The greatest danger Israel would face was their prosperity and apparent security once they possessed the land (Deuteronomy 8:11-18).

Man’s security has always been in God, and in God alone. This is not just a New Testament truth; it is an eternal truth. There is no security in the "arm of the flesh," only in the "arm of Jehovah." If we trust in our own devices, we are exceedingly vulnerable. If we trust in God, we are invincible.

The slaughter of the Canaanites by the sons of Jacob, while done in deception, was a necessity. Had Simeon and Levi not slaughtered the men of this city, Jacob’s sons and daughters would have intermarried. Jacob had already consented to it, viewing their friendliness and openness as an evidence of safety and security. In reality, it was the opposite. The willingness of the Canaanites to adopt Jacob, the Israelites, and their religion into their way of life would have defiled the purity which God required for this race. While Jacob did not take such activity as defiling and disgraceful, his sons did, agreeing with God. Later He would instruct the Israelites to wipe out the Canaanites due to their depravity and decay (Deuteronomy 20:17-18). From this incident in the life of Jacob the Israelites could see the consequences of cohabitation with the Canaanites.

Safety is not something we can provide for ourselves. We are never secure apart from God. Every non-believer must be warned of this truth (Acts 4:12). Safety comes only from God (Psalm 4:8). The true believer is most secure when he/she is follow the Word of God (Proverbs 1:33). Safety is not the absence of danger, but the acknowledgment of it and subsequent turning to God for protection (Daniel 3:13). Times of apparent safety which lead to complacency are occasions when danger is greatest. Real dangers are most often not seen by human eyes because they are spiritual in nature, including unbelief, apathy, carnality, compromise and complacency. This is why Christians are urged to be on the alert, attentive to dangers that are always present, especially in times of prosperity and peace (1Corinthians 10:12; 1Thessalonians 5:3-6; 1Peter 5:8; Revelation 3:17).

The trials and sufferings of life look very differnet in the light of these truths. Life's trials are not given by God for our destruction, but for our defense. They cause us to cling ever closer to Him Who gives us strength in times of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). The trials of life are God's gift of grace (Philippians 1:29), intended by a loving Father to strengthen our faith (Hebrews 12:7-13).

I think most Christians in America prefer to dwell in comfort and complacency rather than to live on the cutting edge of Christianity. Like Jacob, most of us prefer peace to purity, prosperity to piety, and safety to spirituality. The commands and principles of the New Testament, like the laws of the Old, were designed to cause us to live on the cutting edge of life. This is why Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. The man could not trust both God and money. Money isn't evil by itself, but trusting in it for security is (1Timothy 6:17). God desires to remove anything from our lives which stands in the way of our total trust in Him.

While noting that many Christians avoid God's way, I also believe that many Christians desire to live the kind of life God intends for us to live. Doing so is intensely simple -- trust and obey. Trust leads to obedience to the will and Word of God. Obeying the Word of God forces us to trust in Him to provide for our every need. To rely on one or the other is to backslide and become lost from God's true path.

Presupposition underlie most of our thinking and provide a framework for logic that is extremely important. Presuppositions concerning the natural world -- for example, that gravity has sway over everything on the planet -- allow scientific inquiry to exist. However, presuppositions can sometimes be wrong.

Preconceived ideas can be very difficult to shed, even in light of undeniable facts. This causes difficulty for some of us when we approach Genesis 32. How is it possible that God could imply that Jacob had contended with Him and won? How can a human prevail over God? And how could Jacob, the con artist, be said to have contended with men and won? Based upon our preconceived theological stance, many of us would insist that this must be a contradiction in the Bible. Men cannot prevail with God, therefore, Genesis 32:28 must either be wrong or contradictory.

Genesis 32 is the pivotal chapter of Jacob's life. He is a vastly different person from the man we have come to know in previous chapters because at this juncture in his life, Jacob faces the demons of his past and lays them to rest.

When Jacob had left Canaan for Paddan-aram, his mother had told him that he would only need to be gone for "a few days". When Esau’s anger had cooled, she would send for him. Twenty years later, it appears Jacob had never heard from his mother. No doubt he concluded that Esau was still angry. Jacob thus had good reason to fear a confrontation with his brother.

Chapter 32 was also the turning point of Jacob’s spiritual life. Jacob had been a bargainer, even with God, up to this time. In Genesis 28:20-22, after the vision of the heavenly ladder Jacob made a vow, but it was much more of a bargain with God than a surrender to Him. In return for God’s presence, protection, and provision, Jacob would let God be his God. Of all that God gave to him in the form of wealth, Jacob would return 10 percent. In effect, Jacob has made God his agent and offered Him the normal fee. What a far cry from what a man’s response to the living God should be!

All of Jacob’s deceitful practices over the years were the result of a fundamental misconception that spiritual blessings could be secured by carnal methods and means. Jacob rightly believed that God had promised to make him, not Esau, the heir of promise with the rights of the first-born. He valued this blessing while Esau despised it. What he did not yet know was that he did not have to connive and scheme to obtain the promised blessings of God. The incident of Peniel would settle this issue forever and give Jacob a new view on life.

"So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, "This is the camp of God!" So he named that place Mahanaim." Genesis 32:1-2

Jacob had encountered God before. In chapter 28 it was the presence of God that was stressed. While God promised to be with Jacob, to provide and protect him in the land of Laban, nevertheless God was present in a special way in the land of Canaan. Jacob must someday return. Now as Jacob returned to the land of Canaan, God sent His angels to meet him in a special way, intended to underscore the power of God. As Jacob departed Canaan, God highlighted the significance of the land so that he would always look forward to his return. Now, returning to the land, Jacob feared Esau's rage and violence. What more reassuring experience could Jacob have than to meet a host of angels, reminding him of God's infinite power to protect him from Esau just as He had protected him from Laban.

As they camped that night, Jacob could see a second camp -- God's camp -- where the angels met him, so he named it "Mahanaim" (two camps). From this point of security, Jacob sent messengers ahead to prepare Esau for his arrival. The events of the rest of the chapter take place in this camp.

"Jacob sent messengers on ahead o his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region of Edom. He commanded them, "This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent this message to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’"

"The messengers returned to Jacob and said, "We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him." Genesis 32:3-6

Jacob felt compelled to reach out to Esau in the spirit of reconciliation. He didn't want to surprise Esau and he wanted Esau to know that he was returning with his own wealth, so would not need a share of Isaac's inheritance. His return was a friendly and non-threatening one. He sought Esau's favor. Perhaps Jacob had gained an appreciation of Esau's feelings by being victimized a few times himself. His recent brush with danger may have pushed him toward becoming a different kind of person. His dealings with Esau appear to point in that direction.

"Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. "If Esau attacks one camp," he thought,"then the other camp will be able to escape."

"Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ I am not worthy of all the faithful love you have shown your servant. With only my walking stick I crossed the Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Rescue me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. But you said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’" Genesis 32:7-12

The report from the messengers was frightening. Esau approached with 400 men at arms. Assuming the very worst, Jacob divided his company into two divisions, hoping that if one group was attacked, the other might have a chance of escape. It was an act stemming from fear, not faith, but it does make sense. Jacob wasn't much of a prayer warrior. His prayer in Chapter 28 has been criticized by theologians. At this desperate moment, however, Jacob urgently prayed for rescue. However, this prayer evidences humility, something not seen in Jacob before. The smug self-confidence was gone along with the bargaining mentality. Jacob had no way to manipulate God as he had done others. God's promises were the only foundation upon which he could make his petition.

Genesis 32:13-21 indicates that Jacob made preparations for his brother's approach. Vital faith does not need to be idle faith. He'd offered a gift as a sign of reconciliation, but Esau had no reason to accept it. Long years of experience with his conniving brother had no doubt taugh Esau to be distrustful of Jacob's apparent change of character. Jacob commenced to send wave upon wave of gifts to Esau, stressing the new nature he possessed that prompted him to give rather than to receive and to serve rather than supplant. His gifts were designed to prosper Esau over time. As Esau approached Jacob, he must pass by each drove of lifestock. The drovers had been instructed to answer Esau's questions. Hopefully, by the time Esau reached Jacob, his wrath would have eased.

Waitng for Esau, Jacob sent his wives and children across the Jabbok. It may be that he was alone on the final trip when he was confronted by a "man" who could oppose his crossing and threaten to keep Jacob out of the promised land. Biblical scholars admit there is much mystery in this episode. There are some observations we can make, however.

The person was the "angel of Jehovah", the pre-incarnate Son of God, Jesus before human flesh (Hosea 12:3-4). This was not just an angel. This was God Himself, which Jacob understood (verse 30). The struggle was not a dream or nightmare. Jacob walked away with a limp, which means he didn't just dream the wrestling match.

Esau proved to be no barrier to Jacob's entrance into Canaan. Esau was not Jacob's opposition. God was. To many of us, it is amazing that God did not prevail against Jacob, who was an old man by this time. Shouldn't the God of the Universe have won this match against a mere mortal? Moses did not tell us that God could not overcome Jacob, only that He did not. He did, however, disable Jacob by dislocating his hip. Oddly, at this point, Jacob seemed to gain the upper hand. The Angel (might as well call Him the Word) plead him to let him go, for dawn was breaking. Despite Jacob's injury, the Angel implied that Jacob had the winning edge. Jacob was tested, encouraged to make a request of the Angel which He was in no position to refuse. For Jacob, the bargainer, this was a tempting situation. Unlike his previous actions, Jacob asked only for a blessing (verse 26). Jacob had finally come to realize that the only important thing in life is to be blessed of God.

"Then the man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." "I will not let you go," Jacob replied, "unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" He answered, "Jacob." "No longer will your name be Jacob," the man told him, "but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have prevailed." Genesis 32:26-28

Jacob's name meant "the supplanter", a painful reminder of his past. As God changed Abram's name earlier, now He changed Jacob's name. Yet how could God possibly bless Jacob based upon his previous trickery and deception? Jacob's past behavior had been deplorable. Surely verse 28 is a mistake!

Consider that God, Who is not bound by linear time as we are, referred to Jacob's future confrontations. Jacob did prevail with God in their wrestling match, but he did not really overcome God. He'd merely clung tenaciously to his Savior. For this, he was assured of victory no matter what opposition men might offer, including his rapidly approaching brother Esau.

This is a vital lesson for every Christian. A transforming truth, it explains the reason why God’s blessings can only be obtained by godly means. It revealed to Jacob the reason why all of his previous "victories" were really disasters, resulting in discord, hatred, and hostility. The Christian life (and make no mistake, Jacob was a Christian) is spiritual warfare. All of Jacob's life to that point had been characterized by carnal striving to secure divine blessing, usually resulting in disaster. Now Jacob had learned the folly and futility of such self-effort. Entrance into a life of blessing can only be achieved on the basis of Jacob's blessing from the Angel of Jehovah -- by clinging to God to fulfill His promises.

This does not imply that man should therefore be inactive and passive. Jacob was hardly passive in his struggle with the Angel. Our activity should be rightly directed and motivated. We must seeki that which God has promised. We must begin by striving with God for His blessing. Only then should we engage in other activities, consistent with a genuine faith in God. Just as our goals are to be godly, so must our means.

The lesson for us is the same. Our warfare is a spiritual one that cannot be won by carnal means. Spiritual victory can only be obtained by spiritual means (Ephesians 6:12-20).

The great tragedy in Christian circles today is that much of what we do is by carnal means. We employ these means because that is what we, by our old nature, are inclined to do. It appears to work and, we think, the ends justify the means. We do not pray and let God change men’s hearts (Philippians 3:15); we try to politically outmaneuver the opposition. The blessings of God are spiritual, and they cannot and will not be obtained through carnal methods.

Since God is sovereign, all men must do is to prevail with Him. If He is for us, we have the victory. Neither human nor demonic opposition can thwart the purposes of the sovereign God (Romans 8:31-39), and since God has purposed to bless men as they prevail with Him, we must devote ourselves to this task.

We must trust God for the blessing of salvation. We are unworthy of this gift, and yet God has offered it to all men (Romans 10:13). We deserve only the eternal wrath of God (Romans 6:23). God has promised to save men on the basis of faith in the work of Jesus Christ, Who died for our sins and Whose righteousness will save any who calls upon His name (John 1:12; Acts 4:12, 16:31; 2Corinthians 5:21). By clinging to God and trusting Him to do what He has promised, you can have the blessing of eternal life. All subsequent blessings will come in the same way: by self-distrust and faith in God to accomplish what He has promised.