Jacob continued on his way home. At one of his stops, he saw angels and yelled, “THIS IS THE CAMP OF GOD! I CALL IT: MANANAIM!”
Jacob’s travel buddies rubbed their ears. “Dude, you don’t need to yell so loud all the time, we can hear you.”
“Okay.” Jacob stroked his chin. Something had been bugging him the whole way over. He was really going home. He would see his family. He missed them, but the reason he left was that Esau was so angry. Did Esau still want to kill him? He had been gone a while… but he also conned his brother out of a blessing and a birthright. He picked some servants to go ahead because he had to lug his family and possessions. “Hey, can a couple of you go ahead to tell my brother Esau something? Say, ‘Your servant Jacob is on his way with loooots of presents. Flocks, humans, etcetera, etcetera.’”
When the human text messages returned they said, “Uh, Jacob? You’re in deep… how do we put this eloquently? Doo Doo. Esau is coming to meet you with four hundred men.”
“An army? Oh crap.” He said this because he crapped his pants a little. Then he divided his pack into two groups, so while one was being attacked, the other could escape. Then, he prayed. “Dear, God. You still there? I kinda really need you. You promised to help me. I specifically remember you saying, ‘I will make you prosper like the sand of a thousand seas,’ or something like that. I can live with just… living. Don’t let Esau hurt us.”
Jacob gathered several herds of his best animals—lambs, goats, rams, ewes, camels, cows, and more—and sent them off ahead with his servants as gifts for Esau. He told them, “When Esau asks you what’s up, tell him I’m coming and these are presents from me. I just hope he’s not vegan.”
Jacob laid down alone in his tent. He closed his eyes and hoped Esau wouldn’t massacre him and his entire family. He also hoped Esau brought some of their mom’s stew.
In the middle of the night, Jacob gathered his belongings and his family and hit the road again. He sent them all across a stream where they continued to make their journey.
But Jacob stayed on the other side of the stream, pulled by a force he couldn't explain. In the pitch-black darkness, he thought he saw someone about a yard away, glowing. He squinted and blinked a few times. Was he hallucinating from the spoiled stew he had for dinner? Was the man waving to Jacob? Jacob waved back as the man walked up to him. Jacob started to say, “Hey, man. What moisturizer do you use, because you are glowi—” The man elegantly threw himself on Jacob’s shoulders, pushing him to the ground. “Bro, not cool, what the heck—?” Jacob was completely caught off guard and couldn’t believe how strong this guy was. He didn’t have a chance to ask more questions.
Jacob fought back and the two were caught in a lengthy wrestle. Jacob wasn’t sure what to think of this man, but for some reason, he liked him. Sure, the dude did attack him out of nowhere, but something about him was noble. He wasn’t wearing one of those lame luchador masks with all the sparkles. He seemed to be fighting for the honor and the challenge, rather than for some sense of superiority. They wrestled in silence until the sun stung their eyes. Finally, the man, recognizing his defeat, touched and wrenched Jacob’s hip. The man said, “It’s almost morning. I’ve got stuff to do. Let me go.”
“No. First, bless me.” Jacob really had a taste for blessings. Almost as much as stew. He didn’t know who the man was, but he knew there was something special about him.
The man gave a knowing smile. “What’s your name?” “Jacob. My friends call me Jake. Wait… no one ever calls me Jake. Do I not have any friends?”
“Don’t worry. Your new name is Israel. You have struggled with God, but you pulled through.” Again, these people really like to name stuff—even if the stuff already had several names.
Jacob/Israel was too frazzled to say that he already liked his mom given name. “Uh, what’s your name?” “Why? It doesn’t matter. Besides, it’s cooler and more mysterious this way.” The man then blessed Israel as promised and disappeared in a dramatic poof of smoke (at least that’s what Jacob told people later). Of course, Israel gave the land beside the stream a name: Peniel, because he saw the face of God. Israel continued on his journey, crossing the stream to catch up with his family, limping from his wrenched hip.
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