Tightly Bound

The teaching at a recent Christian women's area retreat was from Beth Moore's "The Making of a More Honest Me." As Beth Moore took us deeper into chapters 32 and 33 of Genesis, she drew our attention to Jacob's distress as he prepared to meet his brother, Esau, and the 400 men with him. I think anyone of us would be distressed if the brother who'd vowed to kill us was coming fast to meet us face to face with an army of men!

Beth said the Hebrew word for distressed is tsarar, which means to bind, be narrow, be in distress, make narrow, cause distress, besiege, be straitened, be bound, etc. I couldn't write all the synonyms fast enough, so I looked it up in Strong's when I got home. Over all, this word used for distressed makes it clear that Jacob was extremely uncomfortable, to say the least!

But Beth didn't leave it at that. She noted that there's a positive use to this word in 1 Samuel 25:29. Abigail used this word when she told the future King David "the life of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of the living with God." Beth said that the tighter we feel in God's care, the looser we will be among people, secure on all sides. I think that was opposite Jacob's initial reaction when he heard of his brother's impending arrival to his camp.

When you read these two passages, though, there's an interesting thing to note in Genesis 32:1. As the narrative begins in 32 there is a mere mention of angels meeting Jacob. When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God's camp." It made me think, as it did Beth, that this experience may be similar to what Elisha's servant saw.

I sense that the Lord God was reminding Jacob that He was keeping His word just as promised in Genesis 28:15 (AMP), "I am with you and will keep (watch over you with care, take notice of) you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I have told you."

I also believe that it is a reminder that our God's Presence is with us, and His Presence—even though we just like Jacob often struggle in faith, His very powerful Presence is greater still than any Esau, angry enemy army, or even perilous times. Though we can't see what Jacob or Elisha's servant saw with their eyes, we can see with faith knowing that our God camps with us.

I am so thankful!! Because, there really is no better place to be!

My prayer for us is that as we grow closer to the Lord through His Word and prayer that we will feel tightly bound up in His bundle, camped with Him, enabled to live through securely any distress this life brings.

But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!

2 Corinthians 12:9 (AMP)