God's Camp

So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
Genesis 32:1-2

Jacob finally perceived God’s involvement in his life. That is why he named the place Mahanaim. Mahanaim translates literally as “double camp”. The word for camp always suggests a temporary site set up for protection. It almost always indicates a circular pattern to protect those inside. As Jacob set up his camp, he realized that he was not alone. He saw that God’s angels were camped there with him so the protection was double.

Our lives need to take on the “double” feature. We need to follow Jacob’s example of recognizing that God’s servants are camped with us. This life is a temporary site we will leave behind. It seems that sometimes we are too connected with this temporary camp, but not connected enough with the camp of God that underlies all we have. We need to meet God’s agents and name our place “double camp”.

Later Jacob will send everyone away to be alone. God does the same. Jacob finds himself wrestling with God struggling for a blessing. Unknown to himself he is also wrestling with his own identity. When morning comes he renames the place “the presence of God”. When he recognizes the underlying world, grabs hold of it and releases this temporary he finds himself blessed. He finds his old clutching nature hanging onto God. He finds his grifter identity tranformed into a princely one. God clarifies it all by calling him Israel – Prince with God because he has prevailed in struggles with men and God.

In God’s Camp,

Pastor Jason