A Blessing Then and There
By Uriah Smith
WE are disposed to change the tenses somewhat, so that it will read, “A blessing here and now.” We draw in this another lesson from the experience of Jacob. “And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.” Gen. 32:29. Jacob evidently sought a better acquaintance with the Being with whom he had just been wrestling. “What is thy name?” This is the question of all questions; for the name of God denotes his nature and essence, the substance of all his attributes and properties; therefore the question, What is thy name? is the question of all questions worth the asking. To Moses, under different circumstances, the Lord proclaimed his name. “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and sin,—and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” Ex. 34:5–7. The knowledge of God is the one thing needful in the world to-day. What course does the patriarch Job recommend us to pursue? “Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace.” Job 22:21. “Great peace,” says David, “have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them.” Ps. 119:165. Acquaintance with God leads to harmony with his law, and nothing can break the peaceful relation between such a soul and God. It will be noticed that the record places great emphasis on the locality where Jacob had this experience. “He blessed him there.” This is the main point after all,—to learn where and how we can find the blessing. Let us, then, consider the circumstances, and the place where the blessing may be found, as the patriarch found it. Jacob’s blessing began in an agony of prayer. The first installment of it was in being saved from the attack of Esau, of which he stood in great fear; for he said, “For I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.” Gen. 32:11. He was blessed in being forgiven a great wrong. His supplanting of Esau was condoned by his brother. He was blessed in feeling that a great breach of friendship was healed: “Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.” Gen. 33:4. God blessed Jacob at Peniel, because he asked to be blessed; and his desire for it constituted at once his worthiness of the blessing, and his capacity to receive it. For it was not only necessary to ask the question, but also to ask it in the right spirit. Jacob’s question was asked, but was not directly answered. Our questions are sometimes so treated in the Scriptures. “Wilt thou at this time,” said the disciples to Christ, “restore again the kingdom to Israel?” He answered, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, . . . and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:6–8. But the answer to Jacob’s question is implied in the assertion, “And he blessed him there.” The Anglican Pulpit says, “God does not always give knowledge to striving souls, but a blessing. He stills your doubtings, he helps you to trust him. You go forth not as Israel, the supplanter, but in the power of a divine enthusiasm, as Israel, a prince with God.” God does not expect perfect characters to carry out his work. He chooses the fittest instruments he can find, for his purest purposes, and trains them, and bears with them, until their work is done. “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Rom. 4:13; Gen. 22:18. Whenever you are in a place where you are willing to give up sin, willing to take Jesus for your all in all, willing to serve God in his own way, do not go away without a saving blessing. Believe for it; wrestle for it. What use are the means of grace unless the Lord blesses them, and blesses you in the use of them? Then they are a “savor of life unto life,” unto you. 2 Cor. 2:16.