Genesis 32:1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
Psalms 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
2 Kings 6:16-17 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!
We don’t exactly know what this means. In some way, angelic beings that are normally unseen were now made visible to Jacob, and they met him. Perhaps God wanted Jacob to know how great His care was for him and his family. This wonderful revelation of God’s presence and care came after Jacob finally separated from Laban, the worldly man. Separation from the world brings greater insight to the believer. It was not as if God’s angels just joined Jacob. They were with him the entire time. Now, Jacob could see God’s angels with him and it provided great encouragement. (Guzik)
“I do not ask that you may see angels: still, if it can be, so be it. But what is it, after all, to see an angel? Is not the fact of God’s presence better than the sight of the best of his creatures? Perhaps the Lord favored Jacob with the sight of angels because he was such a poor, weak creature as to his faith.” (Spurgeon)
He has just left the house of Laban, his father-in-law, where he had lived for many years, and in company with a long caravan, consisting of wives, children, servants, and all his wealth turned into cattle, is journeying back again to Palestine. His road leads him close by the country of Esau. Jacob was no soldier, and he is naturally terrified to meet his justly incensed brother. And so, as he plods along with his defenseless company trailing behind him, as you may see the Arab caravans streaming over the same uplands to-day, all at once, in the middle of his march, a bright-harnessed army of angels meets him. Whether visible to the eye of sense, or, as would appear, only to the eye of faith, they are visible to this troubled man; and, in a glow of confident joy, he calls the name of that place ‘Mahanaim,’ two camps. One camp was the little one of his down here, with the helpless women and children and his own frightened and defenceless self, and the other was the great one up there, or rather in shadowy but most real spiritual presence around about him, as a bodyguard making an impregnable wall between him and every foe. We may take some very plain and everlastingly true lessons out of this story. (MacLaren)
- Angels are heavenly created by God
- Angels of God are all around us on the roads of life
- Angels are always near us
- Angels are at the command of God
- Angels may be visible but more than likely they are known to be there by faith
- Angels may be heard either if seen or unseen
Assurance of God’s divine protection, care, love, strength, presence, and power is every believer’s refuge, by faith, reliance, and trust in God who is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.