Deliver הַצִּילֵ֥

We are in chapter 32 of Genesis with our word for today. הַצִּילֵ֥ the root word is נָצַל pull out, save, be saved, be secure, deliver. It is used 213 times in the Old Testament. A good example of our word is seen when Joseph’s brothers were planning to kill him. Genesis 37:21 But when Reuben heard it, he וַיַּצִּלֵ֖הוּ rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might הַצִּ֤יל rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. Another good example is how God’s work of freeing the Israelites from slavery is described several times. Here are a couple of examples. Exodus 6:5-6 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥יdeliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. Exodus 18:8-9 Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had וַיַּצִּלֵ֖ם delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had הִצִּיל֖וֹ delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. This sense of our word used of God freeing from harm or evil is all over the bible. This is part of who God is he saves and protects us. This is why people throughout the Bible pray to God to rescue them which is exactly what Jacob is doing in our chapter today. If you remember the last time Jacob was with his brother he deceived his brother with the help of his mother to gain his father’s blessing. And this was Esau’s attitude towards him. Genesis 27:41-42 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. So Jacob had every reason to be afraid of his brother. Thankfully he takes his fear to God in prayer where we find our word. Genesis 32:11-12 Please הַצִּילֵ֥ deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’” Jacob shows us a great way to pray in reminding God what he has already promised us. Jacob was counting on God acting on his behalf because of the promises he had made to his grandfather, father and himself. We too can pray God’s word when we are in need of God acting. I’m not saying that all the promises that God made in the Bible specifically apply to us because a lot of what God was doing was setting up all of history to bring his son Jesus into the world. Now that Christ has come and died for us we have the best promises if we are in Christ. We will talk about these in the days to come as we see God working to accomplish the ultimate deliverance through his Son. For now, we’ll close with Psalm 34 that uses our word three times. Psalm 34:4, 17, 19 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and הִצִּילָֽנִי delivered me from all my fears… When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and הִצִּילָֽם delivers them out of all their troubles… Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord יַצִּילֶ֥נּוּ delivers him out of them all.