Genesis

My favorite book of the Old Testament! I've been re-reading it as part of my personal devotional time, and I was thrilled to discover new insights into the patriarchs. For example, as I re-read Jacob's struggles, it became clear to me that Jacob struggled with a lot of fear throughout his life. He dealt with a lot of uncertainty, even though much of that uncertainty was a direct consequence of his own actions...he put himself in jeopardy. He feared his Uncle Laban, he feared his brother Esau, he feared Pharoah's vizier (before he knew it was his own son, Joseph). However, and this is the awesome part, God was always protecting him. God intervened supernaturally many times on Jacob's behalf...including this instance in Genesis 32:1&2.

1 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.<sup>[a]

(Manahaim means "double camp"...as in, the angels camped around Jacob's family's camp.)</sup>

Somehow, I had always read over that verse, never realizing its import. It was just so comforting to me to read that God surrounded His child with a camp of angels. Wow!!!

Anyway, in my study, I looked for supplementary materials, and found them in an unlikely place. This link will take you to Wikipedia and their encyclopedia of "Torah events." Even though it's a secular site, it has much to offer in the way of study materials! Hope someone else finds this useful!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Torah_events