Charles Spurgeon Commentary Genesis 32

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

When he left the promised land, he had a vision of angels, ascending and descending upon the ladder, as if to bid him farewell.

Now that he is going back, the angels are there again to speed him on his way home to the land of the covenant, the land which the Lord had promised to give to Abraham and his seed.

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

The angels of God are always around his people. It was well for Jacob to be reminded of that fact, for he was about to pass into another trouble. John Bunyan truly says, –

"A Christian man is seldom long at ease;
When one trouble's gone another seizes him."

Certainly it was so with Jacob; for, after he had escaped from Laban, he knew that he had to meet his brother Esau, whom he had so greatly wronged so many years before. Then it was that the angels of God met him. Go on your way in peace and safety, beloved believer, for God's hosts are all around you. You do not go unattended at any single moment of your life. Better than squadrons of horse and regiments of foot are the ministering spirits who are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

Jacob was about to enter upon a great trial, and therefore he received a great comfort in preparation for it. God knows when to send angels to his servants; and when they come, it is often as the forerunners of a trial which is to follow them.

And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

What an encouragement the visit of these angels must have been to Jacob after the strife which he had had with Laban!

But, dear friends, angels often come to meet us, though we do not know it. As in the old classic story, the poor man said, "This is a plain hut, but God has been here," so we may say of every Christian's cottage, "Though it is poor, an angel has come here," for David says, The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

As the angels of God met Jacob, I trust that if you have come here after some stern battle, and trial, and difficulty, you may find the angels of God meeting you here.

They do come into the assemblies of the saints. Paul tells us that the woman ought to have her head covered in the assembly because of the angels, that is, because they are there to see that all things are done decently and in order.

And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

He gave it a name to commemorate God's having sent the angels, and called it "two camps" or "two hosts."