The Lord proceeded to teach His people the need to repent by reminding them of the experience of their forefather Jacob.
12:3 The Lord described the ancestor of these kingdoms further. Jacob grasped his brother's heel while he was still in the womb of his mother Rebekah (Gen. 25:26). This was a preview of the grasping character that marked him all his life (cf. Gen. 27:35-36).79In later life he also continued to contend with God. These references to the early and later life of Jacob picture him as being a contentious person all his life.
12:4 One important instance of Jacob contending with God was when he wrestled with the angel at Peniel and prevailed over him by weeping and pleading with him to bless him (Gen. 32:22-32). This event was a turning point in Jacob's life because he finally realized that he could not succeed simply by manipulation and trickery. He recognized His need for God's help and turned to Him in desperation. It was the occasion of Jacob's repentance.
Another significant event in Jacob's life was when he returned to Bethel, where God had appeared to him in a dream years earlier (Gen. 28:10-22). This return to Bethel and the act of worship Jacob performed there were in obedience to God's word to him to go there and fulfill his former vow (Gen. 35:1-14). This too was an act of submissive obedience and resulted in God changing Jacob's name to Israel (prince with God), blessing him, and renewing the Abrahamic Covenant with him.
It is ironic that the place where Jacob got right with God was Bethel since Bethel was the place where the Israelites had gotten wrong with Him by worshipping idols. Jacob's return to God at Bethel provided a good example for the Israelites to get right with Him there too.
12:5 Yahweh, the almighty God of armies, even Yahweh, spoke to all the Israelites when He spoke to Jacob at Bethel. He did this in that He intended the Israelites to learn from the experience of the patriarch.
12:6 The lesson was that, like Jacob, the Israelites should return to their covenant God. They should practice loyal love and justice in their dealings with one another rather than being like the old Jacob. And they should commit to waiting in faith for God to act for them rather than seizing control of the situation, as Jacob so often had done.
