Calvary Bible College

I want to talk about low points because you are going to have some in your life. You probably already have.

There have been several low points in Jacobs life but Gen 32:6

Genesis 32:6 CSB

When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you—and he has four hundred men with him.”

is probably the lowest of them all.

read verse 7 (He was afraid and distressed). All seems so hopeless that he is willing to sacrifice half of his family and all that he owns just to make an escape. Can you imagine being willing to loss one of you kids just so that you can keep another one. How would you chose? This is the dilemma facing Jacob at this dire point in his life.

This is not the first time he has been afraid of his brother Esau.

From birth is brother picked on him. Even before birth!

They struggled in their mothers womb remember Gen 25 tells us that he was born in a fight! In the Hebrew it make it sound like it was violent in there. Esau forced his way out first but Jacob had his heal in a half nelson lock as they come out.

That is why they named his Jacob which means “Heal grabber or cheater”

And cheat he did. He ended up cheating his brother Esau out of his future.

His used Esau’s appetites against him to take his birthright.

Then his used and lied to his blind Father with his mothers help to cheat Esau out of his first born blessing. They did this by taking advantage of Isaac’s disability and played to his appetites and desires as well.

The most troubling aspect of Jacob’s life is that he did not need to cheat or lie. God had promised that Jacob would be the one to receive both the blessing and the birthright when he was born. But just like us sometimes Jacob and his mother were not willing to wait for God’s timing. They took matters in their own hands and lied to try and speed up God’s will.

Isaac shuttered when he leaned that his own wife and son had fooled him and violiated this secared family ritual but Esau…Faced grief, then sorrow, then anger.

Rebekah must have been in shock when she head the Esau had plans to kill Jacob. She never meant it to go this far. Even though she always liked Jacob more it must have been a nightmire to hear that one of her sons was planning to kill the other.

Jacob knew he need to leave asap but he took some convincing. It is had to leave everything behind including your support system and start again. Rebekah convinces him that it will only be a few days before he finds himself coming back.

On his mother’s advice Jacobs flees from home. Without even a pillow or an extra change of clothes, not even a camel to ride on.

He had recieved a blessing but he was forced to start all over with nothing. He took only a staff. He knew the journey to safety would be 500 miles.

As he reached the frontier of his homeland after he had put some 50 miles behind him he was forces to rest because the sun had set.

Genesis 28:11 CSB

He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place.

Surly Jacob must have thought as his head lay on that rock, “what have I done?” Will the sun every rise on my life again? will my brother kill me the next time I see him? How long before I see my mother and father again? As he wondered if the sun had forever set on his life.

The Lord come to him in a dream there and Promises him that He will come back some day and that he would fulfill in his life the same promises he had made to his father and grandfather.

And for a moment we wonder if the sun is about to rise on Jacob’s life again?

He makes it safely to Haran and he meets the girl of his dreams, His Uncle give him a job. He separated from his mother and father and brother but things seem to be working out good enough.

fast forward 7 years and he is about to marry the girl of his dreams. He is so in love that although it has been 7 years. Like his mother say it only feels like it has been a few days.

Yet there in the dark on his wedding night he is deceived in almost the exact same way that he deceived his own Father.

In the morning he realizes he has been desieved. What he thought was the sun rising on his life would become 7 more years of darkness. Then another 6 years as he contiunes to work for Laban. 20 years of life wasted. 20 years outside of the promised land hiding in fear from his brother. 20 years of lying and being lied to. Jacob still has not dealt with anything.

He tries to run from his problems again. Only this time it is his personal decision and not his mothers.

Without going into all the details he finds himself back in the promised land but he still has not dealt with his sin or his past or his brother or more importantly God. He has never been on the same page as God he has always tried to scheme his way into blessing and when things don’t work he runs away instead of facing his sin.

Now that he is here he is told the Esau is coming to see him with 400 men. A mini army!

He is every bit as afraid as he was when he first run from his brother 20 years ago, but now there is nowhere left for him to run.

He schemes again. trying to control the situation. He divides his family in 2 so that half of them can escape is Esau attacks. He prepares gifts to try and appease him.

Jacob is backed into such a corner that he does something that we have never seen him do before. He prays! For the first time in his Genesis story we see him praying.

Genesis 32:9–12 CSB

Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. Indeed, I crossed over the Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps. Please rescue me from my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to be counted.’ ”

There is some foreshadowing going on here that Jacob is finally on the right track. As the sun set again he moves his family across the river Jabbok. he supervises his families crossing trying one more time to manage the situation on his own.

in the dark he is by himself lost in thought. Probably wondering if there is anything else he could do to salvage the situation. Has he done enough? Is there anything else he could try? Is there one more trick he could pull on Esau to get out of this?

A man wrestles… Poor Jacob was like what was that.

The man damages Jacobs hip

He tells God his name.

He begs for a blessing.

That is when Jacob realizes that he has been wrestling with God this whole time.

Genesis 32:31 (CSB)

The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel—limping because of his hip.

The sun has finally risen Jacobs life but it was a struggle to get to that point. Like most of his life… a struggle.

The sun did not rise on his life until he dealt with his past and dealt with my sin, and untimely dealt with God too. Jacob had to wrestle Him.

The sun set on him when he after he had lied his father and was forced to flee from his brother. It was at bethel that we are told the sun had set here we are told the sun shone on him.

Sun was shining again but it relieved that he had a permanent limp. A wound that he would carry with him all of his life.

When God touches you it may leave you with a limp.

Most often when you meet someone who has been touched by God they have a limp. When God touches you it can leave a mark.

The Pain of staying the same has to hurt worse than the pain of Change. - Pastor Alex Anchor Church

The frog in the pot of boiling water

you can doubt the Chiefs, you can dislike the Chiefs, you can disrespect the Chiefs, but you're going to have to deal with the Chiefs....You are going to have to deal with you sin at some point.

It is a magnificent defeat and you will be forever blessed.

we win when we let God defeat us. When God wins we win, when we win we actually lose. I would rather have the limp with the blessing than no limp and no blessing.

When God breaks us it is then that we discover “we are the winners” as we limp away we realize our defeat has brought us the blessing and victory.

instead of waiting until you are old like Jacob was let him bet you now while you are young and it appears that you have you whole life ahead of you.

In your defeat you will find that you are blessed.