Untitled Sermon

Genesis 32:24-32

Pray

Earlier in this chapter, Jacob was preparing to be reunited with Esau.

Jacob had not seen Esau for 20 years.

Jacob fled Esau all those years ago because Esau threatened to kill him.

As Jacob returned to his brother, he was not sure how he would be recieved.

Jacob sent gifts to Esau before hand to help assess the situation.

We pick up in Genesis 32: 24 where Jacob is alone.

It sounds like it was the night before Jacob intended to meet his brother.

Genesis 32:24 NIV

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.

Jacob was left alone.

This signifies the focus of what will take place in the next few verses.

Jacob needed to come to terms with his past.

It was something he needed to confront.

I imagine all of the events leading up to where God had brought him raced through his mind.

Jacob, his name means the supplanter.

He lived up to his name.

Since his birth he was attempting to manipulate situations for his own personal benefit.

He held onto the heal of his brother Esau at birth.

He worked to deceive his brother into selling a birthright in exchange for some stew.

Later Jacob not only deceived Esau but he deceived Isaac, his father.

Jacob stole the blessing that was reserved for Esau.

This led to Jacob being apart from his family for those 20 years.

Up to this point we spent considerable time talking about Esau and the faults of his character.

But Jacob is not innocent.

We can see that much of Jacob’s life revolved around Jacob manipulating situation to bring a blessing to himself.

So Jacob is alone, wrestling with these memories.

Wrestling with the choices and the decisions he made in the past.

Wrestling with the reality that he was going to be confronted with al of this past unresolved conflict.

He is on the border of the Promised Land.

The text tells us that Jacob was about to cross the Jabbok river.

This river flows into the Jordan.

It serves as a border on the eastern side of Israel.

So Jacob fled the Promise.

20 years ago Jacob fled because He was chasing after his own desires.

He lived and worked all those years in a land that was not his home.

He did so because he was chasing after his own personal interests over his purpose as a person of God.

He ran from his responsibility.

Now God has brought him back.

God has led him right back to the very place that Jacob left.

God led him back to the place of separation.

God brought him back to this place where conflict has caused division.

God is bringing resolve.

Isn’t this often how God works in our lives?

All of of work so hard to bring blessing to ourselves.

We all work so hard to have our own wants and desires met.

To satisfy our own personal motives.

Sometimes in our drive to satisfy our own personal motives, we bring conflict to our relationships.

Difficulties arise.

Hardships befall us.

I am speaking in general terms here.

I am sure as I say these words many of us have any number of things, situations or difficulties swimming in our minds.

Like Jacob, sometimes events in our lives can lead us to a place of separation.

A place of conflict.

A place of unresolved difficulty.

All of us experience brokenness.

Broken relationships.

Broken feelings.

Broken emotions.

And like Jacob, in these moments of brokenness we can feel alone.

The text tells us that Jacob wrestled with a man until daybreak.

We will talk about this man in just a moment.

But first I want to point out the time of the wrestling.

It was dark.

The darkness symbolizes a state of mind. It symbolizes what Jacob was feeling.

He was confused.

He was unsure of what will happen when he meets with Esau.

He was unable to see the result because of the darkness.

The unresolved conflict in his mind caused him to be in the dark.

Again, in those moments in our own lives when we are confronted with brokenness, we can feel alone.

We can feel as if we are in the dark.

We can be in a place of confusion.

Where our thoughts are racing.

All sorts of things can be influencing how we are thinking about a situation.

We have a hard time seeing how this will all be resolved.

God does not want us to be bound to the dark.

He does not want us to dwell in a place of confusion.

Peter addresses how to respond when we are focused on borkenenss

1 Peter 5:6–11 NIV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

What does the wrestling signify?

It signifies that Jacob wanted to be Jacob.

I am not saying to rush out and try to mend whatever was broken.

Not ideal.

Like Jacob sometimes we need time and space to help bring healing.

The point I want you to take home is this,

God wants to bring resolve to whatevr brokeness you are experiencing in your life.

The remedy for this brokeness is trust in Him.

It is ill advised to attempt to fix things according to our own desire. That is often what gets us in trouble in the first place.

this sermon is not meant to be a fix all solution to everything that ailes you.

We need to pray.

Submit to God’s will and be patient.

Seek counsel of other believers.

And allow God to work.