Jacob Wrestles With God
Notes
Transcript
Last week: We spent some time talking about the messiness of mankind. Through it we saw the goodness and the power of God to overcome man’s deception and stupidity. God has a plan and His plan never fails. His plan cannot be thwarted by evil or wickedness. We found encouragement in this very idea. Today in the account of Jacob we will begin to see the fruition of God’s plan.
In today’s account we will deal with two big events in Jacob’s life, Engagement with Esau and Jacob Wrestling with God.
1 Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him.
2 When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s camp.” So he called that place Mahanaim.
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the territory of Edom.
4 He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now.
5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves. I have sent this message to inform my lord, in order to seek your favor.’ ”
6 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.”
7 Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; he divided the people with him into two camps, along with the flocks, herds, and camels.
8 He thought, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, the remaining one can escape.”
9 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,’
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.’ ”
13 He spent the night there and took part of what he had brought with him as a gift for his brother Esau:
14 two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams,
15 thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys.
16 He entrusted them to his slaves as separate herds and said to them, “Go on ahead of me, and leave some distance between the herds.”
17 And he told the first one, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to? Where are you going? And whose animals are these ahead of you?’
18 then tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And look, he is behind us.’ ”
19 He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him.
20 You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.”
21 So the gift was sent on ahead of him while he remained in the camp that night.
22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two slave women, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok.
23 He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions.
24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip.
26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied.
28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.
30 Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.”
31 The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel—limping because of his hip.
32 That is why, still today, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because he struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.
Now admittedly this passage starts off with a big statement. One that I don’t completely understand.
1 Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him.
2 When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s camp.” So he called that place Mahanaim.
We get these two short verses and then the narrative simply moves on without interruption. When it comes to scripture sometimes we are not given all the details of every account but rather only what is necessary for the narrative to continue and to point is to the main idea. This is one of those times. We know that if Angels are with Jacob they were sent by God to ensure him that even after all that has transpired God is still with him not because of Jacob’s merit but because of God’s promise to Adam and Eve, then Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob.
So we are left to just take these two verses at face value. There are no details about this encounter other than what we are given in these two verses. We know that angels appeared to Abraham and Lot and either take on human form or they simply look very similar to you or I and at first glance are hard to distinguish from humanity. We see evidence in this idea in the N.T. as well.
2 Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.
It is possible they take different forms? Sure, it’s possible but I would challenge you to find that idea in scripture. What we do know is that there are several different types of Angelic beings and because of the description of those in the throne room of God we assume all angels have wings. I would say it is interesting that we take that description of them at face value and yet do not take the old testament description of angels looking like men at face value.
Now no matter how you like to think about their appearance one thing is for sure. They were always sent by God to accomplish a task or deliver a message. Maybe one day I’ll do a one-off sermon on the biblical descriptions of these messengers sent from God.
Either way, these angels reassure Jacob of God’s presence and Jacob names the area Mahanaim meaning “two camps” most likely the place were heaven and earth met, two different camps meeting in the same place. Similar to what Jacob did at Bethel after his dream about he staircase reaching to heaven.
Yet just like many of us, we know God is with us intellectually but then sometimes that information doesn’t always inform our emotions and our actions.
So let’s look what Jacob does...
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the territory of Edom.
4 He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now.
5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves. I have sent this message to inform my lord, in order to seek your favor.’ ”
6 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.”
7 Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; he divided the people with him into two camps, along with the flocks, herds, and camels.
8 He thought, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, the remaining one can escape.”
Jacob is scared. So Jacob comes up with this plan to appease his brother Esau. Obviously Esau has done well for himself in the last 20 years or so and is some type of chieftain or at least a powerful and wealthy man. I mean he has four hundred armed men. So Jacob divides up his camp in case Esau decides to attack and that way the others have an escape plan.
But then Jacob does something that he hasn’t done up until this point in his life. At lease it is not recorded for us. He prays. Look what he says,
9 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,’
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.’ ”
I. God will often allow difficult circumstances in our lives to cause us to come to the end of ourselves.
I. God will often allow difficult circumstances in our lives to cause us to come to the end of ourselves.
What did Jacob’s name mean? It meant supplanter. From the time he was born Jacob, strove to get what he wanted in his own way. You don’t see any dependence on God for anything until now.
Until Jacob’s life and his family’s life is at stake.
It is in this prayer Jacob is finally broken. He realizes that everything he has is from God. He realized now that he has no real control over his life. He is possibly for the first time in his life utterly desperate.
For many of us, we are just like Jacob. We will not change until God allows or brings circumstances in our lives where we feel utterly out of control. But even then we can become so stubborn that instead of allowing that desperation to point us to God. We determine to just grit our teeth and try harder. If I just try harder or am determined enough than I can control my own fate. Proverbs 29:1 describes such a person.
1 One who becomes stiff-necked, after many reprimands will be shattered instantly— beyond recovery.
15 A fool’s way is right in his own eyes, but whoever listens to counsel is wise.
16 A fool’s displeasure is known at once, but whoever ignores an insult is sensible.
Did you know , It is possible that you are in an extended trial because God loves you enough to make you desperate. It is often only in our desperation that we will find God.
In fact, there is a metaphor that is used to as foreshadowing that I missed when studying Genesis 28:11
11 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.
The phrase because “the sun had set” is overstated on purpose. The text already tells us it’s night. This phrase is a metaphor for all the difficult circumstances Jacob would face. Some of which we discussed last week.
Think about all that has transpired in his life. It didn’t have to be this way but Jacob chose a path in which he would strive to be in control. He chose a path in which he did not rely on the providence of God but rather his own intellect and cunning. While God is big enough to overcome manmade obstacles to accomplish his will, Jacob and his family suffered for the choices he made.
Yet, It is in this desperation that Jacob finally come to a point of recognition of God’s providence and he prays.
Afterward he prays, Jacob sends his wives and his family across the river at Jabbok to put a barrier between them and his brother Esau’s army.
If any of you hike or backpack one thing you try not to do is travel during the night. The risk of injury, tripping over something, turning an ankle, or not seeing a small branch and getting a stick in the eye usually far outweighs the reward. Y
ou definitely do not cross a river at night while carrying all your possessions. This goes to show you how desperate Jacob is and how much he fears that his brother will make good on the threat he made 20+ years ago. So Jacob sends away all of his family and he is now completely alone.
Be Authentic 4. Wrestling (Gen. 32:22–32)
British essayist Walter Savage Landor called solitude “the audience-chamber of God,” and he was right. When we’re alone, we can’t escape into other people’s hearts and minds and be distracted; we have to live with ourselves and face ourselves. Twenty years before, Jacob had met the Lord when he was alone at Bethel; and now God graciously came to him again in his hour of need.
How many of you have ever watched the reality show “Alone”. I haven’t watched it in several seasons but what I do remember is seems to be an interesting social experiment. Each contestant is dropped of in a remote place by themselves with very limited tools and resources. The goal is to outlast everyone else and stay as long as you can. What is interesting in the first couple of seasons is hearing people talk about the challenges of being alone. How when your alone you cannot escape your own thoughts you have to deal with them. So much that many of the contestants drop out not from the lack of food but from just being alone.
In the same way, when we are alone without distraction it is harder for us to ignore the holy spirit’s voice in our lives. This is why making a space for solitude is so important in the christian life. When we are alone we usually will be in a state of quiet contemplation. The place where God speaks. Now some of you may be asking why does God speak most while we are in solitude?
I will answer with a question, “Should the God of all creation have to resort shouting to get your attention?” Does a king compete for the attention of those in his court or is it given because he is worthy of the respect? Even Jesus got alone to speak to God, the father.
So this is where Jacob finds himself. He is alone and desperate for God’s blessing.
II. Jacob becomes desperate for God’s blessing.
II. Jacob becomes desperate for God’s blessing.
24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip.
26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied.
28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.
30 Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.”
Now once again we come to a passage that doesn’t quite give us as much information as we would like. When you come to a passage like this we must recognize the reason. The identity of this stranger is not the focus but rather the outcome but just because I know that some are already perplexed I will give you a couple of possibilities of this strangers Identity.
Now some would argue this was a preincarnate Christ in the form of an angelic being. If this is true the text simply doesn’t indicate it. It could be true but again there is a lack of information.
An angel. The word Angel means “messenger”. If I was to attack a messenger of a king it would be seen as an attack on the king. Just like in war to attack an american soldier is to attack the United states, same idea. And we did just see at the beginning the angels were with him.
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and as an adult he wrestled with God.
4 Jacob struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He found him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him.
So then what interpretation is correct? I’’ leave that iup to you to decide . Either way, It is not an issue of rightly identifying the stranger....but one of purpose. What is the purpose of this text?
Up until this point Jacob had always worked things out for himself. It was prophesied the younger would rule the older.
Instead of waiting on God to work it out Jacob did it himself taking advantage of his brother then lying to his father. When Jacob met Rachael and desired to marry her. Instead of asking God, Jacob made a deal. When that didn’t work out Jacob made another deal. Now he is confronted by Esau and he begins to work out a plan but in this his confidence in himself begins to wane and in desperation he turns to God.
So why was Jacob so desperate for the blessing of God?
His very life was dependent on it.
All of Jacobs life was spent striving for the thing that God had already promised him. Jacob was a man with ambition but his human ambition caused him to be a liar and a neglectful husband. His ambition left him with a broken family on both sides of the river. Laban on one side and Esau on another. God was still working his plan but Jacob had lived as if God needed Jacob’s cunning to make it happen.
He lived with a knowledge of God passed down from Abraham and Isaac but he refused to live by faith. He was a schemer from the beginning and lived a good portion of his life by this method. While his schemes may have accomplished the task it always left in its wake a trail of heartache.
So when Jacob wrestled with God begging for the blessing, He was desperate. It seems as if Jacob was finally tired of trusting in himself and ready to let God have his way. After all Jacobs very life was at stake. If God indeed had granted him the blessing then Jacob would know that he would survive this encounter with Esau.
So then why does God allow allow all of these “bad things” to happen?
III. God will often use “the bad” to bring about dependence and ultimately blessing.
III. God will often use “the bad” to bring about dependence and ultimately blessing.
So then what was the result. After wrestling all night…
31 The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel—limping because of his hip.
32 That is why, still today, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because he struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.
Notice the conflict of blessing and injury. Jacob may have left the encounter physically scarred but God had made him spiritually whole and now the sun could shine on Jacob. The blessing was always there but now Jacob could feel it’s warmth because he was now recognized his dependence on God. His limp would be a reminder of God’s blessing and love.
How many of us live with the knowledge of God’s blessing and love but order our lives as if it isn’t there?
After the sermon
assign Gen 33-36 much of the next 4 chapters are historical information contrasting the brokenness of man and the promised blessing of God. Along with a lot of historical references to the inhabitants of the land. These are important text the nations of history but they are not really meant to be a sermon.
So when we come back next Sunday we will begin Josephs(Jacob’s son) account
