(KPCW) God Wrestles with Us (2)

Introduction

God wrestles with us. This is what I want all of us to consider today. That God wrestles with us. There is this struggle between us and God— and to many of us hearing that, it confuses us— “I thought we were supposed to have a peaceful and conflict free relationship with God?” And to that I say, YES! but the problem is not with God, but its ourselves.

This is also played out in our homes with our parents. We want to do one thing, but our parents resists against us and we struggle with them in argument, trying to win them over to let you do whatever that you want to do. (ADD A SPECIFIC THING THEY MIGHT DO)

The problem comes up when our will and desire conflicts with our parents will, so we find this resistance. They start to wrestle with us. God starts to wrestle with us.

And in todays text, we will get to see how God wrestling us is rather good news for us! and It was for sure good news for Jacob!

Context

If you look down with me in V22 (and V23a) we find Jacob traveling with his family back home to his father Isaac. And typically when you’re moving in a big group like this, its the leader of the group that takes charge in the front. But here we find Jacob all the way in the back.

all alone and scared How did he get here?

[Jacobs Deceptive life]: Well, lets start with his birth. Jacob is given his name, for a reason, ‘he deceives’. Esau comes out then Jacob comes out grabbing onto the heel of Esau. and he continues to live up to that name. When his brother comes back home after hunting and dying from hunger, Jacob says that he would sell his stew for his birthright. So, Jacob again devices plans and tricks to get blessings. And then later when his father, Isaac, is ready to pass on the blessings to Esau (because he IS the firstborn), Jacob dresses up like Esau and again deceives his OWN father to receive the blessing. Jacob lived rather a deceptive life.

•     and as anyone would, Esau gets MAAAAD and plans to kill Jacob.

(if there are any older siblings in the room, imagine its your birthday and you’re getting the brand new iphone 16 pro max. But when you’re about receive it, your younger sibling takes it for himself. Imagine the anger you’d feel.

And younger siblings, imagine how angry your older sibling might get and what they would do to you)

•     And here, what Jacob does is far worse than that. So he runs away to a far away place, to his uncles land.

Jacob lived his earlier parts of his life doing and getting whatever he wanted in his OWN deceitful way. So, he gets away with it by moving to a far away land.

[Jacob deceived]: As Jacob flees Esau and arrives at his uncle Labans land, we see that Jacob continues to live in this way.

as he is living in his uncles land, he deceives him and tricks him into getting his strong sheeps, while Laban is left with all the weak ones. So laban and his family starts to hate Jacob, and he ends up leaving again. And at the right time, God tells Jacob to go back home, and when GOD tells you to go, YOU GO.

As Jacob and his family is heading to his fathers land, hes reminded of his brother Esau. The ways he deceived his brother and fled with his blessings and remembering the anger of Esau, brought Jacob to fear him greatly once again.

As they are journeying, one of Jacob’s messengers returns with news that Esau is coming to meet him—with 400 men. Filled with fear.

The inevitable of Justice is finally coming back to him, and it feels like an impossible task for Jacob. So he turns to God in desperation in prayer, saying, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac,” reminding God of His promises to bless them with descendants as numerous as the stars.

- he then admits of how undeserving he is of God's love and faithfulness.

(you know, up until this point, God has been nothing but kind and gracious to him, even though Jacob was scheming and deceiving.

•     And with desperation, Jacob asks God to deliver him from the hands of Esau, that he may survive and his offsprings.

•     Even though he asked God for help, he still insists on his own way of trying to please Esau with gifts

•     So, once again he devises a plan to ease his brothers anger by giving him gifts. So he sends his servants and people with his flocks and belonging first in line to give to Esau, Hoping that it would ease Esaus anger to not kill him.

And this is where we find Jacob, all the way in the back, all alone, He’s scared that he’s going to die.

Application

Jacobs life is a representation of how deceptive and self-reliant we are when it comes to getting what we want.

We cheat on tests to get the grade we want. We convincingly lie to our parents to get what we want. We make elaborate plans and lies to find comfort and blessings.  

There are always needs and desires we try to satisfy, but we always go about it the wrong way. We disobey God, and try to get it ourselves. It’s not that God doesn’t want us to be blessed and satisfied, but its that He wants to provide it for us His way.  

Now truth be told, you guys will get away with many things in life by deceiving and cheating and doing it in your own way.

But eventually, even with all these deceptive plans and lies and efforts, you guys will stumble before something that seems immovable.

Seniors, maybe you’ve done everything in your ability, but still didn’t get into the school you wanted to go. Doesn’t feel like it’s the end of the world.

Or maybe you’ve tried your absolute best to find a girlfriend or boyfriend, but you’re still single

you can fill in the blank with anything that makes you feel like its the end of the world for you.

Now if you have realized that you’ve been back up in a corner with no way to go, and you feel like theres nothing ahead. it feels like the end of the road— I have great news for you, that God wrestles with his people. God wrestles with us.

So how does God wrestling with us good news?

Context

Genesis 32:24–25 ESV

And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

Throughout Jacobs life, he has always prevailed and won against whoever he was wrestling with. However, this is the first time where it seems like he’s got some competition. He’s still trying to go his own way by winning against this man.

But when the man easily dislocates Jacobs hip, he realize that he’s not winning the fight, but also realizing that he’s a strong reliable dude.

Genesis 32:26 ESV

Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

Have you guys heard of the saying ‘a scared man is a dangerous man’?

I heard this from a Paul Washer sermon:

So he went on a surfing trip with a couple of his buddies. Now his buddies were very experienced and skilled on the water. They were very strong and big and were capable lifting heavy weights. As he was surfing, he took notice a small man who was struggling to keep his head above the water. The man was drowning. So he calls over his buddies, because they know how to deal with this situation and how to save them. The typical procedure is to throw a life raft onto them. Now if they had not known how to save them and just tried to pick him up with their bodies and strength, they would have died. Its not because the small man was that strong, but because the man was terrified of dying and scared, so hes grabbing onto whatever is there to bring himself back up above the water.

Jacob in his desperation and fear, is clinging onto this man for survival. He wants to live. He wants this man to bless him that he might prevail against whats to come with Esau. So he hangs on tight and doesn’t let go. And the man responds:

Genesis 32:27 ESV

And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

I think this might be lowest point for Jacob. His whole life he lived a deceitful life. Cheating his brother of his birthright, his uncle of his flock. He lived his life of deception to take other peoples blessings. And in his mind he sees all of his wrong doings and that it’s all come back to punish him. But in this moment, in his desperation to survive, reveals his identity. As Jacob, the deceiver, the trickster, the cheater. He lays down all that he is, acknowledging his sinfulness and deceitfulness. But heres how God responds.

Genesis 32:28 ESV

Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

We see that the man he was wrestling with was God. And he blesses Jacob with a new name.

Jacob his whole life tried to get blessing for himself by deceiving and tricking people, but he stumbled before a place where he would lose everything, including his life.

But in his most vulnerable state, acknowledging his wrong doings, and sinfulness, clings onto God in desperation for a blessing. And he is no longer bounded by the wickedness of his ways as Jacob, but now as someone who has struggled with God, Israel.

Genesis 32:29 ESV

Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.

Hes pretty much saying “Don’t you realize who I am?” God knew that Jacob recognized who He was. And so with that God blesses Jacob with a new name. but also blesses him with Himself.

And with a heart of relief, he names this place after his encounter with God.

Genesis 32:30 ESV

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

After a wrestling match with God and seeing that he survived, he sees that God is with him and is for him. and it completely outweighs his concerns about his brother Esau.

Genesis 32:31 ESV

The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

After Jacobs wrestling match with God, he comes out alive but hurt. His dislocated hip causes him to limp for the rest of his life.

and finally look here with me in chapter 33 verse 3 and 4

Genesis 33:3 ESV

He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

The beginning of our text, we saw Jacob at the very back of the group because of his fear, but having been comforted and blessed by God, now we see him at the front.

This was what Jacob was fearing all his life, the day he sees his brother. That daunting day where he will meet the person he deceived and cheated of his blessings.

Genesis 33:4 ESV

But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Application

A simple moral teaching of this story could be that “don’t be a liar or a cheater, and do things the right way and own up to your mistakes and you’ll be blessed”. This might be a good moral teaching , but this isn’t what this text is saying.

But it’s that we must depend on God with EVERYTHING. our needs and wants even in sin , only God can fully satisfy and bless us and forgive our sins. And He does that by wrestling with Us.

Gospel

So how does God wrestle with us today?

We’ll he did that 2000 years ago.

The God who wrestled Jacob in Genesis is the same divine being who wrestles with sinners. Jesus Christ.

His ministry on Earth showed how sinful and dirty humans are compared to him. No man is worthy to be in his presence or even associated with him. That no one is righteous to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yet he encountered the dirtiest of sinners and spiritually wrestled with them to repent and to believe in him.

And just like how God let jacob prevail, Jesus also let our sin prevail over him on the cross. The sins of the whole world nailed him to the cross, where his blood washed our sins and deceitful ways away. and in his resurrection, he resurrects us into a new creation, where we receive all the blessings from Christ and Christ himself. He has given us ETERNAL LIFE, that far outweighs the concerns and problems in our lives. Nothing else matters when we have life in Christ, as long as we cling to Christ.

[ILLUSTRATION ABOUT MY HOSPITAL VISIT]

October of last year, I was admitted to the ER in the middle of the night.

God wrestles with us so that we might depend on Him and be blessed