He Who Wrestles With God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we saw Jacob preparing to meet his brother Esau. He prayed and he set up al he had to be as ready for this event as he could. He is obviously afraid here but God has brought him to the end of himself so that there is nothing that he can do but trust in God.
God is not done teaching Jacob a lesson yet though. Tonight we are going to continue in the night as Jacob hangs back from the rest of his people and ends up in what might be the craziest wrestling match ever. Yes even bigger than Christian Carroll’s big win last year. So lets look now at this legendary match and see what God was teaching him in it. Genesis 32.22-32
The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 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. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 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.” 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. 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.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Jacob stayed back across the river by himself, perhaps to pray some more. At this point someone came up and wrestled with him all night long. To end the wrestling the man simply touched his hip and put it out of socket. When the light has broken Jacob demands to know his name and he refuses. Then he tells Jacob that his name will now be Israel because he has striven with God and man. Jacob then begins to limp away towards his clan. This instance is also memorialized by not eating the sinew of the thigh.
This instance is obviously a divine instance where a angel is sent to represent God and wrestle with Jacob. This takes us from is past to this moment and changes the course of his life and gives him something so that he will never forget this lesson. So now lets pray and then we will look at his past.
The Strivers Past
The Strivers Past
The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Here at the beginning I think it is helpful to look back a bit and see Jacobs past.
It started out striving with Esau as he stole his birthright. He then strove against his Dad and Esau as he sough to steal the blessing. And most recently he strove with Laban for over 14 years. Jacobs life has been defined by striving against man. This ends here though. Hosea 12.2-4
The Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him according to his deeds.
In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.
He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel,
and there God spoke with us—
Jacob strove with men but now he is striving with God. He is alone at the end of himself and now it is time for the struggle of a lifetime.
The Struggle of a Lifetime
The Struggle of a Lifetime
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.
I haven’t watched much wrestling but I have seen some and what I saw they looked pretty tired after a two minute match. This lasted all night long. We know though that this is not just some man, it is an angel sent from God. Job 40.2
“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
We are helpless to contend against God. What is going on here is God is using this as a lesson. Jacob realizes earlier that there is nothing that he can do, he must strive with God and put his won abilities aside.
We are so often the same here, we rely on ourselves and our own abilities. We need to see that we are called to wrestle with God in all of the issues of life. This is not physical wrestling though, it is taking everything to him in prayer, it is digging deep into his word. Through this our actions and concerns in life will become clear. We must grasp that our greatest concerns revolve around God and not our circumstances.
it is at this point that Jacobs life is reoriented fully.
The Blessing that Reorients his Identity
The Blessing that Reorients his Identity
Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 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.” 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.
This is a covenantal shift in the story of Genesis. The covenant goes from one man to a people, to a nation. This is the start of the nation of Israel. This new name is more than just that, it is a new identity and a new calling.
From this point on, Scripture alternates between calling him “Jacob” and “Israel,” signaling that as long as Israel lives on earth, the old Jacob remains a part of him; two natures continue to war within him.
This is the same battle that takes place in the believer. There is a battle between our flesh and our spirit. As Paul says the mind is often willing but the flesh is weak. We must seek to put away the flesh just as Jacob must seek to put away Jacob and be Israel.
God gives him a reminder for this though so that he will never forget.
The Limp that Reminds him of Grace
The Limp that Reminds him of Grace
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.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Every step he now takes is a mark of grace. He cannot forget what has happened here and he should not because there were so many important things for his life. This even becomes a memorial for all of Israel so that nobody can forget the lessons learned on this night.
This is a lesson of grace. God brought him from his past and changed him and reorients his life and teaches him that it is God and God alone that should be the focus of his life. This is a lesson that we should all learn from.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This mysterious wrestling points forward to a greater struggle, Christ’s own “wrestling” as He bore the weight of sin on the cross. Jesus, the true Israel in whom there is no deceit , entered into the ultimate contest and prevailed, not by overcoming God but by submitting to Him. Unlike Jacob, Jesus has no “Jacob-nature” within Him, He is perfectly obedient and entirely righteous. And just as Israel remembered Jacob’s struggle through a lasting memorial, the church remembers Christ’s greater struggle through the Lord’s Supper, proclaiming the victory He won on our behalf.
