Limping for God
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When I was about 15 or 16, I owned some goats and thought it would be a good idea to grow my own corn to feed my goats. So, I grew two big fields of corn, picked the corn, and stored it away. That fall, I decided I might want to grow corn or another crop on those fields so I started trying to clear off the grass and stalks of the corn the summer before.
In that process, I figured it would be easier if I just burned the grass and stalks off. So, I set fire to the field and everything was going well… Until a puff of wind came.
Now, my field was right beside a pine forest that was covered in brown pine straw. When that puff of wind came, a small little ember from my fire landed on that pine straw. Before I knew it, the pine forest was set ablaze.
I ran and got bucket of water to throw on it. Bucket after bucket I poured water on the fire and it did no good. So, I just stood there, helplessly watching the forest burn down. The situation became bigger than me. Try as I might, there was nothing I could do to fix the situation.
And we find the same situation with Jacob in .
The last time Jacob had spoken with his brother Esau, Esau vowed that he would kill him
And now Esau was coming towards Jacob
Jacob was certain He was going to die by the hands of his brother
22 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. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 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. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 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.” 29 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. 30 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.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 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.
There is a play on words here in the story of Jacob wrestling God at the Jabbok river
But we miss it in English - we have to look at the Hebrew
Jacob, in Hebrew, is Ya’aqob
Jabbok, in Hebrew, is Yabboq
The Hebrew term for “wrestle” is Ye’abeq
This play on words is to emphasize what had to take place before Jacob crossed over into the promise land
The Jabbok river was the threshold of the promise land.
Ya’aqob (the man) Ye’abeq (wrestled) God at the Yabboq (the river)
Jacob had to have a transforming and life-altering experience with God
God had to transform Jacob into the man he wanted him to be
Jacob had lived his entire life on his own and got whatever he wanted by trickery and scams
If He was going to be the Father of Israel, God had to change that
So, God broke Jacob
He brought him to a breaking point
And just like Jacob, God brings all of us to a breaking point to save us.
Because human beings are too prideful to see their need for God
God has to show us how much we need Him
And God did this in a very strategic way:
The man had to wrestle before crossing the Jabbok
Jacob was Alone
Jacob was Alone
22 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. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Genesis 32:22-
God makes us feel lonely so that we see that all we need is Him
And people don’t have to be absent for you to be alone
Sometimes the most lonely times in life are when you are surrounded by people.
The story of Magid alone
Jacob was Injured
Jacob was Injured
25 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.
:24
31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
Genesis 32:
God wanted Jacob to be crippled so that he could not depend upon himself to defeat Esau
God did this many times through the history of Israel.
Gideon’s army of 300 in
We dont glorify our caretaker by refusing their help
Jacob was Renamed
Jacob was Renamed
26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 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.” 29 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. 30 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.”
Anytime someone is renamed in the Bible, you should pay attention because something big and important is about to happen.
Abram was a pagan from a foreign land and renamed him Abraham
Genesis 32:26-
Here Jacob is renamed Israel
Jacob (Ya’aqob) means “heel-catcher or trickster”
Israel (Yisrael) means “God strives”
This name change signified what God did to Jacob in transforming Him
And He does the same with us
Salvation is not simply a creed we sing, but a life we live
When the Holy Spirit comes and lives within us, we are transformed, renamed, and become a new creation.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-
Conclusion:
And Jacob was a transformed man
He brought him to the point where all he had to trust in was God.
And with each step, each limp, Jacob was reminded that all he had was God.
And so, Jacob went to meet his brother, uncertain of what would happen.
When he saw his brother approaching from across the horizon, he was certain that death was only minutes away
But when Esau came near, he ran to his brother, embraced him, and he wept
When Jacob got out of the way, God took care of his situation
When I stood there watching the forest burn up, I realized there was nothing I could do, so I called the fire department and they put the fire out in minutes
They did in minutes, what I could never do on my own
That is what the God of the universe is waiting to do for you and me
7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:7-
Lean into your weakness and trust in an almighty God