"I'll not let go until.."

I. Introduction.

Gen 31: Beginning at vs 38.

Our text finds Jacob in between a rock and a hard place.

Here is a man who has made some mistakes in life.

And he has paid a high price for them.

How many of you have been around long enough to know that the liar will be lied to?

How many know that the cheater will also be cheated?

He pays long and hard for some mistakes and at the end, Jacob leaves his father in-law and it is not a pleasant parting.

In vers 38 of Gen 31, we hear Jacob speaking to Laban, his Father in law and it is clear, the die has been cast.

There ain’t no going back.

Caeser crossed the Rubicon, Jacob will cross Jabbok.

Here’s what he says:

Genesis 31:38–55 NKJV

These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.” And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!” Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

Listen, the situation could have gone down very differently.

There could have been blood!

Thankfully, that does not happen, but what you have to understand is that Jacob has set his course!

No bridges left behind, his future awaits him.

But so does his brother...

A man who swore to kill Jacob, 20 long years ago!

Now you know how it is, some folks are better at talking than doing.

Say one thing, don’t always follow through.

But then there are the other kind..

The kind thatk know how to hold a grudge.

Revenge they say, is a dish best served cold.

Esau was the kind of man to shoot first and ask questions later!

It was a miracle, and Jacob knows it was a miracle He survived and got away from the wrath of Esau those many years ago.

He had barely escaped vengeance and got away by the skin of his teeth!

But now, he finds himself betwen a rock and a hard place.

Cant go back to Laban and wouldnt want to!

But home isn’t a sure thing either.

Just how strongly does Esau feel about what happened when they were younger?

A birthright stolen.

A lifetime of disappointment and the “What If Curse” of what might have been.

Genesis 32:3–23 NKJV

Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ” Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.” Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ” So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp. And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

Jacob had hinted thruogh his messengers that He had wealth to share, that he knew some restitution was in order after having stolen from Esau so long ago.

His servants return with bad news!

“Esau is on his way here now!

He’s moving faster than you are and he’s got 400 men with him!

And that’s when Jacob’s radar went off big time!

400 Men was the standard size for a miltia!

David would be famous one day, for the deeds of his 400!

And these were not just anyone’s men, they were Esau’s!

“Can we hole up in a defensive position and hope to survive?”

“Is there any chance at all?”

No! We’re gonna have to make a run for it!

We read how that Jacob hedges his bets somewhat by dividing his company into two groups!

“Perhaps at least one will escape the wroth of my brother!”

One thing that is also very telling about the developing character of Jacob, is the fact that with all the prayers we hear him pray, Jacob doesn’t ask God to wipe out HIs brother.

Jacob knows he did the man wrong.

And now, he’s just rtying to make the best of a bad situation.

I respect that.

Now we arrive at vs. 4 of chapter 32.

Jacob got a hold of God in a way no man had ever done before!

Genesis 32:24–30 NKJV

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

Jacob identifies this man he is wrestling as God in vs. 30.

We know that sometimes the phrase “The angel of the Lord” reffers to an actual angel who represents the Holiness of God.

And sometimes it is God himself, temporarily manifesting himself in physical form, not unlike the Bush that burned but was not consumed.

Jacob gets a hold of God!!!

I wonder how it is that Jacob can even try to wrestle with God!

Of course you have to remember, that Jacob was a very strong man.

Just because he wasn’t hairy and corse like Esau, folk have thorugh Jacob was puny. Not so.

When first he arrived in Haran, he had rolled away the well stone single handed!

What followed were 20 years of hard labor and trial!

But beyond even that, I consider the man’s frustration!

20 years of building, working, enduring mistreatment and lies have built up until that frustration can be held in no longer!

And one hold after another, the grapple, the release, the pain in

The Dam breaks and Jacob throws all of the violence, all of the anger and rage into the match!

It is a Herculean feat!

How Jacob endures as the hours, not minutes, but hours pass, is a miracle!

It’s as though God is merely holding him, allowing him to rage until spent.

My best friend in HIgh school was truly a good friend.

I learned that best one day in a class room without teachers.

10th grade exams.

There were no papers to write that day, and left unsupervised, somone had started arm wrestling.

After several rounds, somebody shouted: “Jonathan and Clements.”

This was not normal, as we were always son the same side. Always.

But the crowd would not shut up!

So finally, we faced each other across that school desk and we went at it!

Now Clements was an A plus student and always had been.

I knew He was strong, but I never knew just how strong.

He was thinner than I was, and I felt confident the match would go ok.

I would slowly put him down and make it look like it was very hard to save face for my best pal.

But the moment the crowd yelled “go”

I knew Jonathan had met his match.

Immoveable!

The sheer strength of that young man!

No way was I gonna win.

I knew there was not way I was gonna put his arm down. No way.

You have to understand, two whole classes are watching and cheering.

All the guys are watching!

And more importantly, all the girls were watching!

This can’t be happening!

And then I realized that He was holding my arm but not forcing it down!

I felt the strength of him, and knew he could do it, but my friend Clements just smiled, and held me there.

That’s when the bell rang and the match was over.

I left class that day and knew, I had a truly good friend.

And sometimes, I figure that’s what it must have been like at Jabbok!

As hard as Jacob tries, every trick in the book, God simply holds Jacob and Jacob holds God.

20 years of frustration!!!!!Jacob rages against it all

And yet He cannot prevail!

Finally, the angels says “Enough. let me go.”

“The sun us coming up.”

And Jacob says something we’ll never forget:

“I will not let you go, except you bless me!”

Here is a man who wanted more from God!

And yes, I know he began life as a cheater, but freind, Jacob was not all bad.

In fact, I’ll go one step further and say, He was special!

Sure he made mistakes!

He was heavily influenced by his mother who told him to lie and how to do it!

But before you write off Jacob,

Allow me to point out that he had something nobody else there seemed to have!

He was driven!!!!

He wanted more from God!

He wanted the birthright enough to put his life on the line!

I’m not saying he was right.

But Jacob had a vital spark that was missing in his brohter!

He valued the spiritual!!!

He was not happy with the mediocre and mundane!

“I want more from God!”

I’m willing to fight for it!

If Esau had gone to Laban instead of Jacob, do you think he could have been patient?

Do you think Esau would have worked and worked and worked and suffered and endured?

Esau had never valued the things of God!

But Jacob did!

He had at least some perception of the spiritual!

It’s just me, but If their roles were reversed, and if Esau had lain beneath that heavenly ladder, He would not have seen angels ascending and descending.

I think old Esau would have looked at the wineskin on the ground next to him and figured it was the hootch!

But Jacob, Jacob had a desire for more!

He valued the spirtual!

Those things you cannot see!

He was not happy with the blessing of God, He wanted more!

He said, “I’ll not let go until you bless me!”

Always, Jacob wanted more from God.

And so God gave him more!

He gave him a name and changed the man that he was.

Jacob was the old man, the cheater, the con.

Isreal is a Prince of God, and man of faith who walks with God!

“Pastor, why are we praying so much?”

“How come we have meetings and joint services and vision ser vices all month?”

The answer is simple: We are not content!

We want more from God!!!!!

What miracles, what healings, what provisions and power await the children of the living God?

It’s there for the taking!

You just have to know how much you want from God.

This time next week, we will celebrate the Lord’s supper. Make sure you are ready