Scripture Meditation: Genesis 32
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
- Let's get ready to RUUUMMMMMBLLLLE!
- Granted- not your typical opening to a sermon
- But this is no ordinary Sunday morning message
- You see- Genesis 32 contains the story of one of history's great wrestling showdowns
- And it wasn't a fake, made-for-television WWF "Death Match"
- This was for real- and the stakes were infinitely higher
- This was man vs. God's chosen messenger
- Mano a mano
- It was for all the marbles- and it would prove to be THE turning point in Jacob's life
- But I may be getting a little ahead of myself...
BIBLICAL BACKGROUND
- For 20 years Jacob had endured incredibly difficult conditions in Paddan Aram
- Finally- acting under God's command- Jacob took his wives, his concubines, his children, his servants and all his livestock
- And- during the middle of the night- escaped from beneath the iron-thumb of his father-in-law Laban
- Jacob was heading back to his homeland of Gilead-
- It was a long, rugged 350 mile journey that would have taken him at least six months to complete
- No sooner he had set foot in Gilead-a vengeful Laban caught up with him- an armed posse in hand
- To say the least- it could have been a disaster for Jacob
- But God intervened in a powerful way
- Through a dream He warned Laban not to harm- or even speak harshly to- his son-in-law
- Confronted with God's command- and basically having no other choice- Laban quickly made a peace treaty with Jacob
- Once it was finalized- Laban kissed his daughters and grandchildren good-bye
- And returned to Paddan Aram- never to see Jacob again
- Now for Jacob- Laban's departure meant that a huge threat had been removed
- But another- very dangerous- threat loomed just ahead
- His name was Esau- Jacob's older twin brother
- Let me remind you why Esau was so dangerous
- Decades earlier Jacob had swindled Esau out of his birthright and their father Isaac's blessing
- Esau was so enraged by what had happened-
- He vowed to kill Jacob wherever- and whenever- he found him
- In fact, Esau's threat was the reason Jacob had gone to Paddan Aram in the first place
- Well- as Jacob entered the Holy Land he had no idea what lay ahead
- God had told him to return to Gilead- and God had never let him down in the past
- But Jacob was still worried- he didn't know what Esau would do when they finally met
JACOB THE DIPLOMAT
- We'll pick up the story with Genesis 32, verse 1
- To understand the importance of this event- you have to go back twenty years earlier-
- The Bible says on the first night after he left for Paddan Aram-
- Jacob had a vivid dream about angels
- In this dream God made Jacob a four-fold promise:
- I am going to give you a great posterity
- I'm going to make you a blessing to all nations
- I will be with you wherever you go
- And someday I'll bring you back to this place
- During the years he spent in Paddan Aram- Jacob had seen God fulfill all these promises
- He'd made Jacob fabulously wealthy
- He'd given him a large family
- He'd been with him through thick and thin
- And now God had brought Jacob back home
- And what was the first thing he saw?
- Angels!
- God's messengers.
- In essence, they were border guards
- Reminding Jacob of God's power and presence
- Welcoming and telling him: You're finally home!
- Despite the knowledge of God's presence- Jacob is still nervous. Scared half-to-death would be more like it
- As far as he knows Esau's planning to kill him
- So- Jacob acts like a diplomat. He sends out a peace delegation
- Notice what Jacob tells his servants: "This is what you are to say to my master Esau: 'Your servant Jacob says'"
- Here's something that's subtle- but very important
- Remember- the source of Jacob's conflict with his brother concerned Esau's status as the first born
- Esau had only been born a few seconds early than Jacob- but as such he was entitled to certain rights and privileges
- Basically- he got everything
- And Jacob got the few remaining scraps that were left
- But Jacob wasn't content to accept the status quo
- Through guile, fraud, manipulation and outright theft
- Jacob had reversed the situation so
- That now HE would receive all the benefits and privileges that went with being firstborn
- And Esau would be the one left holding the bag
- All that was in the past. But here in verse 4 Jacob is calling Esau the 'Master' and referring to himself as the 'Servant'
- It wasn't exactly an apology- but it came close
- Jacob was humbling himself before Esau- and pleading for his forgiveness
- You know- that's a good illustration of what has to happen if you want forgiveness from God- or another person
- First-
- You have to acknowledge the sin.
- Which means you have to confess any harm or injury you've caused
- Then-
- You pretty much have to throw yourself on the mercy of the court
- And plead for forgiveness and grace
- See here's the thing:
- Jacob couldn't undo- or make amends for- what He'd done so many years earlier
- All he could do was hope that Esau would be gracious and forgive him for all that had happened in the past
- By the way:
- When it comes to another human being you can never be sure they'll offer you their forgiveness
- Maybe they will
- And maybe they won't
- But with God there's never any doubt
- When you seek His forgiveness
- He ALWAYS pours out His grace freely and unconditionally
- 1 John 1:9
- Now THAT will shake you up: Esau's coming with 400 men in tow
- That's/ To Jacob that looks like-
- Not a welcoming party
- A small army
- It certainly appeared that Esau intended to carry out his threat to kill Jacob
- This is the act of a desperate man
- Jacob assumes there's going to be a mass slaughter
- His hope is that by dividing into two groups SOME of his family will be able to escape
- It kind of makes you wonder what had happened to Jacob's faith
- On many occasions God had explicitly promised to love and protect Jacob and his family
- God had never failed him before- so why is Jacob panicking now?
- I guess this just goes to show that even people with great faith
- Can entertain moments of doubt and fear
- You know what's odd about this prayer?
- For one thing- Jacob didn't tell God anything that God didn't already know
- Furthermore, Jacob's prayer didn't change God's plans one iota
- God fully intended to keep the promises He'd made to Jacob
- In fact- as we later learn- God had already worked things out
- He'd softened Esau's heart towards Jacob
- God knew things would be fine
- So the question is: Did Jacob's prayer accomplish anything?
- The answer is: Absolutely!
- For one thing- it helped Jacob remember God's faithfulness in the past
- For another- it prepared him to receive God's answer in this situation
- In other words:
- Prayer didn't change God
- It changed Jacob!
- Folks- that's an important lesson we all need to learn
- Prayer has never been about changing God
- God is perfect in power- in wisdom- in knowledge and in love
- His greatest desire is to bless- and to protect- and to care for you
- What prayer does is prepare and condition you to receive the great things God intends to do
- Let me illustrate how this works: We've got a revival scheduled next month
- As a member of this church- you ought to be praying for this revival
- Pray for our guest preacher- Dr. Mark Harris
- Pray for the choir- and all the groups and soloists that will sing
- Pray for our church- that God will use the revival to energize and focus our work in this community
- And pray that people who are lost will come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord
- Now here's the thing:
- God already knows EXACTLY what He'll accomplish through this revival
- And He'll make sure the things He wants accomplished will BE accomplished
- So why should you pray?
- Four reasons. By praying...
- You'll recognize God's hand when you hear Mark preach with power and conviction
- You'll hear God's grace as the special music is played and sung
- You'll KNOW that the Lord is doing a great thing as the winds of revival blow through our church
- And you'll give God the glory as people take Jesus as their Savior
- So pray...like you've never prayed before!
- Well- let's get back to Jacob-
- After praying for God's help He decides to send his brother a very extravagant gift
- I'm not sure if you'd call it a peace offering- or a bribe. We'll talk about that more next week
- After sending the gift-
- Jacob proceeds to send his family and flocks across the Jabbok river
- While he stays behind for a night of prayer and meditation
- It was time to RUUUMMMMMBLLLLE!
THE WRESTLING MATCH
- At first Jacob had no idea who his attacker was
- Because he appeared in the form of a human being Jacob didn't know if this was:
- Esau-
- Or one of Laban's sons-
- Or just a stranger in the night
- But as the struggle continued- it became increasingly clear to Jacob that this man was- in fact- an angel
- In other words: Jacob isn't wrestling with a man- he's wrestling with God
- And that's why this passage of Scripture is so important
- Essentially- this wrestling match represents the central drama of Jacob's life
- Remember- Jacob was the child of the promise
- God had chosen to bless him in order to fulfill the covenant promises He'd made to Abraham and Isaac
- And here's the thing: God's choice-
- wasn't the result of anything Jacob had ever said or done or accomplished
- It was a gift of God's grace- PERIOD!
- The only thing God asks from Jacob is faith and trust
- But trusting God had always been a struggle for Jacob
- That's why He'd always tried to take things into his own hands. That's why he:
- Stole Esau's birthright
- Deceived his father into giving him the blessing Isaac intended to give to his older brother
- Spent twenty years in conflict with his father-in-law Laban
- Was trying to bribe Esau
- Jacob had faith- but he wasn't entirely sure God could be trusted
- You know a lot of Christians are like that
- They boldly profess their faith in God
- But they don't really trust Him- so they try to take things into their own hands
- I'll bet you've done it from time-to-time. I know I have
- I'll be praying about say... some problem or situation here at church
- And no sooner than I say 'Amen'- I'll start dreaming up schemes to make the problem go away
- Gotta come up with something!
- Gotta fix it!
- Gotta make this go AWAY!
- And here's the irony in all that
- In Jacob's life every time...
- He tried to handle it- he screwed it up
- He trusted God- God worked it out
- In my life the same thing is true. Every time...
- I try to handle it- I screw it up
- I trust God- He works it out!
- Why is that such a hard lesson to absorb?
- Folks- it always come down to trust
- It did for Jacob
- It does for me
- And it does for you
- Do you believe God is big enough and strong enough- and faithful enough- and loves you enough to take care of ANY thing that may come up in your life?
- If you do- God will bless you and you'll enjoy a peace that passes understanding in your life
- If you don't- you'll keep screwing it up. It's that simple
- This proves Jacob's adversary could have destroyed him at anytime
- God's messenger was so powerful all he had to do was put a finger on Jacob's hip
- And immediately it was dislocated
- Folks- this angel could have escaped Jacob's clutches any time he wanted
- He possessed the power of the Almighty God
- there's no way a mere human being could defeat him
- So what's going on here?
- Essentially- the angel is giving Jacob a chance to make a profession of faith
- Jacob was going to have to decide if he:
- Trusted God above all
- Wanted God's blessing more than he wanted anything else in his life
- There it was. Jacob was saying:
- God, I'm tired of trying to go my own way- and do my own thing. I've realized that doesn't work
- From now on I'm going to claim Your blessings and live by simple faith and trust in You!
- You know, whenever I offer an invitation I frequently put it like this: Would you like to receive Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord?
- Actually- that's not a very good question
- There are a lot of people who have received Jesus as their Savior...
- And they're saved for all eternity
- But they've never trusted Christ as their Lord
- See- taking Jesus as your Lord means you make the same decision Jacob made on the shores of the Jabbok River
- You-
- Turn your life over to God completely, totally and absolutely
- Have decided to fully trust in His grace-
- And you're ready to let Him fulfill His Will and purposes for your life
- It's the difference between...
- Having your fire insurance in hand
- And having the peace and assurance that comes from being a submissive child of God
- Now obviously- the angel knew Jacob's name
- He also knew what Jacob's name meant
- Remember what that is? Deceiver- Surplanter- Con Artist
- In other words: As of this day you will no longer be known as the Deceiver- the Con Artist
- That part of your life is over- it's finished
- From now on you will be known as Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.
LIVING BY ISRAEL-FAITH
- Now this is powerful stuff
- You know, we tend to think of Israel as either-
- The name of a person
- Or the name of a country
- But in the Hebrew language Israel-
- Has one of two specific meanings-
- And each one is important in understanding what it means to live by faith
- One of those meanings of Israel is: He who struggles with God
- WOW! That will blow you away
- He who struggles with God
- In other words: Living by faith is a struggle
- It's a daily challenge that never ends
- I don't know about you- but I find a lot of comfort in that definition of Israel
- Because I've found it's not easy to live by faith
- Sometimes it feels like it's less of a step into the dark
- And more like a plunge into the abyss
- Even when you think you've turned it all over to God
- You're still going to have times when faith is difficult and challenging
- In that respect faith is like golf-
- If it was easy
- They'd call it something else
- And God understands that
- For crying out loud He made us this way!
- With all of our doubts- and all of our uncertainties- and all of our hard-headedness
- Which is why when it comes to living by Israel faith:
- All God asks is that we try
- And keep on trying even when it's hard- ESPECIALLY when it hard
- Now the word Israel has a second meaning in the Hebrew language: God prevails
- Folks- that's when living by faith is rewarded
- When you can affirm- and live by the truth- that says GOD must prevail
- To put it another way: Living by Israel faith is the absolute opposite of sin
- Sin says: I want to prevail. I want to live my life on my terms. I want to go my own way- and do my own thing
- Israel-faith says: I want GOD to prevail. I want to live my life on HIS terms. I want to follow HIS ways- and do the things HE wants me to do
- "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
- Well done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a few things
- Come and I will make you ruler over many things!
CONCLUSION
- Genesis 32 ends with Jacob hobbling into camp the next morning
- When they saw him- Rachel and Leah probably panicked
- Jacob- what's happened to you? How are you going to win a battle with your brother when you can barely walk?
- Folks- what Jacob's wives didn't understand was that he had changed- now he was Israel
- A man who lived by absolute faith
- A man who trusted God with all of his heart- and with all of his mind- and with all of his strength
- A man who didn't worry about the future- because He knew the One who had the future in his hand
- From time-to-time I'll see a marquee or a bumper sticker that says:
- No God- No Peace
- Know God- Know Peace
- That's a pretty simplistic thought
- But it captures what it means to live by Israel-faith
- No God- No Peace
- Know God- Know Peace
- Are you living by Israel-faith?
- Let us pray
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