Jacob's Surrender - Wrestling For The Blessing. Genesis 32

2024.08.25.Sermon Notes. Genesis 32. Jacob’s Surrender. Wrestling for the Blessing.

William Akehurst, HSWC

BIG IDEA: Jacob’s Surrender. A strong man’s journey of deceit and lies, that must be wrestled and broken to receive the promised blessing complete with a new name.

Scriptures: Genesis 32:1-32, Genesis 21:3, Hebrews 13:2, 2 Kings 2:1-3, 2 Kings 6:16-17,

1 John 1:9, Psalms 103:12, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Philippians 4:19, Hebrews 4:16, James 4:10, 2 Chronicles 7:14-15, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 6:9-13, Matthew 6:13,

Revelation 2:16-17, Revelation 3:11-12

Jacob’s Journey, Angels, A Wrestling Match and a New Name.

Jacob’s Fear, Prayer, Brokenness, Surrender and Blessing.

The Abrahamic Covenant was the promise of a Land, a Nation and a Blessing.

From that blessing would come the Messiah, who would be a blessing to every Nation, all people.

The Land of Israel, the Nation of Israel, and the Blessing of Israel through MESSIAH JESUS CHRIST for all people.

Genesis 12:3 (NKJV)

3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you;

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

RECAP

Jacob left Canaan when his brother Esau threatened to kill him.

Jacob has been gone for 20 years, and this thought hasn’t left him.

He has left Laban’s camp, and is now headed back home, so that prior thought of his brother gave him great concern.

JACOB’S JOURNEY AND ENCOUNTER WITH ANGELS

Genesis 32:1-32

Vs. 1-2 Two Camps.

1 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

MAHANAIM means 2 camps.

Jacob’s Camp, and God’s Camp of Angels.

We don’t know exactly what it means by “the angels of GOD met” Jacob. But he saw them. It doesn’t appear that he interacted with them. But their presence was known to him.

We know that 2 angels met with Abraham and talked with Abraham, and when they left Abraham, they went to Sodom and Gomorrah and interacted with Lot before destroying the city.

We know that scripture speaks of angels around us, and that they normally remain unseen to us, but sometimes we meet them without realizing it.

Hebrews 13:2 NLT Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

20 years before, Jacob had a dream during his journey to Laban’s country. In his dream, he saw the ladder of angels ascending and descending from heaven to earth.

Jesus spoke of the heavenly hosts ministering to himself and to us.

But for some reason, Jacob was now given sight of these angels around him.

POINT: This shows us how great GOD’s care is for his people.

Whether or not those angels were seen or unseen, they still would have been there.

Having his eyes opened to see them probably gave Jacob confidence to continue home to face his brother.

POINT: Angels are all around us, whether we see them or not. They are ministering to us, helping us, protecting us.

As believers, we must understand that we live in Mahanaim, our camp, surrounded by God’s Camp of Angels!

POINT: The LORD is present with HIS people and HE cares for you.

This revelation of GOD’s presence and care came after Jacob left Laban, a worldly man.

POINT: Separation from the world often leads to greater insight for the believer to be able to understand the invisible (spiritual things).

The angels didn’t JUST show up at this time, they had been with Jacob all along, and Jacob finally was given sight to see them.

POINT: Angelic protection, though we rarely see it, is present.

In his book Angels, Billy Graham relates the story told by Reverend John G. Paton, a trail-blazing missionary in the South Pacific in the New Hebrides Islands. The story illustrates how God provides angels to protect and care for His believers.

One night Paton and his wife found themselves threatened by hostile natives who surrounded their mission headquarters. The Patons thought for sure that the natives would burn down the headquarters and kill them both. They prayed throughout the night asking God to protect them from harm. The next morning they were astonished when they realized that the natives had gone away. They had no idea where or why they had left. The missionaries again prayed and thanked the Lord for saving them.

About a year later, the chief of the native tribe who had threatened them became a Christian. He came to visit the Patons. When he was asked about the incident of that night of terror, the chief told the Patons that he and his men were too fearful to carry out their plans of attack. They had seen an army of giant men in “shining garments with drawn swords in their hands” surrounding the mission grounds. Paton and the chief agreed that there was no explanation other than that God had sent angels to keep the missionaries from harm.