Wrestling with God, Genesis 32:22-31
Introduction
Once a Hasidic teacher told this parable; a man had been wandering about in a forest for several days, unable to find the way out. Finally he saw a man approaching him in the distance. His heart was filled with joy. Now I shall surely find out which is the right way out of this forest, he thought to himself.
When they neared each other, he asked the man, “Brother, will you please tell me the way out of the forest? I have been wandering about in here for several days and I am unable to find my way out.” Said the other to him, “Brother, I do not know the way out either, for I, too, have been wandering about in here for many days. But this much I can tell you.
Do not go the way that I have gone, for I know that it is not the way. Now come, let us search for the way out together.” The teacher added, “So it is with us. The one thing that each one of us knows is that the way we have been going until now is not the way. Now come, let us join hands and look for the way together.”
Transition
We are living in the information age; there has probably never been a time in the history of all creation when more information what available to humanity than today and the amount of available information seems to multiply exponentially day in and day out. The world is overflowing with vast storehouses of information.
All a person needs to do is to turn on the television, the internet, or the radio to find out what happened five minutes ago in another part of the world or to read about ancient civilizations or find out about the latest NASA robot trip to Mars. The knowledge of humanity may be unparalleled by any other time in human history.
I am terribly afraid, though that our ability to assimilate all of this vast resource of information is not equal to the task. The old adage says, “How do you eat an elephant?” One bite at a time is the answer, but how do you eat an elephant one bite at time when its size doubles between each bite? In light of all of the information of this age, it is easy to become overwhelmed and lose heart.
In the midst of this seemingly endless flow of information stands the Christian who is bombarded from all sides with information which seems to conflict with his or her Christian worldview. Mainstream science tells us that evolution is fact and rules out any possibility of the reliability of the account of creation in Genesis.
Many of those in political power tell us that we are not to pray in school or in public. Those with radical social agendas tell us that the biblical understanding of family is inadequate and outdated. Then comes in my favorite, the preacher, who tells us that even in the face of such information we are not to question, only to believe, obey, and trust God.
While the admonishment to believe simply, obey completely, and trust God unreservedly does have great merit, there is more that should be said. This morning, the thesis, the theme of this message is that in light of the overwhelming amount of information that showers us, it is alright, acceptable, even a commendable thing to ask questions; the key for us as Christians is to ask good questions and to seek out good sources.
Just as Jacob wrestled with God and yet lived, so too we ought not to be afraid to wrestle with the difficult and pressing questions of our day and indeed, we too shall live in Christ and in the glory of His truth. God is not afraid of our questions. In fact, I would suggest to you that God is to be found in our questions.
Ask Good Questions
Like’s gospel records the account of Jesus meeting with Pontius Pilate just before His crucifixion, “Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” (John 18:33-38a NKJV)
Pilate asked good questions to the best of possible sources. What better question can be asked of what better person that Jesus? Are you a King? If so, what kind of kingdom do you have? What is truth?
Pilates question, “What is truth?” is at the very heart of all of our searching, all of our longing in this life. Billy Graham often described this as a God-shaped hole which exists inside of each one of our hearts. This God chamber aches to be filled with God’s presence, God’s truth.
Very often, though, we try to fill it with all sorts of other things. Our journey through this life is a pilgrimage in search of truth. If we are to find truth then we must ask good questions of good sources.
We look at the world around us and it is terribly obvious that our society is asking the wrong questions. So many today are not asking good questions. Society asks “What’s in it for me” rather than inquiring how they might serve others. Society asks “How can I get the most pleasure, power, and prize” rather than seeking God’s will in using the good things in this life that God has blessed them with.
Rather than seeking to glorify God, we are living in a land in which the chief concern seems to be the exaltation of self. The general trend of society is not community life but selfish living. The focus has been shifted from God to self because the question is no longer what is right but what is expedient; no longer what is of eternal and lasting value but where is my good pleasure right now.
The world rebels against truth. This is nothing new. Our mandate as ambassadors of God’s truth in a world gone mad is not a new thing. Mankind has been rebelling from God’s truth from the beginning. Sometimes we get the sense that the world has been getting worse and worse, and to some extent this may be true, but we do well to remember that mankind has always sought its own way.
Romans 1:18-22 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.” (NKJV)
When we ask the wrong questions, to the extent that our lives are based in the foolish, untruthful, deceptive, and misleading untruthful lies of this world, we will walk in darkness; devoid of the light of the truth of God. It is only by God’s grace that you and I have been plucked out of the mire of worldly lies and we should quick to share that truth with others as God gives us opportunity to do so.
Jacob wrestled with God. There is nothing in the text which seems to indicate that this was anything less than an actual physical person that he wrestled with.
Some have suggested that this is what is called a “Christophany.” That is, a preincarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. When, in the Old Testament, we read of the “Angel of the Lord” appearing, such as in the case of the one who shone like a son of God in Daniel’s lion den, this view says that is the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ appearing prior to the incarnation as the baby in the manger.
Others have suggested that these appearances are Angels acting on behalf of God. Whatever the case may have been, the clear and unmistakable thing about Jacob’s wrestling with God is that he wrestled with something tangible and real. In our seeking, in our searching for truth, we do well to also ask substantial questions.
Let us not be afraid to ask questions, to seek, to look, but let us remember to ask good questions so that the answers we find will be worthwhile.
Seek Good Sources
In Luke 6:39 Jesus says, “And He spoke a parable to them: ‘Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?” (NKJV) We surely have a lot of blind leading of the blind these days, don’t we? We have a lot of broken people seeking to bring wholeness to the world. We have terribly many teachers who teach subject they do not know and learners who are led astray.
I fear that this is what has happened in the Church at large. Many teachers of God’s word have strayed so far from the basic teachings of the Bible that we have a church culture which is almost completely devoid of an abiding sense of truth.
I would suggest to you, as a fellow seeker, a fellow pilgrim on the journey through the Christian life that you choose carefully what voices you choose to listen to. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (NIV) In the sea of voices which surround us, we have to choose carefully which we allow to saturate our minds and invade our souls.
We must seek good sources for the answers to our longing questions about life. Good authors, sound commentators, excellence in reporting; above all truth. The ultimate source of truth is to be found in none other than the inspired word of God. The Bible is God’s communication to the world in written form, just as Jesus, the Logos of John 1:1, the Word, is God’s communication to His creation in living, breathing, heart beating form.
The ultimate truth in this world is found in the pages of the very word of truth, wherein is contained the wellspring of life. All that we need is inside of it.
Fred W. Cropp, president of American Bible Society, received a letter asking a question: “What do you recommend for keeping the leather on the back of Bibles from getting stiff, cracking and peeling? The reply was, “There is one oil that is especially good for treatment of leather on Bibles. In fact it will insure your Bible will stay in good condition. It is not sold, but may be found in the palm of the human hand.”
While the Bible stands alone in its truthfulness and perfection, it is only as effective as it is applied. An unopened and unread Bible, seating though in a place of prominence upon a shelf, is so much like an unspent fortune or a beautiful sail boat which is looked upon with great pride, yet its sails are never unfurled and its bow never freed to chase the rising and falling waves of the tide.
The Bible is the guidebook for Christian living. It is the ultimate source of truth in a world devoid of truth. In our wrestling with God and the greater questions of this life, we do, in fact, have a source for answers. I heard someone once say that they wished God had left us with a manual for life; He has!
Our reading of the Bible though does not require seminary degrees or scholarly achievements. The more we read it the more we will come to know it.
Illustration
Some folks do not read the Bible because, they say, there are so many things in the Book that they cannot understand. It is said that these things which cannot be understood trouble them. Of course these are excuses.
What does one do when he sits down to a Southern-fried chicken dinner, and finds there are bones in the chicken which he is unable to chew? Does he excuse himself, and say, “I can’t chew the bony parts of the chicken, therefore I won’t try to eat any of it?” Hardly. He merely puts the bones to one side and enjoys the edible part of the chicken. Why not put at least this much effort into Bible reading?
One rescued sinner said, “The fact that I am alive and on my way somewhere really caused me anxious moments, until I found the answer in the Bible. When I found it, it prompted me to let the shed blood of Christ cleanse me from my sins. God saved me and gave me the assurance of it, and I began to study the Bible, digesting the parts God’s Holy Spirit led me to understand, and setting the rest aside, until He opened my eyes to the Truth therein. As God showed me the answers, my worship of Him increased naturally. Oh, indispensable is the Book of books!”
Conclusion
In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (NKJV)
The great American Pastor of the last century, A. W. Tozer, once wrote, “A new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is . . . a book which is now speaking.”
Remember that I suggested to you earlier that it is not only acceptable but in many ways noble to wrestle with God as Jacob did; to question is not in opposition to faith because faith does not, as some say, require blindness. Faith is placing ones trust in a known set of propositions or facts. Often, most often, it is our questions that bring us to the place of trust which places us in the place for genuine faith.
Ask questions, seek knock, as Jesus tells us to do. The key for the Christian is to ask good questions and to seek answers to those question within and among good sources. Ours is not a blind journey but a journey of faith in the God who lights our path and leads us into all truth.
Amen.
