Reading: Genesis chapter 32 verses 22-32.
Ill:
• James Whistler, the Victorian artist,
• Showed scant respect for the hierarchy of any profession.
• When his poodle fell ill with a throat infection,
• The artist sent immediately for the country’s leading ear, nose, and throat specialist,
• When Sir Morell Mackenzie arrived at his house;
• He was not amused when he saw that his patient was a poodle.
• But as a good doctor;
• He conducted a thorough examination, wrote out a prescription, and left with his fee.
• The next day Sir Morell Mackenzie sent the artist James Whistler a message;
• In it he asked him to call on him without delay.
• Fearing some development in the poodle’s condition,
• James Whistler hurried to the doctor’s house.
• “So good of you to come, Mr. Whistler,” said Mackenzie as his visitor was shown in.
• “I wanted to see you about having my front door painted.”
• Well Sir Morell Mackenzie got his revenge;
• And made his point effectively!
Now in Genesis 32 the main character is Jacob:
• He is worried that his brother Esau is about to take revenge on him:
• Esau his brother was a fighter and a killer and Jacob was scared to death of him
• Last week you would have noted how;
• Jacob prayed the right kind of prayer (verses 9-12);
• But Jacob is a classic case of actions speaking louder than words!
• Instead of depending on God, Jacob immediately implements his own plan:
Ill:
A missionary in the Philippines was driving him in a large flat back truck;
• He saw a local farmer who he knew walking with a really heavy load tied to his back;
• The load was obviously heavy and weighing him down;
• The missionary stopped and told the farmer to jump on board the truck;
• The man did and off they went.
• After a while the missionary looked in his mirror and noticed that the farmer;
• Had still not taken the load of his back.
• Despite his new circumstances;
• The farmer was still carrying the same old load.
• How like Jacob who prayed to God about his burden (his situation);
• And yet continued to carry it (try to sort it) himself.
Ill:
• We ought not to be surprised by Jacob’s self-sufficiency;
• Because this is the pattern of his whole life:
• Jacob’s philosophy in life was: “God helps those who help themselves!”
• Not only is that outlook foolish, it is truly unbiblical!
• Jacob tended to rely upon his own abilities, rather than trusting in God.
• His life is one illustration after another of self-sufficiency!
(a). Remember back in chapter 27:
• Jacob was promised the status of the firstborn son,
• But instead of waiting on God, he sought to obtain this blessing through deceit.
(b). Back in chapter 30: 37-43:
• Jacob was promised material provision for his life,
• But instead of trusting God, he tried to obtain it through manipulation.
(c). Remember back in chapter 31:
• Jacob was promised protection by God,
• But instead of trusting God, he relied upon deceit and speed to try and outrun Laban,
(d). Remember earlier on in chapter 32:
• Jacob is facing a crisis with Esau,
• And once again he again turns to his own resources, rather than trusting in God.
• He first of all tries to use flattery, which did not work,
• And so he then tries bribery to (to appease Esau with presents) to resolve this crisis situation.
Ill:
• Jacob is a bit like Marmite;
• You either like him or you dislike him (no neutral ground).
• Jacob was what we would call today a “rascal”
• As one commentator has said:
“Jacob was the kind of person that could enter a revolving door behind you
and come out ahead of you.”
In your studies you will have noted that:
• Jacob cheated his brother,
• Conned his father and his brother,
• And swindled his father-in-law.
• Fortunately for Jacob somebody did like him!
• And that somebody was God Almighty!
Jacob is about to have an encounter with him:
• Remember he is expecting to meet and fight with his brother Esau;
• Instead he is will meet and fight with the Living God!
And he would never be the same again!
• His name would be changed;
• From Jacob to Israel.
• His body would be changed;
• From now on he would forever be disabled (walk with a limp);
• More importantly he would be changed;
• God would change him from scheming to trusting.
• Jacob needed to learn the same lesson all Christians have to learn;
• “We walk by FAITH and not by SIGHT!”
(1). Jacob tumbling (vs 22-24a).
“That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone”.
• Knowing that his brother Esau is coming to meet him;
• And as far as Jacob knows, he is coming with 400 men to attack him.
• Jacob is convinced that his brother is out to extract revenge;
• And so he is more terrified at this moment in time, than he has ever been in his life.
• Jacob moves his family to what he hopes will be a safe place;
• He wanted something between his family and his brothers army.
• It was dangerous to ford the river at night,
• But Jacob would rather hazard the crossing than risk losing his loved ones.
Jacob was now left alone:
• Often when we are alone and at the end of our resources,
• That God can come to us and do something in us and for us.
• Ill: Christian bookshop it is full of stories of people who hit rock bottom.
• It took a crisis before they were willing to stop trying and start trusting!
Ill:
Dr. Andrew Bonar tells the story of how, in the Highlands of Scotland,
• A sheep would often wander off into the rocks;
• And get into places that they couldn’t get out of.
• The grass on these mountains is very sweet and the sheep like it,
• And they will jump down ten or twelve feet,
• Trouble is they can’t jump back again,
• And the shepherd locates the lost sheep as he hears them bleating in distress.
• You may be surprised to know that the shepherd does not rescue them straight away.
• He may leave them there for several days.
• The reason he acts this way;
• Is he is waiting for the sheep are so faint they cannot stand,
• And at that point the Shepherd will put a rope around him,
• And he will rescue that sheep up out of the jaws of death.
• The shepherd knows that he cannot go down to the cliff edge;
• When the sheep first gets itself stuck on that edge.
• Because the shepherd knows that sheep are very foolish;
• They would simply dash right over the precipice and be killed!
• Often God the Good Shepherd has to wait until we the sheep;
• Are alone and exhausted before he is able to work in our situations and lives!
Quote:
• The English poet, essayist, and critic Walter Savage:
• Called solitude; “The audience-chamber of God”.
• And he was right!
• When we are alone we cannot escape into other peoples hearts & minds and be distracted!
Ill:
• I spent sometime this week with a man whose son has recently committed suicide;
• The father showed me the letter that his son had written before taking his life.
• A you can imagine it was sad, heart breaking and a letter of hopelessness;
• Alone he was forced to reflect on his life, circumstances and his actions.
• Not having the strength to cope;
• He tragically took his own life!
• When we are alone we cannot escape into other peoples hearts &minds and be distracted!
• We are forced to face ourselves and our situations!
Ill:
• God meets us at whatever lever he finds us!
• In order that he might lift us up to where he wants us to be!
• Ill: To Abraham the pilgrim;
• God came to him as a traveller (Genesis chapter 18).
• Ill: To Joshua the General;
• God came to him as a soldier (Joshua chapter 5 verses 13-15)
• Ill: Jacob had spent most of his life wrestling with people – Easau, Isaac, Laban and even his wives;
• So it should be no surprise to us that God came to him as a wrestler.
(2). Jacob wrestling (vs 24b):
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
• When Jacob last encountered God it was at a place he called ‘Bethel’.
• (Genesis chapter 28 verses 10-22).
• During that encounter God had promised to bless Jacob;
• And true to his word God blessed him materially (he was now a wealthy man).
• But God’s blessing is much more than flocks, herds and servants;
• There is also the matter of Jacob’s character and influence!
• God was about to meet with Jacob and this time to change him inwardly;
• This time it will be his heart and mind and will that will be enriched (& not his wallet).
Note:
• The circumstances amid which Jacob lived determined his reputation;
• This encounter with God would determine his character.
Quote: William Hershey Davis
• “Reputation is what you are supposed to be;
• Character is what you are.
• Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community;
• Character is what you have when you go away.
• Reputation is made in a moment;
• Character is built in a lifetime.
• Reputation grows like a mushroom;
• Character grows like an oak.
• Your reputation is learned in an hour;
• Your character is does not come to light for a year.
• A single newspaper report gives your reputation;
• A life of toil gives you your character.
• Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor;
• Character makes you happy or makes you miserable.
• Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone;
• Character is what angels say about you before the throne of God.
• Your character is what God knows you to be.
• Your reputation is what men think you are.”
God’s blessing on Jacob is much more than flocks, herds and servants;
• There is also the matter of Jacob’s character and influence!
• So God was about to meet with Jacob and to start change him;
• Jacob was about to discover that he had spent his life fighting and resisting God’s will,
• He is about to learn that victory comes through surrender.
Quote: A.W. Tozer (was an American pastor, preacher and author):
• “The Lord cannot fully bless a man until he has first conquered him”.
• God conquered Jacob by weakening him!
At the beginning of the chapter (vs 1-2):
• Jacob encountered angelic beings;
• Now he was about to experience something even greater!
• These verses have been described as one of the;
• ‘Mysterious, baffling and awe-inspiring passages in the Bible’.
Verse 24 simply says: “So Jacob was left alone, and A MAN wrestled with him till daybreak.”
• We do not read of any greetings or introductions;
• We don’t know what went before only he wrestled with a stranger!
• Did suddenly a hand come out of the darkness and grab hold of Jacob?
• Did Jacob think this was a robber after his staff, sandals, money & food?
• Had Esau sent someone ahead to find him & subdue him ready for his encounter with him?
• All we are told is Jacob is suddenly thrust into hand-to-hand combat.
Note: in verse 24 they wrestled ‘til daybreak’.
• That means they have been physically wrestling from;
• Dusk (the beginning of darkness in the evening); to daybreak (to the beginning of day).
• Most of us would be exhausted after 10 minutes, certainly an hour;
• Jacob wrestled and wrestled and he wrestled!
Question: Who was the stranger he wrestled with?
• Our passage (verse 24) calls him: “A man”.
• Hosea comments on this incident (chapter 12 verse 4) by calling him; “An angel”.
• Jacob himself in verse 30 is convinced he has fought with ‘God’.
Answer: We don’t know!
• (a). Some commentators say it was ‘The angel of the Lord’.
• An angelic being who was representing God Almighty.
• (b). Some commentators say it was a ‘The-oph-any’ or a ‘Christ-oph-any’.
• A manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ.
• (c). It may even be a third option that we do not know or cannot figure out.
• We do know this is not the first time or the last time this type of thing has happened.
• E.g. God appeared to Abraham in Genesis chapter 18;
• E.g. He also appeared to Joshua in chapter 5.
• The point is: Jacob encountered God in a supernatural way;
• And as a result he would never be the same again!
(3). Jacob clinging (vs 25-30)
25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."
But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
26Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."
But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
27 The man asked him, "What is your name?"
"Jacob," he answered.
28Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.“
29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name."
But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.
• Jacob always wanted the blessing of the Lord on his life;
• Trouble is he kept on trying to get it by all the wrong means.
• Now it was time for Jacob to come clean and admit his self-sufficiency;
• His self-sufficiency was not helping him discover God’s, but actually hindering him!
Note:
• The Lord asked Jacob a question; “What is your name?”
• Of all the questions God could have asked Jacob, why this one?
• Why ask that question after all God is omniscient (all-knowing).
• Obviously, God knew his name and everything about him!
• So there is a deeper meaning to the question asked!
• Ill: “Adam where are you?” question (genesis chapter 3).
Note: Jacob was asked that question once before;
• Back in chapter 27 verses 18-19;
• His father (Jacob) asked him; “Who are you my son”,
• Instead of answering; “I am Jacob”; He replied with a lie;
• He deceived his father by saying; “I am Esau your firstborn”.
In this verse God is asking Jacob a much deeper question than his identity:
• Jacob – you are a schemer and a deceiver;
• Now are you going to carry on with that type of behaviour and actions?
• Or are you prepared to come clean, to admit what you are;
• And let me change you!
Ill:
• In the Bible people God changes, were often given a new name
• To signify a new beginning e.g. Simon = Peter & Saul = Paul.
Note:
• The new name God gave Jacob was ‘Israel’.
• From a Hebrew word meaning ‘to struggle’.
• Bible scholars are not exactly agreed what the name signifies;
• And it can be translated in various ways (positively or negatively):
• e.g. “One who wrestles with God”
• e.g. “God strives” or “Let God rule” or “God commands”.
Verse 28 gives us an explanation;
• Jacob gained power because he prevailed.
• He lost the battle of wrestling but he actually won a great victory!
• He will discover something that the Apostle Paul would refer to:
• “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 10).
Quote: G. Campbell Morgan:
• Who called Jacob’s experience “the crippling that crowns”,
• He interprets the name ‘Israel’, to mean; “A God-mastered man”.
• By seeking God’s blessing and finally being weakened and forced to yield;
• He had become a ‘God-empowered prince’.
• Remember the principle of blessing; ‘it was always the greater who blessed the lesser’;
• So Jacob is requesting a share in the might of the one who defeated him.
Ill:
• Throughout his life Jacob served only himself;
• And this created huge problems for him (and others).
• For twenty years Jacob served Laban and created different but even more problems;
• But now he would serve God and at last become a part of the answer!
Notice:
• The man not Jacob started the wrestling contest;
• At first Jacob was not trying to get anything from the man;
• But the man certainly wanted something from Jacob!
• Not his money or anything material but rather his will.
• That is one reason they wrestled all night long;
• This man was out to break Jacob physically and spiritually!
• The man wanted Jacob to admit his helplessness;
• And not even Jacob’s craftiness could get him out of this situation!
(4). Jacob limping (vs 31):
30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.“
31The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
32Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon.
The final picture is of Jacob the patriarch limping forward to meet Esau:
• Limping because of his encounter with God,
• No-doubt leaning on a staff or stick (ill: symbolic of him depending on another!)
• It is a powerful picture of Jacob moving forward;
• At the command and in the power of God.
Verse 30: “Jacob called the place Peniel”:
• Once again Jacob would give a particular place a special name to a significant place;
• He would call this place ‘Peniel’ which means ‘the face of God’.
• He expected that seeing God’s face would bring death;
• But actually it brought him new life!
• And that is symbolically illustrated in the next verse:
• Verse 31: “The sun rose above him”.
• One translated puts it: “The sun rose upon him”.
• Jacob was experiencing both physical and spiritual light!
• At Bethel (chapter 28 verse 11) we were told; “The sun set”
• Here at Peniel we are told; “The sun rose”.
Note:
• He had a new name;
• He had a new walk (he was limping),
• He had a new relationship with God (time to walk with God not fight against God).
Application:
(1). Do you have a new name?
• I mean that symbolically not literally.
• Do you have a name of association to Christ – are you a Christian?
(2). Do you have a new walk?
• Ill: Word Christian is only mentioned 3 times.
• The New Testament word for followers is disciples.
• Those who embrace a life-style and not just believe the right information.
• A disciple continues in the Word, loves others, bears fruit, and puts Christ first.
• Question: Is that a good description of you?
Jacob forever will now always walk with a limp:
• A reminder that although salvation is free;
• There is a price (a cost) involved in following Christ.
• That price is the cost of discipleship;
• Quote: Nathan C. Schaeffer
• At the close of life, the question will not be,
• “How much have you gotten?” but “How much have you given?”
• Not - “How much have you won?” But “How much have you done?”
• Not - “How much have you saved?” but “How much have you sacrificed?”
• It will be “How much have you loved and served,”
• Not “How much were you honoured?”
(3). Are you enjoying your relationship with God.
Ill:
• A healthy apple tree produces apples.
• A healthy peach tree produces peaches.
• A healthy pear tree produces pears.
• A healthy cherry tree produces cherry.
• A healthy Christian (a life in which Christ is reigning):
• Will experience ‘Joy and peace’.
Ill:
Fruit of the Holy Spirit is ‘Love, joy peace……”
• Ill: But no machine can ever manufacture fruit.
• Because fruit must grow out of life.
• People who are spiritually dead do not have ‘Love, joy & peace’
• As something resident and permeating their lives – because they are dead!
• But the Christian who is alive and ‘walking is step’ with the Holy Spirit;
• Will experience the fruit that He (not they) produces.
Questions:
• Is there joy in your prayers and Bible study?
• Is there joy and purpose in your service for Christ?
• Are we trying to serve God our ways;
• Or are we depending on him day by day?
• Ill: The batteries or the mains!
Ill:
The yoke and the cross are twin symbols of Christian experience.
• The cross speaks of leaving the world for Christ;
• The yoke speaks of learning in the world from Christ.
• The one speaks of sacrifice;
• The other service.
• The disciple must bear both;
• He cannot choose to take one and leave the other.
