JACOB AND ME
HOSEA 12:2-14 (2-4)
ROM 12:1
INTRODUCTION: DID YOU EVER HAVE A MEASURING WALL OR DOORWAY AT YOUR HOUSE. THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE YOU WOULD STAND AND YOUR MOTHER OR FATHER WOULD MARK YOUR HEIGHT AND THEN WRITE A DAY NEXT TO THE MARK. IT WOULD THEN BE POSSIBLE TO ACCUMULATE A FAMILY HISTORY OF AGE AND HEIGHT. YOU CAN SEE NOT ONLY WHAT YOU WERE DOING, BUT HOW YOU MEASURED UP TO OTHERS IN YOUR FAMILY. PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST SHORT, YET MONUMENTAL MOMENTS OF DEPRESSION FOR ME WAS WHEN I HAD TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR SON HAD SURPASSED ME IN HEIGHT. IN A SENSE, “HEIGHTWISE”, I WAS NOW MEASURED BY HIM, AND HE WAS NO LONGER MEASURED BY ME.
IN THIS PASSAGE OF HOSEA, WE HAVE A SIMILAR MEASURING SCENARIO GOING ON. THIS TIME IT IS THE NATION OF JUDAH AND THE PATRIARCH JACOB.
SO, IN OUR TIME TOGETHER, I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT THE CHALLENGE OF GOD TO THE NATION OF JUDAH REGARDING JACOB, AND THEN SUGGEST A PROPER COURSE OF ACTION FOR US AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST.
I. THE MOVEMENT OF JACOB FROM SELF TO GOD
A. JACOB’S EARLY LIFE OF DECEPTION
1. THE FIRST REFERENCE (11:3) IS THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN JACOB AND ESAU IN THE WOMB OF REBEKAH
2. THE NAME JACOB MEANS, :ONE WHO FOLLOWS ON THE HEELS OF ANOTHER; SUPPLANTER”
3. THE IDEA IS ONE WHO GRABS THE HEEL OF ANOTHER IN ORDER TO GET AHEAD OF THEM. USING DECEPTION TO GET AHEAD OF THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU.
4. JACOB SUPPLANTED THE BIRTHRIGHT OF ESAU FOR A BOWL OF STEW
5. JACOB, THROUGH DECEIT STOLE THE BLESSING FROM HIS BROTHER AT THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER
6. JACOB THOUGH THAT HE COULD HANDLE GOD THE SAME WAY HE HANDLED ESAU. NOTICE THE TEXT – “AS A MAN HE STRUGGLED WITH GOD”
a. TRIED TO GET AHEAD OF GOD
b. TRIED TO USE DECEIT WITH GOD
Genesis 28:16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it."
HOW CAN WE NOT BE AWARE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD? ONLY BY SUPPRESSING HIM IN OUR LIVES
Genesis 28:20-22 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
JACOBS FIRST TRIP TO BETHEL TAUGHT HIM THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN HIS LIFE, YET JACOB WAS UNWILLING TO LET GOD LEAD HIS LIFE, RATHER HE WAS WILLING TO BARGAIN WITH GOD!
HOW MANY OF US TODAY ARE WILLING TO BARGAIN WITH GOD – TO TRY TO GET HIM TO DO FOR US, WHEN WE ARE UNWILLING TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIS PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES, HIS SOVEREIGNTY OVER OUR LIVES, AND LIVE HIS WILL THROUGH OUR LIVES.
WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES, “ARE WE A HEEL GRABBER?”
B. JACOB’S MIDDLE LIFE OF FAITHLESSNESS
1. FLED ESAU AND WENT TO LABAN
2. RUN FROM ONE PROBLEM AND ULTIMATELY RAN INTO ANOTHER ONE
3. WAS DECEIVED IN HIS MARRIAGE TO RACHEL, AND AS SUCH WORKED FOR LABAN MORE THAN 20 YEARS IN ORDER TO MARRY RACHAEL.
4. RELATIONSHIP WITH LABAN WAS BASED ON DECEIT AND IT NEVER GOT ANY BETTER.
5. IN GENESIS 31, GOD COMES TO JACOB AND TELLS HIM TO RETURN AND GO BACK TO HIS FAMILY.
Genesis 31:3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you."
6. JACOB IS HAPPY TO TRUST GOD – RELATIONS WITH LABAN ARE BAD, SO LEAVING IS GOOD
7. ON THE WAY HOME, JACOB ARRIVES AT THE RIVER JABBOK, AND REMEMBERS ESAU.
8. SEND SERVANTS TO ASSES HOW HE WOULD BE RECEIVED, AND THEY RETURN TELLING HIM ESAU IS BEHIND THEM
9. NOW TRUSTING GOD IS OUT OF THE QUESTION.
10. JACOB TRIES TO PLACATE ESAU.
a. SENDS 200 FEMALE GOATS – NOT ENOUGH
b. SENDS 20 MALE GOATS – NOT ENOUGH
c. SENDS 200 EWES – NOT ENOUGH
d. SENDS 20 RAMS – NOT ENOUGH
e. SENDS 30 FEMALE CAMELS AND THEIR YOUNG – NOT ENOUGH
f. SENDS 40 COWS – NOT ENOUGH
g. SENDS 10 BULLS – NOT ENOUGH
h. SENDS 20 FEMALE DONKEYS – NOT ENOUGH
i. SENDS 10 MALE DONKEYS – STILL NOT ENOUGH – ALL LOOKING TO PACIFY ESAU. WHERE WAS THE GOD WHO TOLD HIM TO RETURN?
11. NEXT DAY, JACOB STARTS AGAIN. HE HAS NO MORE STUFF, SO HE NOW SENDS FAMILY
a. SENDS SERVANTS
b. SENDS LEAH AND HER CHILDREN
c. SENDS RACHAEL AND HER CHILDREN
d. JACOB IS IN THE BACK OF THE LINE
12. NIGHT FALLS, AND JACOB HAS AN ENCOUNTER WITH A MESSENGER FROM GOD
13. THE STRUGGLE LASTED ALL NIGHT
14. JACOB WAS WINNING, AND THEN THE ANGEL TOUCHED HIS SIDE
15. JACOBS THIGH IS DAMAGED IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE CANNOT RUN AWAY, NOR CAN HE FACE HIS BROTHER.
16. HE FINALLY GETS IT AND CALLS OUT TO GOD FOR A BLESSING, FOR PROTECTION
Genesis 32:26-30 Then 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. 28 Then 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. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."
17. AN INTERESTING THOUGHT IS THAT IT IS GOD WHO COMES TO JACOB TO WRESTLE HIM AN BRING HIM TO THE POINT OF PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL SUBMISSION
WHEN WE WRESTLE WITH GOD, THE ONLY CHANCE OF PREVAILING THAT WE HAVE IS IN OUR OWN MINDS. GOD “WRESTLES” WITH US IN ORDER TO BRING US TO THE SAME POINT HE DID WITH JACOB – PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL SUBMISSION.
WHAT WE ARE GOING THROUGH IN OUR LIVES IS A WRESTLE WITH GOD, WITH GOD INTENT ON BRING US TO THE POINT WHERE WE SEE THAT WE NEED HIM IN OUR LIVES.
THAT WE CANNOT PLACATE HIM, BUY HIM OFF OR DO SOME OTHER ACTIVITY TO GET GOD ON OUR SIDE. WE NEED TO BE ON GOD’S SIDE!
C. JACOB’S FINAL STEP OF FAITHFULNESS AND TRUST
1. IN GENESIS 35, JACOB RETURNS TO BETHEL.
2. RETURNS A DIFFERENT MAN
3. FIRST TIME HE SOUGHT TO BARGAIN WITH GOD
4. NOW HE COMES AND SEEKS TO DO THINGS GOD’S WAY
Genesis 35:1-7 1 Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." 2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. 6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. 7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
5. GET RID OF YOUR IDOLS
6. CLEANSE YOURSELF
7. MEET GOD ON HIS TERMS, NOT OURS
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? IT MEANS THAT WEE NEED TO DISCOVER AND EMBRACE HOW GOD WANTS US TO COME TO HIM!
HE IS NOT INTERESTED IN RITUALS, NOR CAN HE BE APPEASED BY SIMPLY HABITUAL ACTION WITH NO REAL SPIRITUAL DEPTH.
II. THE LIFE GOD IS SEEKING US TO LIVE
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
WHY?
WE NEED TO FIND GOD AS HOSEA CHALLENGED THE NATION OF JUDAH TO DO
A. WE ARE TO PRESENT OURSELVES TO GOD FOR HIM TO WORK IN AND THROUGH OUR LIVES BECAUSE OF WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US.
1. OUR SIN AND NEED
2. OUR SPIRITUAL DEPRAVITY BEFORE GOD.
3. OUR INABILITY TO PLEASE HIM,
4. THE FACT THAT NONE OF US IS RIGHTEOUS,
5. THAT NONE UNDERSTANDS SPIRITUAL THINGS,
6. THAT NONE SEEKS AFTER GOD.
7. YET WHEN WE WERE IN THAT STATE, GOD SENT HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST, TO DIE IN OUR PLACE TO PROVIDE A MAGNIFICENT SALVATION THAT ANSWERS OUR NEED ON ALL LEVELS.
8. WE WERE NOT RIGHTEOUS, BUT WE ARE MADE RIGHTEOUS IN CHRIST.
9. WE DID NOT UNDERSTAND SPIRITUAL THINGS, BUT HE GIVES US UNDERSTANDING.
10. WE DID NOT SEEK AFTER HIM, BUT HE SOUGHT US.
B. WE ARE TO PRESENT OURSELVES TO GOD FOR HIM TO WORK IN AND THROUGH OUR LIVES BECAUSE OF WHAT HE IS DOING FOR US NOW
1. SALVATION IS A PRESENT EXPERIENCE
2. GOD DEALT WITH THE PENALTY OF SIN, AND CONTINUES TO DEAL WITH THE POWER OF SIN
3. THE SPIRIT OF GOD PROVIDES US WITH THAT PRESENT SALVATION SO THAT AS WE GET INTO GOD AND HIS WORD, WE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO BE VICTORIOUS. PERHAPS SOME OF OUR STRUGGLES ARE FOR THE VERY REASON THAT WE HAVE NOT HAD A JABBOK EXPERIENCE WITH GOD – WE ARE NOT SPIRITUALLY BROKEN, NOR DO WE SEEK TO COME TO GOD ON HIS TERMS
C. WE ARE TO PRESENT OURSELVES TO GOD FOR HIM TO WORK IN AND THROUGH OUR LIVES BECAUSE REASONABLE SERVICE IS GOD’S WILL FOR US
1. GOD’S WILL IS THAT WE DO NOT CONFORM TO THE WORLD AROUND US
2. GOD’S WILL IS THAT WE DO PRESENT OURSELVES TO HIM
3. GOD’S WILL IS THAT WE DO RENEW OUR MINDS
4. GOD’S WILL IS THAT WE DO DISCOVER WHAT HIS WILL IS FOR OUR LIVES.
5. AND IN THE MIND OF ALMIGHTY GOD, THIS IS REASONABLE – WHATEVER WE MAY THINK ABOUT IT!
D. ARE TO PRESENT OURSELVES TO GOD FOR HIM TO WORK IN AND THROUGH OUR LIVES BECAUSE GOD IS WORTHY OF OUR EFFORTS
1. WE DO THINGS THAT PHYSICALLY REVEAL THE WORTH WE PLACE IN SOMETHING – WASH THE CAR, WEED THE GARDEN, ETC
2. THE SAME IS TRUE SPIRITUALLY – WHAT WE DO WITH JESUS REVEALS THAT WORTH WE PLACE IN JESUS.
SO NOW IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING IN AREAS OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT VALUE DO YOU PLACE ON WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THOSE AREAS. IT IS REASONABLE TO SUBMIT TO GOD’S WILL IN THESE AREAS, NOT YOURS OR SOMEONE ELSE’S.
AND OUR WILLINGNESS TO SUBMIT, FULLY, REVEALS WHETHER WE HAVE MET THE GOD OF BETHEL, OR WE ARE HEEL GRABBING OUR GOD.
