JACOB: LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM A WOUNDED WRESTLER
Genesis 32:22-32
July 21, 2002
INTRODUCTION:
Allow me to set the stage for you. Jacob had not seen his brother, Esau, in a long time and he was very apprehensive about their meeting. You see, many years earlier Jacob tricked his brother out of his birthright and stole his blessing. Because of this Esau was planning to kill Jacob. Jacob’s mother found out about Esau’s plan and she arranged to have his father, Isaac, send Jacob away to live among her relatives in a distant land. Now after many years had passed Jacob was returning and he was afraid that his brother might still try to kill him.
Jacob had come to the Jabbok river and crossing it meant crossing into Esau’s territory. Jacob decided that he would try to appease his brother so that he wouldn’t kill him so he sent gifts across the river before him. He sent his servants ahead of him with a gift for Esau of 220 goats, 220 sheep, 30 camels, 40 cows, 10 bulls, and 30 donkeys. As Jacob was making these preparations he said to himself, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me” (Genesis 32:20). Later that evening he sent his wives and sons across the river and finally he sent the rest of his servants with the rest of his possessions across.
That night Jacob was left all by himself on the banks of the Jabbok. And that night the most famous and perhaps the most bizarre wrestling match in all of history took place. That night an unknown, unnamed man appeared and wrestled with Jacob all through the night. Please follow along in your Bibles as I read Genesis 32:22-32.
That night Jacob wrestled with God. All of us have wrestled with God at times as we struggle to do our things in our way. We’ve wrestled with God as we tried to understand why bad things happen to good people. We’ve wrestled with God and his call on our lives. We’ve wrestled with God over the things he has asked us to give up for him. We’ve all wrestled with God and so we can all learn some valuable lessons from Jacob, the Wounded Wrestler.
1. ADMIT THAT YOUR WAY DOESN’T WORK.
By crossing the Jabbok Jacob was going to be entering into Esau’s territory, but God saw something even more significant than that. By crossing the Jabbok Jacob would be entering into the land that God has sworn to give to Abraham’s descendants -- the promised land. God wasn’t about to allow Jacob to enter the promised land -- the land of His blessing or favor -- on his own terms or in his own strength. And so God appears in the form of a man and wrestles with Jacob, not for sport, but in order to teach him some important truths. The God-man said to Jacob, “...you have struggled with God...and have overcome” (v. 28). And yet as we read the text it is clear that Jacob didn’t “overcome” in the wrestling match in the sense of defeating God. A little later we will look closer at what that meant. They wrestled all through the night and it appeared that it was going to be a draw until the Man dislocated Jacob’s hip with a simple touch. It was as if God allowed Jacob to give Him his best shot and then God showed his complete superiority with a single touch. In fact it reminds me of when I wrestle with my three-year-old son, Brendon. When we wrestle I let Brendon knock me down and shove me around, but every once in a while a put him in his place just to remind him who is really in charge and that he can’t push me around for real. That night Jacob found out that he couldn’t push God around and do things his way. That is why the Bible says, “...the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25). He found out that his way of entering the promised land wasn’t going to work because God wouldn’t let it work. This is why the Bible says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
In 1849 a wagon train was traveling through Death Valley to follow the gold rush into California. As this particular wagon train trudged through Death Valley, the hottest place in California, they looked ahead and saw a sheet of water they all believed was Owen’s Lake. But it was just a mirage created by the intense heat, and the harder they pressed on to make it to the water, the more frustrated they became. If we try to accomplish things in our own way and in our own strength we will be just as successful as that wagon train pursuing a mirage. We will never be successful because our way simply doesn’t work.
Is there anything that you have been trying to do in your own strength? Have you been trying to build a bridge in order to get to God? Maybe you have been trying to manufacture a holy life. Or, maybe you are trying to give up a bad habit by sheer will power. Whatever it is it is time for you to admit that you can’t do it. It is time for you to admit that your way doesn’t work. It is time to stop doing things your way and start doing them God’s way. It is only by God’s grace that you are enabled to establish a relationship with Him and empowered to live a holy life. And it is only through His deliverance that you can be set free from your sinful habits. Your way doesn’t work. Admit it.
2. BELIEVE IN GOD’S SUFFICIENCY.
God proved to Jacob that his way wasn’t going to work when He disabled Jacob with a single touch that dislocated his hip. With his hip dislocated Jacob realized the greatness of the One with whom he wrestled. We know that Jacob realized that it was actually God he was wrestling because he said, “I saw God fact to face...” (v. 30). With his hip dislocated all Jacob could do was hold on and cry for a blessing from this God-man. The Bible teaching us some interesting things about being blessed. Hebrews 7:7 says, “Without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater.” So by crying out for a blessing Jacob was acknowledging that God was greater than him. By seeking God’s blessing he was humbling himself and exalting God. He realized that only God could provide the blessing he so desperately needed and he believed that God was sufficient. God said to the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). In his weakened condition Jacob was able to believe in God and so God’s power was made perfect through his weakness. But so many times we find it so difficult to do something so simple as believe in God.
In college a student was asked to prepare a lesson to teach his speech class. He was to be graded on creativity and ability to drive home a point in a memorable way. The title of his talk was, “The Law of the Pendulum.” He spent twenty minutes carefully teaching the physical principle that governs a swinging pendulum. The law of the pendulum is: A pendulum can never return to a point higher than the point from which it was released. Because of friction and gravity, when the pendulum returns, it will fall short of its original release point. Each time it swings it makes less and less of an arc, until finally it is at rest. This point of rest is called the state of equilibrium, where all forces acting on the pendulum are equal.
The student attached a three-foot string to a child’s toy top and secured it to the top the blackboard with a thumbtack. He pulled the top to one side and made a mark on the blackboard where he let it go. Each time it swung back he made a new mark. It took less than a minute for the top to complete its swinging and come to rest. When he finished the demonstration, the markings on the blackboard proved the law of the pendulum.
The student then asked how many people in the room believed the law of the pendulum was true. All of his classmates raised their hands and so did the teacher. The teacher started to walk to the front of the room thinking the class was over. In reality it had only begun. Hanging from the steal beams in the middle of the room was a large, crude but functional pendulum made from 250 pounds of metal weights tied to four strands of 500 pound test parachute cord. The student invited the instructor to climb up on a table and sit in a chair with back of his head against a cement wall. Then the student brought the 250 pounds of metal up to the teachers’ nose. Holding the huge pendulum just a fraction of an inch from the teacher’s face, the student once again explained the law of the pendulum he had applauded only moments before, “If the law of the pendulum is true, then when I release this mass of metal, it will swing across the room and return short of the release point. Your nose will be in no danger.”
After that final restatement of this law, the student looked his teacher in the eye and asked, “Sir, do you believe this law is true?” There was a long pause. Huge beads of sweat formed on his upper lip and then weakly he nodded and whispered, “Yes.”
The student released the pendulum. It made a swishing sound as it arced across the room. At the far end of its swing, it paused momentarily and started back. The student later testified that he had never seen a man move so fast in his entire life as the teacher literally dove from the table (Ken Davis, How To Speak To Youth, pp104-106). It was easy for this teacher to believe in the law of the pendulum when it was all theoretical. But when his life literally depended on the law of the pendulum he showed that his belief was only theoretical. How easy it is for us to believe in God’s sufficiency in church on Sunday morning or in a Bible study. But in the real world where our lives are on the line too many of us demonstrate that our belief was only theoretical.
You need to realize that you have no one else to turn to besides God. You need to trust in God to provide for your needs instead of trusting in yourself. You need a belief that works in the real world with real problems and not just in the pew on Sunday morning. Your way doesn’t work. Admit it. God is sufficient. Believe it.
3. CONFESS YOUR OWN SINFULNESS.
Jacob demonstrated his belief in the sufficiency of God by asking Him for a blessing. However, God first insisted that Jacob tell Him his name. Why? Didn’t God already know his name was Jacob? Of course. The name Jacob means “supplanter” which is one who displaces another deceitfully. And that is exactly what Jacob did by tricking his brother out of his birthright and stealing his blessing. So by speaking his name Jacob was confessing his true nature to God. By speaking his name he was confessing to God that he had sinned against his brother. From this we learn the principle that God will not bless a person unless they first confess their sin. John taught this truth when he wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). And the Psalmist experienced this truth when he said, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). The greatest blessing that God can bestow on a man or woman is the forgiveness and cleansing from sin and that blessing can only be received when we first confess our sin to Him.
Prussian king Frederick the Great was once touring a Berlin prison. The prisoners fell on their knees before him to proclaim their innocence -- except for one man, who remained silent. Frederick called to him, “Why are you here? “Armed robbery, Your Majesty,” was the reply. “And are you guilty?” “Yes indeed, Your Majesty, I deserve my punishment.” Frederick then summoned the jailer and ordered him, “Release this guilty wretch at once. I will not have him kept in this prison where he will corrupt all the fine innocent people who occupy it” (Today in the Word, December 4, 1992).
You have sinned. God knows you have sinned. He wants you to agree with him that what you have done is wrong because only then can he bless you with forgiveness and cleansing. Your way doesn’t work. Admit it. God is sufficient. Believe it. You’re a sinner. Confess it.
4. DESIRE A CHANGE OF HEART.
As soon as Jacob spoke his name and thereby confessed his sin, God changed his name. For the Hebrews your name spoke of your character or nature. And as we have seen with Jacob, his name certainly reflected his nature -- the state of his heart. By changing Jacob’s name God was showing that He had changed Jacob’s heart. Now we read that his name was changed to Israel because he had struggled with God and with men and had overcome. This overcoming came only when he confessed his sin and had his heart transformed. It wasn’t that Jacob overcame God in the wrestling match so much as it was that he overcame his sin by confessing it and desiring to be changed. We must go beyond merely confessing our sinful heart and desire a changed heart -- a holy heart. In the book of Ezekiel God promised to change our hearts when He said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;” (36:26). We must desire a change of heart the way David did when he prayed, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Like Jacob we must come to God with a genuine desire to be transformed.
Jerry Clower tells of a sheltered man who came to the city for the first time. In the lobby of a beautiful hotel he stared at these incredible machines which kept opening and closing. He was a amazed at what took place right before his eyes. Two men entered the machine dressed in suits. When the doors opened, three men came out in shorts. One man got in with three suitcases and then was completely gone when the doors opened again. The excitement of this machine got the best of him when an old and wrinkled lady climbed into the machine and shut the doors. In just a few moments a gorgeous young lady exited from the machine. He couldn’t contain himself any longer. He yelled across the lobby to his son, “Boy, go get your momma!” (McHenry’s Quips, Quotes, & Other Notes, p. 300) It is always easy to see the transformation that needs to take place in the lives of others, but we don’t like to see or want to see the transformation that needs to take place in our lives.
There once was a man who worked with children who lived in sewers somewhere in South America. He used to go into the sewers himself to try and help the children who were living there. Close your eyes and imagine you had been one of those children -- virtually blind through living in the darkness underground. Filthy through living in the waste from thousands of homes. Maybe this man offer you a chance to leave. You jump at the opportunity, but as he leads you out, as your eyes become accustomed to the light at the end of the tunnel, you start to see the state that you are in. You start to see the excrement on your clothes and in your hair. And no matter how hard you try to brush it off, the stains will not go away. And of course, the nearer you get to the light coming in from the entrance of the tunnel, the dirtier you appear. Naturally you would shy away from ever coming out of the sewer until you’re fit to be presented to the outside world. The problem of course, is that you cannot be made clean until you come out of the filth of the sewer, and by coming out it’s inevitable that you will be made aware of your own filth. For some of those children the desire to be set free and transformed is overcome by their desire to cover up their filth and so they go back. But for others their desire to be set free from their filth overcomes their desire to cover up their filth and so they step out into the light fulling exposing their filth so they can be transformed. Open your eyes. Which child are you?
Your way doesn’t work. Admit it. God is sufficient. Believe it. You are a sinner. Confess it. You need a change of heart. Desire it.
CONCLUSION:
5. ENTER THE PROMISED LAND OF FORGIVENESS AND CLEANSING.
Now humbled and weakened in himself, Jacob could enter the promised land because he was strong in faith. In this passage Jacob began in the darkness of night which was symbolic of his spiritual condition, but after his encounter with God the sun rose above him -- he had literally passed from darkness to light. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “[God] called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” And again in Colossians 1:13 we read, “For he (God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” We, like Jacob, can pass from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light because the grace of God has opened to us the entrance into the promised land of forgiveness and cleansing. Will you enter in?
Scientists studied a native tribe in South America whose people have been dying prematurely for generations. After thorough investigation, the cause of premature death was determined. The disease was transmitted by an insect that lived in the walls of their adobe homes. This new information presented several options. They could move to another area where such insects don’t exist, tear down their homes and rebuild them, use insecticide to rid their homes of the bugs, or, continue as they have and die early. Surprisingly, these people have opted to remain as they are and do nothing about their problem. Many people behave similarly. To save themselves, they know what they must do; instead, they opt to remain unchanged (McHenry’s Quips, Quotes, and Other Notes, p. 23).
You can’t enter your way. You can’t enter in your power. You can’t enter in your condition (sinful). You can only enter if you are willing to be changed.
Your way doesn’t work. Admit it. God is sufficient. Believe it. You are a sinner. Confess it. You need a change of heart. Desire it. The promised land is opened. Enter it.
Steve Dow
Heritage Wesleyan Church
www.forministry.com/80909hwc
heritagewesleyan@hotmail.com
Please email me if you use this sermon or a revision of it in your church.
STUDY GUIDE:
JACOB:
LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM A WOUNDED WRESTLER
Genesis 32:22-32
July 21, 2002
1. A_______________ THAT YOUR WAY DOESN’T WORK.
“...the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” 1 Corinthians 1:25
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12
2. B_______________ IN GOD’S SUFFICIENCY.
“Without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater.” Hebrews 7:7
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
3. C_______________ YOUR OWN SINFULLNESS.
“Jacob” means:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:5
4. D_______________ A CHANGE OF HEART.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;” Ezekiel 36:26
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10
5. E_______________ THE PROMISED LAND OF FORGIVENESS AND CLEANSING.
“[God] called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
“For he (God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13
