Genesis Series #57 August 18, 2002
Title: What to Do in a Time of Crisis
Email: pastorsarver@yahoo.com
Website: www.newlifeinchrist.info
Welcome to New Life in Christ. Today we continue with message #57 in our verse-by-verse study of the Book of Genesis.
Read Genesis 32:1-21
Opening Prayer
There is a story, from many decades ago, about a construction worker that I wish to share with you. This construction worker was employed on a high-rise building project, which required him and others to work after dark. He was busy on the edge of one of the walls which was many stories high, when he suddenly lost his balance and fell. As he fell over the edge, he managed to grab the edge of the wall with his fingertips. Desperately he hung on hoping that somebody would discover his perilous situation. He was in total darkness, barely hanging on to the wall, and crying for help, but no one could hear him due to the noise and machinery at the construction site. Very soon his arms begin to grow weak and his fingers began to relax. He tried very hard to force them the hold on but eventually and slowly his grip began to slip. He tried praying, but no miracle occurred. At last his fingers slipped from the wall and with a cry of horror he fell! He fell exactly 3 in. to a scaffold that had been there all the time, but he had not seen it because of the darkness.
This story illustrates the situations we sometimes find ourselves in when we face various crises in life. Sometimes we feel that we are all alone, desperately doing all we can to save ourselves, crying out for help but feeling unheard, until finally we lose all our own strength and let go. It is then that we discover that we were never in any real danger to begin with. Oftentimes we give in to fear and discouragement in times of crises because we do not know or see that we are safe in God’s hands. We do not see because of the darkness that surrounds us, not literal darkness but the darkness of unbelief.
This was the situation Jacob was in. He was re-entering the Promised Land as God had instructed, but he was fearful because of the anger of Esau. He was in a crisis situation, just like God’s people today when they face: serious health problems or death, financial troubles, ministry problems, family and relational crises, etc… There many things that this passage can teach us. One thing this passage teaches very clearly is what we should do in a time of crisis. I wish to share with you four things that we should do in a time the crisis.
1. In a time of crisis, remember that God’s people do not face their crisis alone; they have divine help.
Read Genesis 32:1, 2
As Jacob’s crisis is growing closer, God encourages and reassures him that he is not alone. He does this by revealing the presence of the angels of God. There’s not just one or two angels, but multitudes, as is indicated by Jacob’s naming of the place and his words, "This is the camp of God." The point of this manifestation and revelation to Jacob is to encourage him that he need not fear, because he has a Divine escort back to the Promised Land. The same thing is true of us. We need not fear, because God is with us.
1. In a time of crisis, remember that God’s people do not face their crisis alone; they have divine help.
This is true for us today as we face fearful situations. We can be at peace because we know that we are not on our own, God is with us. We may not have a special revelation of the divine help that is present, but through faith in God’s word we know that we are not alone. As a Elisha told his servant when they were surrounded by an enemy army, "Those are with us are more than those who are with them! (2 Kings 6:15,16)
Read Genesis 32:3-8
There is a second thing we need to do in a time of crisis.
2. In a time of crisis, keep your eyes on God because things may get worse before they get better.
Jacob does everything within his power to resolve the crisis situation with his brother. He sent messengers to inform Esau that he is plenty of material goods, so that Esau would not think that Jacob was coming to claim the inheritance of the firstborn. He also refers to Esau as lord and master, while referring to himself as Esau’s servant, in order to flatter Esau and soothe his anger. This act of seeming humility or contriteness may have been inappropriate, after all it was God who said that Jacob would be the greater and Esau the lesser. This contriteness would be appropriate, if it was from repentance and remorse, but it seems to come from Jacob’s fear. Rather than trusting God, Jacob is trying to soften Esau up with flattery.
As usual, Jacob’s plans did not work out like expected. Esau responds by bringing 400 men to meet Jacob. The Bible does not say why Esau would bring so many men, but it only seems reasonable that such a large amount of people was intended as an army to attack Jacob. Esau is preparing for battle with Jacob and his army greatly outnumbers the small family that belongs to Jacob. I believe that Esau’s intent was to harm Jacob, just like Laban’s intent had been to harm Jacob in Chapter 31. In Chapter 33 we do see that Esau does reconcile completely with Jacob, but that does not seem or appear to have been his original intent.
The point I want you to see is that the crisis for Jacob was now much worse than before. He could never have imagined that he would face an army of 400 men. That’s the way it often is when God’s people face various crisis. Things did not usually get immediately better, whether the crisis is a health problem, financial problem, relational problem, or ministerial problem. Things tend to grow worse, so that we come completely to the end of our rope. When things get worse, we should not give in to fear or discouragement, but keep our faith in God.
2. In a time of crisis, keep your eyes on God because things may get worse before they get better.
Unfortunately, Jacob does not keep his eyes on God as the crisis worsens. He does like Peter did when he was walking on the water. He focuses on the problem instead of on the Person and Presence of God. Jacob seems to forget all about the revelation concerning the army of angels that were right there him. He was in no danger of Esau’s army because God’s army was also present. We tend to do the same thing as Jacob did when we face a worsening crisis. We tend to think about the problem, when we need to be the presence and the promises of God.
In verses 7 and 8, Jacob is said to be in "great fear and distress" and therefore takes matters into his own hands, rather than trusting in God. He ironically splits his family to two camps (groups) in order to save one. This was ironic because there was already two camps in that area, one being the camp of God for which Jacob had just named the place. The Holy Spirit is, through the word of God, pointing out this irony to order s that God’s people often unnecessarily act in unbelief and r as situations become worse. The point of these verses is that Jacob already had been given an assurance by God and had no need to take matters into its own hands. This is not how God’s people should respond to a time of crisis. How should we respond to a time of crisis?
1. In a time of crisis, remember that God’s people do not face their crisis alone; they have divine help.
2. In a time of crisis, keep your eyes on God because things may get worse before they get better.
There’s also a third thing we should do in a time of crisis.
3. In a time of crisis, you should pray the promises of God.
This is what Jacob does in the next few verses.
Read Genesis 32:9-12
Jacob prays and acknowledges the promises that God has already fulfilled in his life by prospering him, despite the fact that he didn’t deserve it. Then Jacob recounts the problem that the faced with his brother Esau and again prays the promises of God in verse 12. The point of our praying the promises of God is not to remind God of what he has promised, but to remind us of God’s faithfulness to his promises, so that our faith is strengthened in a time of crisis. Praying the promises reminds us of what God has already done, and what he is sure to do in the future. God’s people should pray when there in trouble, not take matters into their own hands.
Illustration: A sign that is seen in a textile mill reads, "When your thread becomes tangled, call the foreman." So this young woman, who was new on the job, found herself with her thread being tangled up and she thought, "I’ll just straighten this out myself." She tried, but the situation only worsened. So finally she called the foreman. When the foreman arrived, she said, "I did the best I could." The foreman said, "No you didn’t. To have done your best, you should have called me."
The best thing we can do in a time of crisis is not try to handle it ourselves, but to call on God for help.
3. In a time of crisis, you should pray the promises of God.
Read Genesis 32:13-21
This section reveals a fourth thing that we should do in a time of crisis.
4. In a time of crisis, rely on God, not yourself.
In other words, trust God to provide what he has promised, not your own plans, ingenuity, resources, etc… This is what Jacob tended to do. He tended to trust and rely upon his own abilities, rather than trusting in God. Even though God’s hand was upon him, he always tried to be self-sufficient. Jacob was promised the status of the firstborn son, but instead of relying upon God, he sought to obtain this blessing through deceit. Jacob was promised material provision for his life, but instead of trusting God, he tried to obtain it through manipulation. (Genesis 30:37-43) Jacob was promised protection by God, but instead of trusting God, he relied upon deceit and speed to try and outrun Laban, as we saw in the previous chapter. Now that Jacob is facing a crisis with Esau, he once again turns to his own resources, rather than trusting in God. He has already tried to use flattery, which did not work, to resolve this crisis situation with Esau, so now he tries bribery.
One of the major points of chapters 32 and 33 is that God’s people unnecessarily rely on human resources when they should be trusting God in a time of crisis.
Read Psalm 20:7 and Isaiah 30:1
So far we’ve learned four things we need to do in a time of crisis.
1. In a time of crisis, remember that God’s people do not face their crisis alone; they have divine help.
2. In a time of crisis, keep your eyes on God because things may get worse before they get better.
3. In a time of crisis, you should pray the promises of God.
4. In a time of crisis, rely on God, not yourself.
Read Genesis 32:22-32
This well known Bible story has been preached in many different ways and with many different applications. Usually, this story is taught as an illustration of how to pray successfully, or as an illustration of the believer’s battle with the flesh. While I can see how one could see principles of prayer and overcoming the flesh in this story, I do not believe that this was the main purpose of the passage. Keep in mind that this text is only one part of the whole story of Jacob’s encounter with Esau, so it must in some way be thematically related to the rest of the chapter. The theme of the chapter seems to be Jacob’s self-reliance.
Up to this point in Jacob’s life, he has relied on his own self, his own resources, and his own strength to obtain whatever he needed, rather than looking to God as the source of his blessings. This is also what he has done, for the most part, in the crisis situation with Esau. He has relied upon flattery, strategy (dividing the camps), and bribery. In other words, he has relied on himself. The point of this wrestling match with God is to teach Jacob, and us, a lesson about self-reliance. The lesson is this. . .
God breaks his people of self-reliance, so that they will recognize that he alone is the source of blessings.
In the story, Jacob wrestled all night with God in human form, although Jacob did not recognize that this was a Divine encounter at first. The point is that Jacob is stubbornly determined to win this battle in his own strength, but God will break him and us of that self-reliant spirit. In the story, God decides that enough is enough, and so he just touches Jacob’s thigh and Jacob’s hip is dislocated. The thigh is the strongest muscle in the human body. It is also a symbol of Jacob’s strength and his reliance upon his own ability. In essence, God is breaking his self-reliance. Now Jacob is defeated and in a position of weakness. He can no longer hope to achieve success through his own strength.
God breaks his people of self-reliance, so that they will recognize that he alone is the source of blessings.
Jacob now realizes that his opponent is no ordinary man, and therefore he refuses to let go until he gets the blessing. This is a good thing because it seems that Jacob finally realizes that his blessings do not come from his own strength but from looking to God. All Jacob can do is cling to God in faith and plead and cry (Hosea 12:4,5) for the blessings, and it is then that he receives them. It is important to note that Jacob’s self confidence in his own strength and abilities had to be broken before God would bless him. Sometimes the greatest hindrance to receiving God’s blessing is our own stubborn trust in our own resources.
The Lord blesses Jacob by changing his name to Israel. Before he did this, he asked Jacob, "What is your name?" Now, when God ask a question, it is not because he needs the information. There is another purpose in asking. In this case, that asking of Jacob’s name reminds us and Jacob of the meaning of his name, which is deceiver. Jacob and lived up to that name in trying to attain everything by deception, but now his name is Israel, which means one who prevails or struggles with God. Verse 28 notes that Jacob had overcome or prevailed with God. It is very clear in this story that Jacob did not defeat God, but rather he prevailed with God when he no longer trusted in his own strength or abilities.
The change in name indicates a future change in character. This does not mean that Jacob never resorted to deceit again. Rather the naming is like a Divine promise of a change to come, in a similar sense to when Abraham and Sarah’s names were changed before God’s promises of children were fulfilled, and in a similar sense to when Simon’s name was changed to Peter.
Jacob asked the divine opponent for his name. We do not know why he asked this, but it is clear that Jacob should have recognized that it was the Lord, whom he had met at Bethel, that had blessed him. Two reminders remained in the history of Israel concerning this important event. The name of the town, which was Peniel, and the tradition of not eating meat from near the sight of the hip joint. Both of these things would be a constant reminder to the nation of Israel of how the blessing of God was not obtained through human strength or resources.
There many questions about some of the details of this passage, for which we do not have sure answers, but the main message is clear.
God breaks his people of self-reliance, so that they will recognize that he alone is the source of blessings.
Read Genesis 33:1-17
This brief chapter basically serves as a summary and a proof of the message of Chapter 32. The message of Chapter 32 was that God was with Jacob and therefore Jacob did not need to use unnecessary means to insure victory, he only needed to trust in God. This chapter proves this point. Somehow and someway God had made sure that everything would be alright, without any help from Jacob. Jacob expected to be attacked but Esau’s greeting of Jacob was more than congenial (verse 4), and the gifts of bribery had nothing to do with it. (verse 9) God had protected Jacob, but he still deceived Esau about returning with him. God is working on Jacob, as he is working on us, but it is a lifelong project.
Conclusion: We’ve covered a lot of material today, but the main points of these chapters can be summarized as follows:
1. In a time of crisis, remember that God’s people do not face their crisis alone; they have divine help.
2. In a time of crisis, keep your eyes on God because things may get worse before they get better.
3. In a time of crisis, you should pray the promises of God.
4. In a time of crisis, rely on God, not yourself.
God breaks his people of self-reliance, so that they will recognize that he alone is the source of blessings.
Closing Prayer
