NAYLOR COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Genesis 32:22-32
[read Genesis 32:22-32]
Genesis
32:22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants
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, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 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.”
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 humans 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.”
31
The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his
hip. 32 Therefore 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.
-- on the anniversary of Prince’s
death earlier this week, I posted the famous opening line to his song, “Let’s
Go Crazy” – “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this
thing called life” – and that’s really what it’s all about
-- and even though Prince pointed
out in his song something that all of us as believers in Christ would agree
with – that life is forever – that there is an afterlife that we are looking
forward to – a world of never ending happiness – we still find ourselves just
trying to get by in this life day by day
-- every person on this planet –
every person in this country – and every person in this room is just trying to
get through this thing called life
-- we’re all just trying to find our
way, the best we can – and sometimes the way is easy – sometimes the path is
smooth – but other times, the road is rocky and difficult – and it is a chore
to make it through
-- sometimes we find ourselves on
these rocky and difficult paths because we live in a fallen world – a world
that has been cursed and corrupted by sin since the fall of man in the garden
of Eden
-- but sometimes we find ourselves
walking the difficult path because we have strayed from the path God wants us
on – from the way God would have us go – we try to do this thing called life on
our own and in our way and in our own strength – and it never goes well
-- and there are times in our lives
when God steps in – through His prevenient grace – the grace that goes before –
the grace that prevents us from getting too far away from Him – God steps in
and points us in another direction
-- as Kim so poignantly learned
while driving the wrong way down a country road one way, God allows U-Turns –
which is what she read on the sign at a little country church that finally
convinced her to turn around
-- but sometimes, even when God
sends a sign – we ignore Him – and because He loves us so much, He manifests
Himself in our path – using people and places and events to get our attention
and help us to see Him and to see the path we should be on
-- I had a friend who was running
from God once – she was in a bad place in life – drinking – doing drugs –
having random hookups – but God was calling her – and she knew it – she saw the
sign – she heard His voice – but she kept on running – she chose to go in
another direction
-- but God stepped in and got her
attention in a major way – she wrecked her vehicle in a single car accident one
night – she actually flipped it – she shouldn’t have survived – but she got out
without a scratch
-- I’m not saying God caused the
accident, but I do believe He saved her life that night –He used that accident
to finally get her to see where her bad choices were leading her and what was
going to happen to her if she continued on the path she was following
-- she wrestled with God’s call for
a little while longer, but finally gave in – she turned her life around – she turned
to Jesus in faith for the forgiveness of her sins – and she’s a pastor here in
south Georgia today
-- when we’re heading down a wrong
path, we often find ourselves wrestling with God and with His call to turn
around and come to Him – just like my friend – and just like Jacob in this
story from Genesis 32
II. Background on Jacob’s Life
-- it seems like Jacob began
wrestling with God early in his life – he always wanted to go his way and not
God’s way – and he wrestled with God and he wrestled with his parents and he
wrestled with those around him -- if you look at the story of his life from the
Book of Genesis, you can see that quite clearly
-- it all started when Jacob was born -- Jacob was the son
of Isaac and Rebekah -- the grandson of Abraham and Sarah
-- now, Isaac and Rebekah had
difficulty conceiving -- but after twenty years of marriage, God blessed them
and Rebekah became pregnant with twins
-- apparently it was not an easy
pregnancy -- the Bible says that the babies jostled within her and she cried
out to the Lord seeking answers as to why this was happening to her -- in
response, God told her that the descendants of the two sons she was carrying
would become two mighty nations -- that they would be separated from each other
and that one would be stronger than the other and the older would serve the
younger
-- her difficult pregnancy was the
result of her sons struggling and wrestling with each other in her womb -- and she
was told this struggle would continue throughout their lives and be carried on
by their descendants
-- and, as God had prophesied, when
the time came for the babies to be born, they came out of the womb in the midst
of conflict -- Esau, Jacob’s older brother, came out first, the stronger of the
two, with Jacob grasping his heel in a portrait of who he was to become
-- from the very moment of his
birth, Jacob tried to grasp that which was not his own -- and he used any means
possible to do so, including lying, cheating, and deceiving -- in fact, that's
what a literal translation of the name Jacob means -- "he deceives"
-- and over and over again, we read in the Bible of how Jacob’s deceit and
scheming led him into trouble
-- when Jacob and Esau were young
men, Jacob connived a way to get Esau’s birthright -- the birthright belonged
to the older son -- it included the family name and titles and a chief portion
of the inheritance, "but it was more than just a title to the physical
assets of a family -- it was also a spiritual position" -- and in the case
of the people of God, "the birthright was the one through whom the
covenant promise" made to Abraham and Isaac would be realized [http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-genesis-25-29-34.htm]
-- but Jacob’s brother Esau didn't
care about all of that -- he considered himself a self-made man -- he didn’t
want to be seen as needing anyone else’s help in life -- so, the Bible tells us
that Esau "despised his birthright" -- he didn't want it -- he didn't
care about the promise of God -- in fact, it appears that he didn't care about
God at all – he wrestled with God, too – but in the end, he ended up rejecting
God and going his own way -- in Hebrews 12:16, Esau is described as
"godless,” which is the state of all of us who turn away from God’s offer
of grace and mercy and forgiveness
-- Esau’s only concern was in
getting what he wanted the moment he wanted it -- and when Esau came back from
a hunt famished and found Jacob cooking a stew, he let himself be deceived and
tricked by Jacob and willingly gave up his birthright in exchange for a bowl of
stew
-- the struggle between the twins
came to head when Isaac was dying and it was time for him to give his blessings
to his son -- as the oldest son, Esau would receive that blessing, which was
all he had left since he had been tricked out of his birthright by Jacob
-- a blessing in the Bible was a
tangible blessing -- it carried with it great power and changed the lives of
those who were blessed -- the blessing was considered the most important thing
a father could pass on to his children
-- Esau should have been the one to
receive the blessing from Isaac, but Jacob and his mother Rebekah conspired
against Esau and came up with an elaborate scheme that involved covering Jacob
in goat hair and having him wear Esau's clothing so that Isaac thought Jacob
was Esau
-- in this disguise, Jacob ended up with the blessing from
Isaac -- but he got a lot more in the bargain -- when Esau found out what Jacob
had done, he swore to kill Jacob -- so Jacob fled the land of Canaan and went
east to the land where his mother was from -- Jacob’s deceit and trickery
caused him to run away from home in fear for his life
-- Jacob ended up in the home of his
uncle Laban -- Rebekah's brother -- where he fell head-over-heels in love with
his cousin Rachel -- he ends up marrying both Rachel and her sister Leah as he
continues his deceitful ways in Laban’s household -- over and over again, he
gets into conflict with father-in-law Laban because of his deceit and scheming
-- eventually, the conflict reached the point where Jacob realizes it’s time to
run away again
-- as he’s struggling with the question
of where to go now, God speaks to Jacob and tells him it is time for him to
return to the land of Canaan -- the only problem with returning to Canaan is
that it means he’ll have to face Esau and the trouble he left behind
-- in the first part of Chapter 32,
Jacob does what God says and heads home with his wife and family and all his
possessions -- but before he gets to Canaan, he learns that Esau is coming with
400 soldiers to meet him, presumably to make good on the promise from Esau to
kill him
-- Jacob gets scared and separates his family and
possessions into two separate camps, in the hope that at least one camp will
survive if Esau attacks the other -- and he comes up with a plan to turn away
Esau’s wrath by bribing him with a gift of livestock and other possessions
-- as this passage opens, Jacob is at the ford on the
river Jabbok and is getting ready to enter the land of Canaan -- he sends his
wives and family across the river with all his possessions and has them split
into two camps, each heading in different directions, while he stays behind to
contemplate his situation
III. Jacob Wrestles with God
-- so, let’s pick up the story of Jacob in the first part
of verse 24 [read Genesis 32:24a]
Genesis 32:24a -- So Jacob was left alone
-- for the first time in a long time,
Jacob was alone -- there was no one there with him -- no people -- no family --
no possessions -- nothing but him -- standing there on the bank of the Jabbok
River
-- the Bible doesn’t tell us why Jacob
chose to be alone that night -- perhaps he wanted to prepare himself for his
meeting with Esau -- perhaps he wanted a moment of peace before conflict came
-- perhaps he wanted to meditate or spend time with God -- we don’t know for
sure, but we do know that being alone is sometimes the best place to be
-- you see, when we are alone, then there
is nothing between us and God -- and it is in these moments of aloneness that
we can experience God and hear from Him in ways we simply cannot in our regular
lives that are so filled with noise and busyness and chaos
-- being alone helps us find and hear God
-- Jesus modeled that for us in the
gospels when we read that He left the crowds and the disciples behind and went
up on the mountainside by Himself to spend time with the Father
-- and we see that same spiritual
discipline of getting alone with God practiced by the early church fathers and
spiritual leaders throughout history -- getting alone with God is something
that is highly encouraged in the Bible if we are to be who He has called us to
be
-- this biblical truth still
resonates with us today – we talked about this in our sermon series on the
spiritual disciplines and the spiritual gifts -- in order to fully engage with
God -- in order to fully experience Him in the depth of your soul -- you must
be alone with Him -- you must put yourself in a place where you are alone and
quiet and still and there is nothing between you and Him -- a place where you
can hear His small still voice -- a place where you can experience His presence
and nothing else -- a place where there is nothing but you and God
-- that is the heart of the instruction in
Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God”
-- when you are struggling in life -- when
you are struggling with a decision or with spiritual issues or with anything
else – when we’re wrestling with a decision or with trying to find a way to do
this thing called life -- it can be helpful to follow the pattern of Jesus and
Jacob
-- find a place where you can get alone so
you can seek answers and peace -- comfort and blessings -- from being in the
presence of God without anyone or anything else to distract you
-- read verse 24 again [read
Genesis 32:24]
Genesis 32:24 -- “So Jacob was left
alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak”
-- now who is this man that came to
Jacob while he was alone? -- where did He come from? -- and why did he wrestle
with him?
-- as we’ll see later on in this
passage, this man was no mere mortal -- this man was God Himself -- God
appeared to Jacob on the banks of the Jabbok River in human form
-- an appearance of God in human form in the Old Testament
is what we call a theophany [spell theophany]
-- a theophany is the physical appearance of Jesus in the
form of a man in the Bible before the incarnation and the birth of Jesus in the
New Testament -- usually, when Jesus appears before men in this way, the Bible
writers refer to Him in the text as “the Angel of the Lord” -- if you ever run
across that phrase -- “The Angel of the Lord” -- in the Bible, that’s a
reference to God Himself in human form
-- for instance, when God appeared to Moses in the burning
bush, it says in Exodus 3:2 that this was “the Angel of the Lord” who appeared
to him in the flames of fire – and further on in that passage, it says that
when Moses went over to the bush, that God spoke to him – it’s obvious from
that passage and many others in the Old Testament that the Angel of the Lord is
the appearance of God in the flesh – and since the Father is described as being
spirit – this can only be Jesus
-- so, here in Genesis 32:24, we read that a man appeared
to Jacob while he was all alone on the banks of the Jabbok River and wrestled
with him until dawn – this man was the Angel of the Lord – this man was the
preincarnate Jesus – this man was God
-- we’ve talked about this a little
in our introduction to this passage, but what does it mean to wrestle with God?
-- when we say we’re wrestling with something, it means
that we’re struggling with something in our life -- usually a decision or a
direction or something else that we are going over in our mind and trying to
figure out what we should do
-- to wrestle with God means the same thing, but in this
case, it means that we are struggling with God about something spiritual
-- generally, we find ourselves wrestling with God in
three main ways
-- first, a lot of us have wrestled
with God during a time of spiritual doubt or spiritual drought -- a time when we’re
questioning your faith -- when we’re questioning the truth of what you believe
-- when we’re just not sure anymore and we have to make a decision as to
whether to continue to believe and trust in God or not -- we wrestle with the
reality of God and of spiritual things in our minds
-- another way we wrestle with God
is when we’re facing a difficult task or trial -- maybe things are going really
bad -- maybe you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom and you just don’t know how
you can continue -- you don't know what to do -- you don't know where to go --
you see no way out and the promises of God seem far away – you’re facing a
difficult and rocky path -- and in that moment of doubt and despair and
brokenness, we find ourselves wrestling with our faith and whether we trust
that God is actually capable of seeing us through – that there is light and
hope on the other side of what we’re facing
-- finally, a major time we wrestle with God is when He is
calling us to change direction in lives -- it might be a situation where He is
leading you and telling you to go somewhere that you don’t want to go -- or
maybe He’s telling you to do something or to quit some sin or habit or
activity, and you don’t want to do it -- and, so, we’re struggling with the
decision -- we’re struggling with accepting God’s will and Lordship in your
life
-- ask any pastor what it felt like when they were called
into the ministry -- and I guarantee you that most of them will tell you it was
a time they felt they were wrestling with God -- it was a struggle whether they
were going to follow God down that path or continue doing their own thing --
and that happens with a lot of spiritual decisions
-- that’s what we mean when we say someone is wrestling
with God -- it’s those moments in life when our will comes against God’s will
-- when we have to choose whether we’re going to submit to Him as our Lord and
Savior or whether we’re going to do what we want to do regardless of God’s
command
-- that's where we find Jacob that
night on the banks of the Jabbok River -- he was coming to grips with who he
was and he was seeing that he was not who he should be -- all his life he had
been a deceiver and a schemer and cheat -- and now he’s about to face the
consequences for his actions – because Esau is coming – and Esau promised him
that the next time he saw him, he was going to kill Jacob
-- it’s time for Jacob to face the music – so, we see him
standing there on the bank of the Jabbok River – he’s wrestling with who he is
and what he has done -- at the same time, he finds himself wrestling with God
as God is calling him to fulfill his birthright -- to fulfill the promise given
to Abraham -- to become the type of person who God wants him to be – as God is
calling for Jacob to change direction in life
-- and that’s why we read that Jacob wrestled with God on
the riverbank until daybreak --he was working out all his frustration -- all
his character flaws -- all his deception and lying and cheating -- he was re-living
what he had done to Esau and was having to make a decision as to how he was
going to deal with the consequences of the past and live the rest of his life
from this point on -- whether he was going to continue to be who he had been or
whether he was going to allow God to change him for the better
-- verse 25 [read Genesis 32:25]
Genesis
32:25 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.
-- what an interesting verse -- the
Man – the Angel of the Lord -- God in the flesh -- wrestled with Jacob but
could not overcome him -- what is this verse saying? -- what are we supposed to
get from this? -- that Jacob was stronger than God?
-- no, what this is saying is that
Jacob was fighting God with everything he had and he was refusing to submit
himself to the Lord -- God was telling Jacob what He wanted Jacob to do and
showing him who He wanted Jacob to become and Jacob was saying, "No -- I
don't want that -- I want something else – I want to go my own way – I want to
live my life how I want to live it"
-- some people are tough cases, and
it takes a lot to break them -- it takes a lot to get them to surrender their
will to God’s – and that was Jacob – he was refusing to give in to God
-- God was wrestling with Jacob to bring
him to submission -- to bend his will into alignment with God’s will -- God was
wrestling with Jacob to get him to quit trusting in his own strength and
scheming and plans and to trust and obey God in all things
-- as Jacob wrestled with the Man by
the river that night, Jacob thought he was fighting for his physical life -- in
reality, this was a fight about his spiritual life -- Jacob’s body and will
were strong -- and he fought with God until daybreak -- he refused to give up
-- eventually, God touched his thigh and
put it out of joint -- touching the thigh was to humble him and make him
powerless and aware of his own weakness -- at any point during the fight, God
could have done that
-- God could have destroyed Jacob at any
moment with just a touch -- He could have reached out and broken Jacob’s body
and spirit and will -- but God didn’t want to overpower Jacob in that way -- He
wanted Jacob to voluntarily submit and yield to Him in humbleness and faith,
the same way He wants us to come to Him on our own free will
-- but God did what He had to do to
get Jacob to the point of decision -- you see, God had a plan for Jacob's life
that was greater than Jacob’s plan -- He had a plan for Jacob's life that would
affect the spiritual life of all creation for all eternity
-- the Messiah – the Savior of the world – was going to
come through Jacob -- but to make this possible, Jacob had to change -- he had
to submit -- he had to follow God and God’s will -- he had to change who he was
-- so, finally, God reached out and touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of
socket
-- God will do what He has to do to
reach us and to change us into the people He wants us to be -- and if that
means we have to suffer pain in our lives -- if that means we have to go
through trial and tribulation in order to turn to God like Jacob or grow more
mature in our faith, then God will do it
-- He will never force His will upon
us, but He will lead us to the point where our choice becomes clear -- just as
He did with Jacob here in this passage
-- verse 26 [read vs. 26-29]
Genesis
32:26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But
Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
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 humans 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.
-- we read that the Man told Jacob
to let Him go, because it was almost daybreak -- God will not contend with us
forever -- He will wrestle with us and lead us to the point of decision, but
eventually we have to make a choice whether to follow Him or not
-- when God showed Jacob his true
weakness by touching his hip, Jacob reached that point of decision -- he finally
submitted to God and realized that true blessings don’t come through our own
scheming and planning -- they don't come through deceit and cheating – true
blessings only come from God – and anything else is a temporary façade
-- when God broke Jacob’s reliance on
self, his fear of failure in life gave way to faith -- by surrendering to God,
Jacob realized that he had actually won -- by putting his faith and trust in
God for his life and his future, Jacob realized that he was going to be okay --
that things would work out -- and, so, Jacob clings to God and won’t let Him go
-- these verses reminded me of the way
Mary Magdalene held onto Jesus after the resurrection and refused to let Him go
-- she was so in love with Him and so happy to see Him again that she just
could not bear to be parted from Him -- she grabbed Him and held Him close and
refused to let Him go until Jesus finally had to see, “release Me, for I have
yet to ascend to the Father”
-- when you come to know God in a real and
personal way, you can’t help but hold onto to Him with all that you have and
all that you are -- Jacob had known God for twenty years, but God had never
reigned in his life until this moment -- and now Jacob is holding on to God for
dear life
-- as Dave Guzik put it, “Jacob was
reduced to the place where all he could do was to hold on to the LORD with
everything he had. Jacob could not fight anymore, but he could hold on. That is
not a bad place to be.”
-- Jacob says he won’t let God go
until He blesses him -- and God looks at Jacob and asks a curious question, "What
is your name?"
-- several years ago, we had a Major
who was working temporarily in our squadron -- he came through the
Environmental section one day and walked up to me and said, “Who are you?” -- I
told him who I was and what I did -- and he turned from me to my coworker and
said, “and who are you?”
-- it was all rather strange -- but
it was his way of getting to know us -- not just our names -- but who we were
-- what we did -- how we contributed to the squadron and the military mission
-- God looks at Jacob here and asks
him that same question -- “Who are you? -- What is your name?” -- and Jacob is
forced to reply, “My name is deceit -- my name is schemer -- my name is
heel-grabber” -- it was God’s way of getting Jacob to confess who he had been
-- it was God’s way of getting the truth into the open -- of leading Jacob to
the point of true repentance so that forgiveness could flow
-- and as soon as Jacob confessed
his past sins by telling God his name, God poured out His grace into Jacob’s
life -- God said, “that is who you were, but your name will no longer be Jacob
-- instead you will be Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men
and have overcome”
-- when Jacob wrestled with God and
eventually submitted his will to God, Jacob began the process of repentance and
forgiveness and sanctification -- he began to change into the person God had
called him to become
-- and, as a result, God’s blessing was to change his name
to reflect this spiritual change in Jacob’s life -- he goes from being
"the deceiver" to becoming "Israel" -- one who struggled with
God and who is on the way to righteousness
-- with that blessing, Jacob was no
more -- Israel had been born -- a new name -- a new life -- a new person -- a
new future
-- in verse 29, Jacob asks God, “tell me
your name” -- this is significant, because at this point, Jacob was desiring
more of God, not more from God like he had in his earlier life -- he wants to
know who God is
-- but God doesn't give His name to Jacob
-- the name by which we know God comes through experience -- and God didn't
want Jacob to define Him only through this one event
-- God wanted Jacob's walk with Him to be one of
revelation and discovery, not one of tradition -- He didn't want Jacob to only
know Him as the God of Abraham and Isaac, but to come to know Him as his own
personal God
-- in my own life I have known God
as provider, protector, savior, king, lord, leader, creator, and many more --
it was up to Jacob to come to know God in a personal way as God led him down
the path of righteousness -- just as it is up to us to learn who God is as He
leads us each down our own paths
-- verse 30 [read vs. 30-32]
Genesis
32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face
to face, and yet my life was spared.”
31
The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his
hip. 32 Therefore 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.
-- Jacob recognized this site as a
holy place -- as the place where he wrestled with God and saw Him face-to-face
and lived -- and as the sun rose above him, Jacob crossed the Jabbok River and
began a new life with God
-- one thing to note here is that as
Jacob left, he limped because of the hip that was stricken -- although Jewish
scholars say God eventually healed him, we are not told this in the Bible, and
we have to assume that Jacob limped the rest of his life -- a physical reminder
of an inward and spiritual grace that changed him forever -- and a testimony to
all who saw him
-- we always bear the scars of our
paths in life -- some are physical, like Jacob's, while others are hidden and
emotional or spiritual scars -- but they serve as reminders to us of God's
presence and of His grace and that He doesn't give up on us when we fall and
fail and head the wrong direction in life
IV. Closing
-- although Jacob began as a
deceiver -- although he cheated and lied and did whatever he could to get ahead
-- still God did not give up on him -- and that's encouraging to me -- because
if God can reach down and change a deceiver into an overcomer like Jacob -- if
He can reach down and change a murderer into an evangelist like Paul -- if He
can reach down and change a denier of the faith into an apostle and elder like
Simon Peter -- then He can reach down and change me into the person He wants me
to be, too -- He can do the same for you
-- the path to blessings comes
through repentance and forgiveness -- it comes with a searching of the soul and
wrestling in the dark of the night -- it comes when we finally can say and mean
the words Jesus spoke in prayer that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my
will, but thine be done”
-- as we leave here this morning, I
want you to take a moment and consider where you are with God -- are you where
you need to be? -- are you the person God wants you to be? -- are you
struggling and wrestling with Him about your faith or about a decision or
direction He wants you to take?
-- let me encourage you to get alone
-- to find a place where you can be quiet and alone with God -- whether that’s
high on a mountainside or by the banks of a river or in your quiet place at
home -- find that place and cry out to God -- wrestle with Him if you must --
but seek Him and find Him and come to know Him and obey Him as Jacob finally did
-- let us pray
