Wednesday 08/02/17
Message – Wrestling with God
Series: Thru the Bible – Genesis 30-31
Podcast: Download (61.5MB)
***No Video this week only Audio***
Wrestling with God
Chapter 32
These two chapters are filled with wrestling.
Jacob found…
- Wrestling with his fear
- Wrestling with his memories
- Wrestling with his loyalties
- Wrestling with his priorities
- Wrestling with his conscience
- Wrestling with his future
- Wrestling with God
V2 – Mahanaim = “Two Camps”
V3 – Messengers (Angels?) to Edom which had been established since Jacob left 20 years prior.
V4-5 – Jacob thought to ease Esau’s potential anger which might still be brewing within his heart due to his deception by sending speaking in terms of submission and wealth. It could be implied by this that he was seeking to “buy” peace with his brother by some exchange of wealth.
V6 – Jacob is fearful of the coming troop with Esau.
V7-8 – Jacob devises a plan where if there is trouble all but the first group might escape to safety.
V9-12 – Jacob cries out to God – reminding Him of His promises to provide and protect.
V13-21 -Jacob sends two caravans of people bearing gifts to “buy” the peace and favor of his
brother.
V22-23 – At last he sent over his wives, children and the last of his servants while he remained
behind for the night.
V24-30 – Some question is left as to whether this was an honest fight or not. Some translations say “could not prevail” others say “did not prevail”. The later possibly implying that sufficient effort was supplied against him that if he were a less tenacious person he would have surrendered…but didn’t.
It seems likely that this event was crafted by God to draw out of Jacob a fighting spirit and a request spoken in faith…which it appears was successful.
“For you have stiven with God and man and have prevailed” The King james version says, “for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men and have endured” While it is possible that the “man” had Laban in view, it is more likely that he was making reference to his coming encounter with his brother Esau.
Jacob asks for His name though without doubt he knew it must be God or one of His angels. To which the “man” asks, “why do you ask my name?” There are several possible reasons for this verbal exchange…but I am now inclined to think that it may have been God’s way of offering a little bit of a push back since, Jacob had thought this to BE GOD but had up to this point failed to fully embrace God as his own God and had not come to know Him by any special name as had his fathers before him. Again a type of invitation to a conversation.
So Jacob called the place Peniel = “facing God” which proves who he thought it was that he had wrestled with.
Chapter 33
V1-3 Jacob seems a bit of a coward here and shows his picking order of most expendable to least…
V4-16 A beautiful reunion and departure.
Rest of the chapter….
It is not stated whether he kept his word and met his brother in Seir or not, but it would not have been on his way to Succoth, for Succoth was to the North and Seir was in the far south…at any rate, one would hope he did.
Jacob there built a house…how long he stayed there we do not know, but he eventually went on to Shechem and bought land.
Guzik notes that,
It is good Jacob came to the Promised Land, and he settled there. But he falls short, because it seems God directed him to return to Bethel (Gen_31:13).
Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel: God, the God of Israel; that is, he called the altar the altar of God, who is the God of Israel, who had been his God, his preserver and protector;
Though he made an altar, it was obedience God wanted first, not sacrifice. Jacob will bear bad fruit and waste time because he is in a place he shouldn’t be.
There is much more information in the audio/video of the actual message. I hope you listen, learn and enjoy!
…Blessings!
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