Genesis Ch32v22-23 - Wrestling With God

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So, Genesis 32 is where we're at.

We've been looking at the life of Jacob

and his relationship with God

and how God is slowly but surely changing him.

And we come to a significant part in Jacob's life

where God transforms him.

So, we're going to read, then we're going to pray,

and then look at this word together.

So, let's read Genesis 32, starting at verse 22.

That night, Jacob got up and took his two wives,

his two female servants, his eleven sons,

and crossed the ford of the Jebuk.

After he'd sent them across the stream,

he sent over all his possessions.

So, Jacob was left alone,

and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.

When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob,

he touched the socket of Jacob's hip

so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

Then the man said,

Let me go, for it is daybreak.

But Jacob replied,

I will not let you go unless you bless me.

The man asked him,

What is your name?

Jacob, he answered.

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.

Jacob said,

Please tell me your name.

But he replied,

Why do you ask my name?

Then he blessed him there.

So Jacob called that place Peniel,

saying,

It is because I saw God face to face,

and yet my life was spared.

The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,

and he was limping because of his hip.

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.

Well, let's pray and ask for God's help.

Father, we thank you for these records,

these true accounts

of the life of these ancient people,

the living God,

the same God that we worship today,

working in the lives of people just like us.

And so we pray that as we look at this story together,

that we would learn something

about the greatness of God,

how we should respond to him,

and how we should trust him

for grace every day.

Father, be gracious to us now,

and help us with your Holy Spirit's power.

In a sense, we ask that you would

touch us afresh,

so that we know that we are meeting with you.

And this we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, Jacob is in a terrible mess.

That's often how we found him, isn't it?

Having stolen his brother Esau's blessing,

he had to run for his life.

Now it's some 20 years later,

and Jacob is on the verge

of meeting his brother Esau.

Not knowing how his brother

is going to respond to him,

Jacob sent some messengers ahead.

Have a look back at verse 6,

chapter 32, verse 6.

So he's getting ready to meet his brother,

and he sends messengers ahead.

Verse 6.

When the messengers returned to Jacob,

they said,

we went to your brother Esau,

and now he's coming to meet you.

And 400 men are with him.

This is no welcoming party.

This is an army.

Verse 7.

In great fear and distress,

Jacob divided the people

who were with him into two groups,

and the flocks and herds

and camels as well.

He thought,

well, if Esau comes and attacks one group,

the group that is left may escape.

What's Esau going to do to me?

Well, Jacob does what most people do

in a crisis, even atheists.

They cry out to God.

Look at verse 10.

I am unworthy of all the kindness

and faithfulness you've shown your servant.

Verse 11.

Save me, I pray,

from the hand of my brother Esau,

for I am afraid

he will come and attack me.

Now, full marks to Jacob

for crying out to God

for salvation and help,

because that's a good thing, right?

But you know what?

It can also be a painful thing.

You see, when God intervenes in our life,

it's not always comfortable.

Sometimes it feels like a wrestle.

And so after Jacob prayed,

he sends on all his family

and all his people

and all his servants ahead of him.

verse 24.

So Jacob was left alone.

Now, can you picture him there?

In the darkness of night,

filled with fear about his brother,

all alone.

And God spoke softly to Jacob.

Don't be afraid, my son.

I'm with you.

No harm will come to you.

Be at peace.

Except that's not what happened, is it?

Let's consider

Jacob's wrestle.

First,

we are perplexed

by God's ways.

We're perplexed by God's ways.

Verse 24.

Jacob

was left alone.

And out of nowhere,

his body slammed

to the ground.

A man,

verse 24,

wrestled with him

till daybreak.

Rather than resting in peace,

he finds himself

wrestling

all night.

And what's perplexing

for us

is the identity

of this wrestler.

Look at verse 28.

The man said,

your name will no longer

be Jacob,

but Israel,

because

you have struggled

with who?

With God.

In fact,

Jacob goes on

to confirm it

in verse 30.

Jacob called

that place

Peniel,

saying,

it is because

I saw God

face to face.

Now, yes,

later on

in other scriptures,

it is referred to

the angel

of the Lord,

a person

representing God,

but what we're

to get here is

that this is no

dream or vision.

This is a full-on,

in-person,

wrestle

with God.

And it seems

Jacob is not

going to give up

too easily.

Verse 25.

When the man

saw that he

could not

overpower him,

when he saw

that Jacob

wasn't giving up,

he touched

the socket

of Jacob's hip

so that his hip

was wrenched

as he wrestled

with the man.

Now,

you might be

into MMA,

but you know

that if you're

going to cause

a strain

to your opponent,

you have to

land a big

heavy blow.

Well,

as God

wrestles

with Jacob,

he just

touches

Jacob's hip

and he's

left with

a hobble

and a limp.

What

awesome

power!

With just

a touch,

God

strikes

him,

God

injures

him,

God

causes

him

pain.

Well,

you say,

God can't

do that.

Isn't

God

tender

and gracious?

Isn't

God the

one who's

gentle

and kind?

No,

my God

doesn't do

this kind

of thing,

but he

does.

It's

perplexing.

It's

troubling.

You see,

it seems

we can

cope with

a God

that we

invite

into our

presence

to bring

his peace,

but we

don't do

so well

with a

God who

invades

our life

and causes

a fight.

We like

a God

that we

can control

and a

God who

does what

we say,

but a

God who

comes

unannounced

and weakens

us.

Well,

isn't that

perplexing?

Why would

God

wrestle with

Jacob like

this?

Why would

God

touch him

and cause

him harm?

Why take

him out?

God can't

do that

sort of

thing.

Well,

sometimes God

doesn't fit

into our

manageable

box.

Sometimes God

does confront

us.

Sometimes God

goes on the

offensive.

It seems

God can

bring

discomfort

and he

will allow

trouble so

that we

might face

God and

perhaps deal

with God.

Sometimes he

needs to get

our attention

and sometimes

it's in the

times of

wrestling

that he

gets it.

Make no

mistake,

God is no

more loving

in times of

peace and

he is no

less loving

in times of

turmoil.

It's just

that God

works in

all kinds

of different

ways.

So first,

God's ways

are

perplexing.

second,

we are

transformed

by God's

touch.

We may

find God's

ways

perplexing

but they

lead to

a transformed

life.

Look at

verse 26.

In the

midst of the

wrestle,

the man

said,

let go

for it

is day

break.

Surrender,

Jacob.

Submit.

But it

seems Jacob

isn't for

letting go.

He's

stubborn.

He's

refusing to

give up.

Now this

is a high

risk strategy

on Jacob's

side,

isn't it?

Because the

last time he

refused to

let go,

he gets

touched

and he's

severely

weakened.

Who knows

what will

happen if

God touches

him again?

He could

die.

What's

going on?

Well this

is more than

just plain

stubbornness and

stupidity.

This is an

act of

faith.

You see,

Jacob's life

has been

filled with

struggles and

fights.

he's always

trying to

get ahead,

cheating and

lying to

get what he

wants,

looking and

searching for

the blessed

life.

Now it

seems God

is going to

struggle with

Jacob.

And Jacob

must learn

that it's

not what

he wants

in life,

but who

he needs

in life.

Not what

he wants,

but who

he needs.

So God

brings him

to a place

where his

life is

changed and

transformed.

There's three

steps or

three moves

in this

wrestle that

show us how

we can have

a transformed

life as we

meet with

God.

First,

submission.

Again,

let's read

verse 26.

The man

said to

Jacob,

let me go

for it is

daybreak.

But Jacob

replied,

I will

not let

you go

unless you

bless me.

Jacob's

not letting

go,

not because

he thinks

he's more

powerful than

God,

but because

he finally

realizes that

God is

stronger and

greater than

him.

All his

life he's

been scheming

and deceiving,

trying to

plot and

plan his

own way in

life.

Now he

finds himself

in a place

of weakness

and helplessness.

he's

literally

been brought

to his

knees.

Here is a

man who

stopped

fighting with

God and

has surrendered

to God.

So first,

there's a

submission.

And then

second,

there's a

confession.

Verse 27.

The man

asked him,

what's

your name?

Well,

it seems

quite a

pointless

question because

of course

God knows

who he is

and knows

what his

name is.

So why

ask him

what his

name is?

Well,

it seems

it's to

draw out

of Jacob

to face

up to

his own

reality of

who he

is.

Yes,

my name

is Jacob.

And we

know what

Jacob means.

He's the

deceiver.

The

schemer.

Yes,

I'm a

cheater

and a

stealer.

I'm a

liar and

a fraud.

This is

who I

am.

I'm a

sinner.

Can you

see that

in the

midst of

all this

wrestle,

all the

hiding is

gone?

Jacob

freely

admits to

who he

is.

And

then

third,

there is

desperation.

temptation.

You see,

through the

wrestle,

Jacob is

confronted and

challenged by

God and

at last,

Jacob finally

sees it's

no longer

about what

he wants

for himself

but who

he needs.

Read verse

26 again,

then the

man said,

let me go

for this

daybreak.

But

Jacob replied,

I will

not let

go unless

you bless

me.

I need

you,

God.

I need

your help.

I need

your blessing.

I'm

desperate

for you.

In fact,

Jacob knows

that by

hanging on

and not

letting go,

he could

die.

God could

touch him

again,

but that's

just how

desperate he

is.

I need

your blessing

so much,

I will

die for

it.

He's

desperate

for God

and he

will do

anything to

experience

God's

blessing in

his life.

God's

blessing in

life.

You see,

submission

and confession

and a

heart of

desperation

leads to

a life of

transformation.

Verse 28,

the man

said,

you will

no longer

be called

Jacob,

the deceiver,

but you

will now be

called Israel

because,

well,

Israel means

you've

struggled

with God

and with

humans and

you have

overcome,

you have

won.

Jacob is

given a

new name.

Israel will

now be

your new

name.

This is a

mark of

victory.

Well,

that's strange,

isn't it?

That Jacob

is overcome,

that he is

victorious,

does that

mean Jacob

was somehow

more powerful

than God?

No,

Jacob didn't

win because

God surrendered

to him.

Jacob won

because he

surrendered to

God.

The purpose

of the

wrestle,

the purpose

of the

touch,

was to

bring Jacob

to a point

of desperation,

to bring him

to his knees

so that he

cries out to

God for

mercy,

bless me.

Jacob won

by admitting

defeat.

Jacob is

victorious

because he

knew he

couldn't

beat God.

Hosea,

the prophet,

later on

comments on

this very

event.

And as he

speaks about

Jacob,

this is what

he says.

he's speaking

of Jacob,

he says,

as a man,

he struggled

with God.

He struggled

with the

angel and

overcame

him.

He wept

and begged

for his

favour,

or begged

for God's

grace.

God's

love.

Isn't

that

astonishing?

Jacob

overcame.

Jacob

won.

How did

he win

the

wrestle?

By

weeping

and begging

for grace.

Jacob

was victorious

in his

wrestle with

God because

Jacob was

desperate

for God.

And so

Jacob's

life was

transformed.

Verse 29,

Jacob said,

please tell

me your

name.

But he

replied,

why do you

ask my

name?

He was

given no

answer,

but he

was blessed.

God

blessed him.

Now can

we begin

to see

that while

we may

be perplexed

with God's

touch,

it can

lead to a

transformed

life.

You see,

we mightn't

choose the

wrestle for

ourselves,

but sometimes

God brings

discomfort to

his children.

Sometimes he

allows troubles

and trials

not to

destroy us,

but so that

we would

fall on our

knees and

cry out to

God for

mercy and

say,

bless me.

God's

love for

you.

Maybe you're

in that

struggle right

now.

There's a

battle inside

your heart.

Maybe there's

a bit of

Jacob going

on,

living your

own life

and doing

your own

thing,

out for

self and

always keeping

God at

arm's length,

protecting

yourself.

self.

But then

God confronts

you.

He challenges

you.

He doesn't

wait for your

invitation to

say,

Lord,

come to me,

but he goes

on the

offensive and

goes to you.

You might have

asked for it or

want it,

but God in his

mercy longs for

your heart.

And it's a

wrestle.

We fight and

we battle.

well, the

way to win

that fight

is to lose.

The way to

win is to

lose.

It means that

we submit our

life to God.

We confess

our sin to

God.

And we cry

out in

desperation for

his mercy.

It means we

come weeping

and begging

for his

grace.

it means that

we would be

willing to

even die

for the

blessing

rather than

forsake the

blessing.

Are you in a

fight with

God?

Are you

keeping him

at arm's

length?

The way to

win is to

lose so that

you will be

blessed,

changed,

and transformed.

So we are

perplexed by

God's ways,

but we are

transformed by

God's touch.

And then

we are

afflicted by

God's grace.

grace.

Now doesn't

that sound a

contradiction?

Afflicted by

grace?

Well, look at

verse 31.

The sun rose

above Jacob,

and he passed

Peniel, the place

where he wrestled

with God.

it's a new

day, a new

beginning.

The wrestle is

over, and with

renewed strength,

he's now ready to

face his fears

and step out

and meet his

brother.

But, look at

the rest of

verse 31.

He was

limping

because of

his hip.

Jacob's not

healed.

It's not

removed.

The injury

is left.

God's touch

upon his

life remains.

It's a daily

reminder to

Jacob that he

needs God's

grace, not

just for one

day, but

every day.

Every time he

gets up in the

morning and

hobbles to the

bathroom, every

time he gets up

on his two

feet and

limps along,

Jacob is

reminded of

his desperate

need of

God.

But isn't

that just

what Jacob

needed as

he prepared

to face his

brother?

He was in

great fear

and distress.

He was

overwhelmed.

Now he's

ready to go

and meet

him.

Every step

he takes

will be a

reminder that

God is

there.

God is

his strength.

You see,

once we

have God,

once we've

met with

God,

once we've

done business

with God,

once we've

received his

blessing,

there is

nothing to

fear.

Not the

future,

not our

life today,

not even

death itself,

no matter

what life

can throw

at us,

there is

nothing to

fear.

Sometimes we

go through

times of

struggle and

suffering.

It could be a

difficult

relationship.

It could be

a temptation

that just

keeps

reoccurring

or a

weakness.

Maybe it's

a particular

illness or

a recurring

pain.

And in the

trouble we

pray and we

ask for God

to take it

away.

We long for

things to

change to be

different.

Well,

perhaps God

will bring

about change,

but what if

he doesn't?

What if we

walk the

rest of our

days with

a limp?

I don't

pretend to

know all of

God's ways

and his

working.

But what if

that struggle,

what if

that suffering

is God's

means of

keeping us

dependent

and desperate

for him?

what if

that limp

is a

means of

knowing God's

grace and

blessing

every day?

What if

that weakness

is a means

of finding

strength

in every

fear we

face?

You see,

grace comes

to us from

God in

all kinds

of packages.

Sometimes it

comes in

healing.

sometimes it

comes in

affliction.

The

Apostle Paul

knew this,

didn't he?

Why don't we

go to 2

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter 12.

2

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter 12.

2

Corinthians

12.

Here Paul

has been

speaking about

an amazing

experience he's

had with God

as he goes.

He describes

us going

into the

third heaven

and he's

just out of

this world

with his

encounter with

God.

Then he

switches gears

and then he

reminds us of

an experience

of affliction.

Verse 7.

The middle

of verse 7.

He says,

therefore,

in order to

keep me from

being conceited,

he said,

instead of

becoming proud

and becoming

self-dependent,

instead of

being God

dependent,

I was given

a thorn

in my flesh.

Now,

we don't know

what that

thorn was.

It wasn't the

kind of thorn

from a rosebush,

but perhaps a

physical disability

in his life,

maybe an

illness,

maybe a

temptation,

a weakness

in his life,

an anxiety,

a thorn

that was

painful and

difficult.

Verse 8.

Three times

I pleaded

with the Lord

to take it

away from me,

asking for

the Lord

that this

would end,

that it

would stop.

And God

answered,

verse 9,

he said

to me,

my grace

is sufficient

for you,

for my

power is

made perfect

in weakness.

Therefore,

I will boast

all the more

gladly about

my weaknesses,

my struggles,

my sufferings,

my limp,

so that

Christ's

power

may rest

on me.

that is

why,

for Christ's

sake,

I delight

in weakness.

This is a

deep

inner joy,

a sense

of peace

that in

the insults,

in the

hardships,

in the

persecutions,

in the

difficulties,

when I

am weak,

then I

am strong.

grace comes

in all

kinds of

packages.

Sometimes

it comes

in

affliction.

Not to

crush you

and destroy

you,

but so

that you

might know

that Christ

is sufficient,

that he

is enough

for you

in your

life.

Now you

might struggle

with what

we're saying

this morning.

How can

a loving

God

send

thorns

and wounds?

How can

God touch

my life

and allow

these trials

to happen

to me?

I'm not

sure if I

like this

kind of

God.

but let

me

reassure

you that

God

does

love

you.

He

loves

you

deeply.

Let me

show you.

You see,

there was

one who

came to

wrestle with

God for

us.

And you

know his

name,

Jesus

Christ,

God's

own

son.

And

Jesus

came,

he wrestled

with God's

will for

his life

for God

had sent

him to

come to

suffer a

great

suffering.

He sent

him to

die.

God's

will for

his life

was thorns

and

wounds.

And yet

Jesus

submitted

and surrendered

himself to

God.

Jesus

prayed in

the garden,

not my

will,

but your

will be

done.

And he

went to

the cross

bearing

my sin

and your

sin on

himself,

all of

our deceit,

all of

our lies,

all of

our pride.

And on

the cross

God

touched

him.

God

afflicted

him not

with a

limp,

but with

the very

judgment

of God.

Jesus

was afflicted

for our

sin.

Jesus

suffered the

thorns of

judgment so

that you

and I

would never

have to.

He faced

death.

He

overcame

death.

Jesus

won by

losing.

And so

now as we

trust in

him, we

can come to

God our

Father through

Jesus and

receive from

him grace

for all of

our troubles.

We can

come to

God in

all our

fears and

worries.

we can

freely enter

into his

presence without

any concern

whatsoever and

receive from

him his

generous kind

and good

gifts, all

that we need

for life.

You see, God

is not out to

crush you or

destroy you.

He loves

you.

And if ever

you doubt it,

look to the

cross.

and you

will find

his words.

My grace

is sufficient

for you.

And we

will be able

to say with

confidence,

when I

am weak,

then I

am strong.

Let's

pray.

our

Father God,

we confess

that sometimes

we make

you very,

very small.

we box

you in.

But sometimes

you confront

us with

your

greatness,

your glory.

And we

admit that

we do not

always understand

we find

you

perplexing,

even

troubling.

but yet

in the

midst of

our

wrestle

and

the

midst

of

our

struggle,

we find

your

goodness

and

your

kindness.

We find

that you

are working

for our

good and

for our

best.

And slowly

you are

changing us

and transforming

us.

And you

are enabling

us to

see

that from

you

comes

blessing

after

blessing.

And so

we humbly

come before

you

and we

dare to

hang on

to you,

to hold

on to

you

and cry

out,

Lord,

bless us.

Give to

us your

grace and

mercy

in our

struggle

and in

our

trial.

help us

to know

and to

experience

that your

grace is

sufficient.

Help us

to be able

to say

that when

I am

weak,

then I

am strong

because

you are

enough.

Father,

for anyone

here today

who is

finding that

battle hard,

will you

pour out

your grace

into their

life?

will you

remind them

of their

love,

your love

for them,

your care

for them?

Thank you,

God.

Amen.