August 29 Sermon: Wrestling with God

Consider these questions as we look at Genesis 32:22-32:

1. How does the story of Jacob wrestling with God challenge common perceptions of God's nature, particularly the idea of Him being "safe"?

2. How does Jacob's name change from "Deceiver" to "One who strives with God" reflect his spiritual journey and relationship with God?

3. What lesson can we draw from Jacob's limp as a reminder of God's deliverance and the idea that strength is found in relying on God rather than human efforts?

Transcript:

In the first book of the Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is a scene where Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are telling the children who have found their way into the magical world of Narnia about the great lion, Aslan. The children are surprised to hear that the one that the hopeful talking beasts of Narnia are expecting to deliver them, is a lion. And so the question they ask the beavers is whether or not Aslan is safe. Mr. Beaver replies to the children “Of course, he’s not safe, but he is good.” I didn’t notice this line as a child reading the books but when I went back to them as an adult it has stuck with me. It shows how small my understanding of God often is. My natural desire is not to have God be safe but should I view the Lord of heaven and earth, the sovereign of all of creation, and the one who is so powerful that he spoke everything that is into existence as safe. His power and majesty and his holiness should give us pause on whether we can go before him on our own. In fact, we cannot. It is only because he is good and merciful that we are able to come into his presence. But we struggle with that idea. We want to craft God in our image and make him into a benevolent grandfather who we want to do our bidding. But, as I said, he is the sovereign of creation and the holy one and so he isn’t safe, but he is good. He works salvation for his people.

‌As we come to the well known passage we find ourselves in this morning we are to the point in the story where Jacob wrestles with God. Jacob’s life has been filled with struggles and clearly he feels that these struggles have been with men but as we will see in this story, Jacob has ultimately been wrestling with God and we will find that despite all of his sin and rebellion Jacob will find out that the Lord of heaven and earth has been good to him.

‌Before we get into this story let’s break it down a little so we can see where we are going and know what to look for as we interpret and apply this passage.

‌The first thing we are going to find is that Jacob is afraid. He is living in fear and if you recall the story from last week we can understand that he should be afraid. He is headed toward the brother that he has deceived and stolen the blessing from. That brother is now powerful and wealthy and is waiting for him with a small army. In his fear he divides his family and separates himself from them.

‌Our second point is that while he is alone someone comes and wrestles with him. If you don’t know the story this would be rather unexpected. Jacob wrestles his adversary through the night and neither is able to prevail.

‌Finally, we find out the identity of the opponent. It is God who has come to Jacob and this encounter has a profound affect on Jacob. He is not only changed physically due to an injury during the struggle but Jacob is also given a new name.

‌And so for our first point we take a look at the two verses that remind us of what we looked at last week and the situation that Jacob finds himself in.

‌As we recall Jacob has gone through that awkward process of dividing his family and possessions into two camps so that he doesn’t lose everything if Esau attacks. While this seems like a good strategy it is likely futile. I was driving somewhere this past week and this little plan of Jacob’s came back into my mind and I couldn’t help but think about the chances of it working. Wouldn’t Esau track down camp 2 after camp 1 was defeated? Was the hope of Jacob that maybe Esau and his men wouldn’t be able to find the other camp of people if the first was attacked? And as I thought about this, I realized these questions I have are kind of the point, right? We are to understand that Jacob’s situation is dire and his plans are a desperate attempt to not lose everything he has.

‌And so as we recall this plot to save as much as possible we see that Jacob is disturbed by all this. He arises at night. You don’t work at night, you sleep at night, why would he get up? He is fearful and likely can’t get what is going on out of his mind. And we see that he gets his family on the move. They ford the river Jabbok in the middle of the night. I bet that was popular. I’m guessing tensions in the camps were high already and then you see Jacob so upset that he is having you cross the river in the middle of the night. Yeah, I’m sure that didn’t upset anyone and make them more afraid. I bet that was just a load of fun. It’s a chore to get a few people going early after they’ve had adequate sleep to get going on a car trip. Imagine trying to get your family going in the middle of the night to do this.

‌But as we think about the difficulty and potential futility of all this I believe we see something about Jacob. He is more worried about his family than himself. He is staying apart from them in hopes that Esau will be pleased to harm him. He’s not running off and sending his family forward. He’s to a point where it would seem that he is willing to own up to this chaos that he created. And that is a good thing. This isn’t the Jacob who deceived and got what he wanted and then skipped town to get away from the consequences. This is a Jacob who truly understands the gravity of what he has done and he is doing his best to protect those that he loves and the stuff that he values from experiencing harm.

‌And so, as we move on to our second point let’s review where we find Jacob right now. He is sleepless. He is clearly nervous and filled with fear. If you’ve ever been in a situation like that you are on edge. And probably the last thing you need is to be left alone. Yet, as we move on to the next section of the passage we find that Jacob has isolated himself.

‌So, let’s think about this a little further. It’s dark. Nothing but the light of the stars and the moon. Jacob is fearful and sleepless and therefore, probably more than a little paranoid and suddenly something happens.

‌A man wrestles with him. Imagine what would have gone through Jacob’s mind as he is attacked. Who is this? Has Esau sent an assassin through the darkness to attack him in the middle of the night. Have his worst fears come to pass? Was his paranoia legitimate? But clearly, he didn’t have time to dwell on the thoughts because he has to defend himself. And it is important that we notice how Moses is telling us this story. We know the story and so we already know who the attacker is. But Moses doesn’t want us to know yet, does he? We are left to wonder along with Jacob what is going on. If you had to guess, not knowing the story, what who would you think has attacked Jacob? Probably Esau or one of the 400 men who are coming after him but the identity is kept a secret.

‌And I think this story is one that is difficult for us to imagine. How in the world do these guys wrestle until the breaking of the day? If you wrestle with your kids on the floor for a few minutes you’re exhausted. Now we don’t know how long this is exactly but it isn’t like Jacob is attacked at 5:50 and the sun comes up at six. The idea in the text is that this is a significant struggle and it is lasting awhile. Jacob has been unable to sleep with anxiety and fear and likely longing for morning and then he is attacked and time stands still. It isn’t like these two would wrestle for 5 minutes and then agree to take a break for a while and then go back to wrestling again. This is a struggle and there is an urgency to it for Jacob. He has to be thinking that if he loses he will lose his life. What motive could there be for being attacked other than the assailant looking to take his life and so for Jacob this is about survival. He is fighting for his life and he isn’t giving up for anything.

‌And we read that when the man doesn’t prevail over Jacob he touches Jacob’s hip and puts it out of joint. This is the first indication that we get that this is not a regular man that Jacob is wrestling here. He merely touches the hip and it causes Jacob’s hip to go out of joint and this is not a minor injury. We are going to read further down the story that it causes him to limp. This is impressive power.

‌And so we have seen the setup and we have seen the struggle and now as we move on to our third point we will see who the assailant was and what the point of it all was.

‌This unknown attacker wants to be let go because it is becoming day. Now, I’ve heard all the excuses for letting someone go when they are being held by someone. I’m having a cramp. You hit my eye. I’ll tell mom. Not all valid reason to let someone go but reasons nonetheless. This is an interesting reason. Essentially, let me go. The sun is coming up.

‌Now, why would that be? Well, it’s because Jacob’s assailant doesn’t want his face to be seen. We still haven’t had it revealed to us who this is but we know that he has the ability to touch Jacob’s hip and dislocate it. This is no mere man. We are starting to get the idea of who this is and obviously Jacob is starting to get the idea too because he refuses to let go unless he receives a blessing. He knows this is not just a human but something more and we get confirmation of what Jacob is thinking when the blessing is given to him.

‌The one Jacob has been wrestling with asks Jacob his name. Now, he knows his name but he is getting him to utter it. Why would that be? Because his name was given to him for a particular reason. His name means heal grabber or deceiver. This isn’t a “what was your name again moment?” This is having Joseph acknowledge who he is. He is the one who has deceived his brother and his father. The name given to him by men has defined his path from the beginning of his life but now we see that he is given a new name. His new name will be Israel for he has striven with God and me and yet he has prevailed. This isn’t about Jacob’s power doing this. What have we learned in his life so far? Through all of his sins and struggles God has been working. The whole time, Jacob thought he was struggling with me, but he was really wrestling with God.

‌When we read this story we don’t understand why it was that Jacob was able to prevail. He was wrestling the almighty sovereign of history. The one who is all powerful but he was able to wrestle with him to a draw until God injured his hip. What was going on?

‌The best way for me to understand it is I think about wrestling my kids or my nieces and nephews. It goes on as long as I want it to go on, right. I let them feel like they are winning but I bigger, stronger, and more experienced. If I look up at the clock and decide it’s time to go I can grab them one by one and boom, 1-2-3, you’re pinned. Match over. If I decide I want to make them feel good and they will get the win over me I end up on my back and 1-2-3, the match is over.

‌And this illustrates for us the life of Jacob. God was the one in control. Jacob was busy wrestling with me but God was the one he was wrestling with. He was in control of the whole thing and so as Jacob finds himself going into the promised land he is seeing that God is the one in control. He is going to be going up against Esau and he is filled with anxiety and fear about facing him but God is the one that he should truly be facing. God is the one that he should fear. Just like I mentioned when I started out. He is powerful and mighty. He isn’t safe but he is good. In his love and mercy he has not only been guiding Jacob for his good but Jacob is the one in the line to the messiah who will bear the wrath of God for our sin.

‌And so with the change of name we understand that Jacob has had many difficulties in life and he has struggled with God but he is no longer named the deceiver he is not the one who strives with God and prevails. God is at work in his life and God will do his perfect will.

‌And as the passage closes out we find that after being given a new identity Jacob asks for the name of this one who has given him this new name.

And the reply he is given is “why is it that you ask my name?” and then blesses Jacob. Now you or I wouldn’t likely be content with what happens here . We would have probably been like “wait a minute, you didn’t ask my question” but Jacob is content to receive a blessing because he knows who it is who is blessing him.

‌And we see this in the name he gives to where this happened. He names it Peniel which means the face of God. He knows that he has been in the presence of God but he survived. Again, to be in the presence of God is a grave thing. To not be utterly destroyed by his absolute holiness is an act of mercy and grace by God and Jacob knows this. He knows he didn’t win the wrestling match that night. God showed him mercy.

‌Christian interpretation throughout history has understood who this is. This is a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus. And so it is the one who is to come from Jacob’s line and save us from our sin who has come to him in mercy this night to assure him of the deliverance he is going to receive from his brother. The one that he wrestles with is his savior and he is our savior as well. He delivered his life that night but on Calvary he would deliver us from sin, death, hell, and the devil.

‌And Jacob received an ever present reminder of his deliverance because he would walk with a limp. While this may seem like a negative it is actually a reminder of the grace that was shown to him that night. Instead of losing his life in the presence of God, he merely received a minor injury that would not only help him know that God would deliver him but it also let him know that he needs to rely on God because he is with him and will deliver him. As James Montgomery Boice said on this passage “in his battle with God, Jacob suffers a reversal of his fortunes, which is actually his victory. He loses his wrestling match with God; God touches his hip and he is permanently wounded. But in the divine logic, which is beyond our full comprehension, this loss is Jacob’s victory. For at last Jacob surrenders himself. He wins by losing and is now able to go on in new strength as God’s man.”

‌And so we have seen this story for the ages where the one on whom the covenant promise rests wrestles with God and lives to be blessed but what do you and I do with this story. It is a part of the continuing drama in the story of redemption we have seen in Genesis but what do you and I do with it today and in the coming week as we seek to step out into God’s world and live as his faithful servants.

‌There is one important application that I want us to dwell on from what we have seen this week. Whose strength are you resting in? Are you continually striving after the things of men and doing things on your own or are you resting in the sovereign Lord of creation who has saved you and is working for your good and his glory. As we think about the life of Jacob he is limping. The world would have looked at him and thought that he was weak and decrepit but Jacob walks knowing that he has the promise of God on him and that God will never leave or forsake him. He was certain that God’s strength was made known in his weakness. The world may look at you and I relying on our crucified and risen savior and think that we are weak but we are certain that this is how God rescues us. It is how he molds us and shapes us to work holiness in us. We know that when we are weak, he is strong. And so we step away from this place today into a world that desperately needs to know the deliverance of God. But the world thinks that it needs its own strength and its own power to prevail. May our lives be a living witness to the truth of the power of God and the weakness of man. May we rely on God and trust that despite our weakness he will prevail.