November 18, Genesis 32
“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." - Genesis 32:28
Jacob saw angels as he left home, and again 20 years later on the return trip. He had fled Esau's murderous wrath all alone, perhaps with only his walking stick and the clothes he was wearing. But he was returning to face Esau with a large family, servants and wealth.
Jacob's fear of Esau colored both the outbound and inbound journeys. That fear drives the narrative of this part of Jacob’s story. Jacob sent messengers ahead to tell Esau what had happened in the past two decades and that he was coming home. The messengers returned with distressing news: Esau was on the way to meet him, accompanied by four hundred armed men. Alarmed, Jacob started planning for the encounter. Would Esau come and annihilate Jacob and his family in a vengeful slaughter?
Jacob did two admirable things in this frightening situation. He planned carefully and prayed fervently. Let's look at both.
Jacob's strategic plan had two basic components. He tried to appease Esau with an impressive gift of almost 600 animals. They were divided into spaced groups so Esau would meet the gifts and the gifts would keep mounting before the two brothers finally came face to face. He hoped he could avoid death and disaster with an appeasing offering of goodwill.
In case that failed, Jacob split up his people and wealth. He divided his family, the servants and the animals into two groups. He hoped to save some if not all his people with a plan for getting one group away if Esau attacked the other.
The plan was good, but Jacob prayed an even better prayer. His planning was an excellent accompaniment to the fervent prayer he prayed.
Jacob's prayer is a primer for praying in trouble. It is as fine as David's pleas for help in Psalms. Look at the prayer again and notice its components.
First Jacob addressed God, acknowledging him as his grandfather's God and his father's God and his Lord. He realized he was the beneficiary of a great heritage of faith and a covenant from a faithful God. He honored and exalted God by starting his prayer there.
Then Jacob admitted his unworthiness to receive any blessing from God. He pleaded with God, but claimed no merit or standing of his own. He acknowledged with gratitude the rich blessings God had already given him. Only then did he make his appeal. He asked God to deliver him from Esau. He feared the complete destruction of his family. He appealed to God's faithfulness, quoting God's promises back to him to seek his protection. He was obeying God by going back home. And what about those promises of a great nation of descendants? See what I mean about Jacob's prayer being a primer? We would do well in our own times of fear and trouble to follow this guide as we pray to God to deliver us.
The other idea I want to focus on here is the wrestling match. Who was Jacob's opponent? Was it a literal, physical contest? You may have other questions about it, too. But I don't think the wrestling match was a vision. I don't think it's a figurative description of an intense prayer. I also don't think Jacob wrestled an angel. Instead, I believe Jacob wrestled with a physical manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ. It's like the guest who came with the two angels to visit Abram and Sarai. He’s the "Commander of the army of the Lord" who appeared to Joshua before Jericho. He’s the Rock in the wilderness that gave the Israelites water. Paul, fifteen centuries later said, "That Rock was Christ."
The wrestler gave Jacob a new name. Now he was "Israel" or "Prince of God." The Lord said he received that name because he had "striven with God and with men, and had prevailed." Jacob walked away from the encounter with a limp because his opponent touched the socket of Jacob's hip, giving him a lifelong reminder of his own weakness and the mighty strength of his God.
Jacob's strategy of clinging to the Lord and never letting go is a good one for us. It’s what we need to be overcomers, too. Our plans and our prayers are good. But our victories, like Jacob’s, are of grace, not really our strength or cleverness. Our blessings are granted, not snatched or negotiated, from God's hand.
Copyright © 2021 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—November 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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