A Helicopter Trip Over the Old Testament - Part 10
- Word Of Life
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
A Helicopter Trip Over the Old Testament
Part 10
“Jacob Wrestles with God”
-God changes Jacob’s name to “Israel”
My Goal = That your faith grows more than your knowledge.
GENESIS 32
“Jacob also went on his way, [Back home to Canaan] and the angels [Plural] of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. [Defn. “Two Camps” – One his, the other the Angels’] 3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob [Jacob humbles himself before his brother Esau] says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, so that I may find favor in your eyes.’” [He is afraid, Intimidated and Unsure of how Esau will act] 6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 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.
“Divide, and Conquer”
“Divide, to avoid being Conquered”
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. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.” 9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ [Respectfully praying God’s promises] 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. [He is now 97 years old, he died at 147] 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. [Leah & Zilpah. Rachel & Bilhah] 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’” 13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 ewes and 20 rams, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, and 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys. 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.” 17 He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’” 19 He also instructed the second, the third [Second & Third waves] and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps [Hopefully] he will receive me.” 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestles With God
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons… 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.”
[From “Heel catcher/Deceiver” to “Wrestles with God”]
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” [You know who I am] Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, [Defn = “Face to Face”] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun rose… 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.
GENESIS 33
Jacob Meets Esau
Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2 He put the two female servants and their children in front,
[In order of least important first]
Leah and her children next, and
Rachel and Joseph in the rear.
3 He [Jacob] himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven [Completeness, Fullness] times as he approached his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.”… [Then all of Jacob’s family were introduced to Uncle Esau] 8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?” “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said. 9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” 10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. 11 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.” [Then they parted ways]
Lessons
1. Pray always
[Especially when afraid]
2. God reassures us before difficult moments.
[Jacob gets a new name]
3. Trusting in God can at times can keep us from sinning.
[ie. Jacob’s deceptions]
4. Realize that past sins can create future fears.
[Jacob afraid of Esau b/c of his sin]
5. Properly utilize the principles of “Divide and Conquer”
“Divide, to avoid being Conquered.”
[Don’t put all your eggs in one basket]
6. Trusting God and human planning go together.
[Jacob prayed, but also divided his herds up for safety.]
7. What is your reminder to trust in God?
What “Thorn in the flesh” like Paul’s? What Limp like Jacob’s?
8. Be humble and appreciative of all that
God has done for you.
“I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant.”
-Genesis 32:10
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