Trevor S
Ferguson
February 15, 2014
Genesis 32:24-29 (KJV)
24And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
24And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
INTRODUCTION
The bible tells us in Job 14 that man’s days are few and
full of trouble. Most persons today can identify with this situation. From the
day of our birth there is trouble. Our mother’s must undergo the severe labour
pains and risks to her own life in order to give birth. As newborns we are feeble,
dependent and susceptible to infections and various illnesses that threaten our
lives. As we grow we are susceptible to accidents and various dangers as we
learn to navigate this beautiful but potentially treacherous place called
earth. Then we come to adulthood, and there the real troubles begin! As adults
we face all kinds of troubles: emotional and relationship issues; financial
hardships; time challenges and work related stress; conflicts at home; conflicts
on the job; conflicts in the community; then we add to that times of sickness
and death in the family.
On top of this base of a troubled existence, there are
times heightened and immense troubles we call crises. In times of crisis the
intensity of trouble is so great that we fear for our very lives. A crisis
could end up in death, imprisonment or total separation from family or friends.
In many of these crises we need external help, because we cannot solve the
problems on our own accord. Human help may be of value, but many times our only
source of help is through Divine intervention.
Today, I declare to you that in your times of trouble and
crises, God is ready and willing to help. If you call on Him, He will step into
your situation and bless you and grant you His peace.
EXPOSITION
The text tonight recounts a time of crisis in Jacob’s
life and how God stepped in to help in this crisis. Jacob was on his way back
to the land of Canaan from which he had fled some twenty years earlier after he
had cheated his brother Esau out of his birthright and Esau had vowed to kill
him. Jacob had not seen Esau at all in these twenty years. He had spent this
time with Laban in the land of Haran, married Laban’s daughters Leah and Rachel
but had now fallen out of favour with Laban. The circumstances of his departure
from Laban’s household was such that he
had left by night without informing Laban because he feared that Laban would
have prevented him from leaving or would have taken away his wife and children.
Laban pursued him and overtook him, but before their meeting God intervened,
speaking to Laban in a dream and told him to do no harm to Jacob. As a result
Laban and Jacob’s final parting was peaceful with them making a covenant at Mizpah.
As Jacob continued on his journey, the angels of God met
him at Mahanaim, so Jacob had some assurance that God was with him. This time
of peace was short lived however as Jacob recognized that as he journey’s back
to Canaan he will have to encounter with Esau who had vowed to kill him. Jacob
therefore sent messengers to Esau asking for his favour (or perhaps forgiveness).
The messengers came back and informed Jacob that Esau was coming to meet him
and that 400 men were with him.
The panic button in Jacob turned red! Why was Esau coming
to meet him with 400 men? The only thought in Jacobs mind was that Esau was
coming to attack and kill his family. He therefore divided the people and the
flocks into groups saying that if Esau strikes one group the other groups could
possible escape.
Jacob’s next action however was much more important. Verses
9-12 of Genesis 32, record that Jacob prayed to God and asked Him to deliver
him out of the hands of his brother Esau.
Like Jacob, somebody today may be in trouble; the crisis
is so severe that you don’t know what to do. You have tried your own devices;
you have sought human help, but have found no solution. Today, I challenge you
to take it to the Lord in prayer! As the song writer declares - “O what peace we often forfeit, O what
needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
The psalms are replete with instances where David or another psalmist calls
out desperately to God in the midst of trouble and God heard them and helped
them. Let’s look a few examples:
Psalm 20:1
The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend
thee;
Psalm 27:5
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of
his tabernacle shall he hide me;
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 86:7
In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
Psalm 91:15
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I
will deliver him, and honour him.
Psalm 107:6
Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of
their distresses.
Psalm 107:19
Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their
distresses.
Psalm 107:28
Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their
distresses.
To someone today, God is
saying to you, Call upon me! I will here you and answer you. I will deliver you
from your trouble. Trust me today I am willing to help you!
Another key factor in dealing with trouble is that we
need a personal encounter and an assurance of our faith in God. We note that although
Jacob prayed and had had various experiences with God, there were still flaws
in his character. He was still by nature a tricksters and a schemer and beyond
help with Esau he needed to learn to completely depend on God and he needed a
change of character. Jacob had this encounter with God at Peniel and it changed
his life forever.
The bible tells us that while still on the journey to
meet Esau, Jacob sent his wives, his children and his servants across the brook
Jabbok and then he was left alone. I presume that while alone Jacob entered
again in a period of prayer. He needed an assurance from God and was determined
to touch God. He was totally focused on God. Now that God had his full attention, God came down and
wrestled with Jacob. The bible does not give detail about this wrestling match,
but tells us that Jacob wrestled with a ‘man’ – most probably a theophany (i.e.
an appearance of God in human form). We are told that he wrestled all night –
until the breaking of the day. We are not sure what was going on in the mind of
Jacob during this encounter, but we see that though this Jacob developed a
spirit of persistence and tenacity, evidenced by him saying “I will not let you
go until you bless me”. Under other circumstances Jacob might have given up or
run away as he had done previously, when he fled from Esau and then from Laban.
But Jacob had to learn that he could not run away from his troubles. He had to
face them square on until he found a good solution. I believe that God
supernaturally transferred that spirit of determination and persistence to
Jacob in this wrestling encounter. The end result was that Jacob was changed.
No longer was he the trickster and supplanter. He was now a prince who had
struggled with God and with men and had prevailed.
CONCLUSION
For somebody today God wants an encounter with you! You
have been running away from your troubles all your life, but now you must face
them square on. But before you face your troubles you must come face to face
with God. You must admit that you need him, that your previous efforts have
come to naught and that you are powerless without him. You’ve got to come to
him in payer. The words from the song writer are again appropriate:
“Are
we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still
our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer. Do your friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will
find a solace there.”
When you come to Him, He will be there
to meet you. Sometimes it will be hard to get your breakthrough; but you must
hold on. Like Jacob you have to say I will not let you go until you bless me. Your
breakthrough may be just moments away. Keep holding on; keep fighting for your
life. Never give up on God. He will not give up on you. He will come through
and bless you.
Your crisis will soon be over! We note
that chapter 33 describes a peaceful and pleasant meeting between Esau and
Jacob, because God intervened. He will intervene in your situation too. Your
trouble will soon be over; your crisis will come to an end. Put your trust in
God. He will come through for you!
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