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Genesis 32 Genesis 32 : 28 Your Name Will Be Israel Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome. Jacob is the man who got all of the blessings in this world which includes honor, love and even huge wealth. To get those things, he worked hard in his uncle’s house for 20 years without rest. He was faithful and diligent. His love to Rachel was so romancing and faithful that even Samaria woman praise the Jacob’s love when she talked with Jesus. Even today, anyone like Jacob can live a successful life in this world. Everyone think that the Jacob’s life is a model for happy life. However, Jacob’s life became stuck in front of Jabbok river, where at last he found himself and realized that the blessings he obtained are not the real blessing. He found that the real blessing comes only from God through relationship with God. Through this message, I pray that we can learn what is the real blessing in our life. Part 1. My name is Jacob. Jacob fled from Laban’s house, but Laban caught him in the hills of Gilead. At that time, God intervened between Jacob and Laban. God came to Laban in a dream at night and said to him, “be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad” God protected Jacob from Laban’s hand. So, Jacob and Laban left each other peacefully. Then, Jacob continued his slow journey back to home in Canaan. Look at verse 1. As he travelled, he met the angels of God. God kept his promise and was with Jacob to protect him. God poured out his grace upon Jacob wherever he went and whatever he did according to the promise made at Bethel 20 years ago. The evidence of this is the army of God. Though he had lived to satisfy his own selfish life for 20 years, God sent a whole army to be with him and protect him. Jacob should have known the grace of God poured out on him. However, it was hard for Jacob to understand God’s grace fully and thank whole-heartedly. Jacob did not see any connection between this host of angels and himself. He pointed out and said, “Look, this is the camp of God” like a little child watching a parade in Lotte world. There is another way of explaining what the sin is. In one word, it is not to know God’s grace. Failing to recognize God’s grace is sin. Ingratitude is the most terrible sin. Like Jacob, if we still indulged in our selfish and self-centered life, we could not recognize God’s grace upon us. Let’s think about God’s unceasing grace in sending his angel group to take care of Jacob. Even though God revealed to Jacob how God poured out his grace and protection, Jacob didn’t realize it. God’s grace was not in his heart. His heart was gripped by fear of his brother Esau’s revenge. Jacob remembered when he took his father’s blessing by deceiving, Esau held grudge against Jacob and even intended to kill him. Jacob made every effort to solve this problem with his brother Esau. Look at verse 3. He sent messengers to find out what Esau was planning to do. The messengers came back with report that Esau was coming with 400 men. On hearing of it, Jacob was despaired. He could hardly breathe. At the thought of his brother’s bloody revenge, Jacob was overcome with the fear of death. His hands and feet were trembling and he could do nothing. But even at that time, Jacob’s head was still spinning well. Jacob was a man who did what he had to do under any circumstances. So, he divided his family and his flocks and herds into two groups. He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape” And then Jacob start praying even though he was not a man of prayer. The point of his prayer was this. “Lord, I had crossed the Jordan with only one staff in my hand, but now I had become two groups. I asked you to save me from the hand of my brother Esau. Please remember your promise at Bethel.” It seemed like that Jacob was finally changed to a man of faith and prayer. However, the fear was still in his mind. After praying, he again tried to use his cleverness to send gifts to Esau to smooth his feelings. He divided the gifts into three groups to pacify Esau’s mind three times continuously. When we read Chapter 33, we can see how carefully he planned to defend himself against Esau’s revenge. He put his maidservants with their children first and less favorite wife with her children next, then his loving Rachel and Joseph behind them all. That night, he sent his wives and children and all of his possessions across the Jabbok River, and he was left alone in the camp. Though he had made such thorough preparations, he could not sleep. He tumbled and tossed all night. Up to now, Jacob had gotten everything he wanted. So, he must be happy. What are the blessings he had gotten through all his life? At first, he obtained honor. Ever since Esau beat him coming out of the mother’s womb, Jacob had struggled to be first. He was born holding on to his brother’s heel. But he came out late and became Esau’s younger brother. But he did not give up the privilege of being the firstborn. He waited for an opportunity, and finally bought Esau’s birthright in exchange for a bowl of stew. The younger brother took the birthright and got the honor of the eldest. Then next, Jacob grabbed his father, Issac’s blessings with the help of his mother Rebekah. At that time, he deceived his farther Isaac like a movie actor. When he escaped to Paddan Aram, Jacob wanted to get Rechel’s love. For love, Jacob worked 14 years as a common laborer and finally he got it. He also got the wealth through his faithfulness and hard working spirit. He had worked hard in Laban’s house for 6 years, devoting himself to whatever task was before him. He did not bring Laban’s animals torn by wild beasts. He bore the loss himself. He endured heat in the daytime and cold at night, and slept very little. So he became a wealthy man. Consequently, a man like Jacob must be happy because he got every blessing his heart desired. Was he happy with the things he had gotten? It seemed not so. Instead, his blessings became a burden to him. Even though he got everything, now he could not but in fear and distress. What is the problem of Jacob’s life? And how God graciously helped him? Part 2. Your name will be Israel (24-32) Look at verse 24 and 25. Jacob stood alone in the sand on the other side of the river. No one could share his agony. He had to suffer alone. Then, he wrestled with a man, an angel of God, all night. The man thought that he could not win over Jacob, so he touched the socket of his hip and his hip was wrenched. The man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak”. Jacob answered, “I will not let you go unless you bless me”. At this sentence, we must pay close attention to Jacob’s words. Though he had already obtained so many blessings, he grabbed the man’s trousers and asked for a blessing. What was the blessing that Jacob was trying to get even at this time? What kind of blessing was Jacob looking for? Look at verse 27. The man heard Jacob’s request and asked, “What is your name?” A name represents a man’s whole being. We can identify someone by his name. When we hear a name, a certain image of one who has the name is popped up in our mind. Jacob answered, “My name is Jacob.” While answering, he might have been thinking the meaning of his name. “Jacob” means one who grabs the heel. Figuratively, this name means competitors and deceiver. Jacob lived faithfully to get human blessings, but if we characterize him in a word, we would call him “a competitor and deceiver.” He deceived his brother Esau and his father Isaac. He was deceived by Laban and he also deceived Laban. In truth, the world is a place where men deceive and are deceived. When we look at the world through Jacob’s eye, we find that everyone is a deceiver and a competitor. In this world, a man like Jacob seems to become a winner because he can get everything they want. Therefore, sometimes, we might envy Jacob’s ability, talent and character in this harsh competitive world. However, we can see here that the blessings of the world are not the real blessing. Jacob had lived such a life as a competitor and a deceiver. When he said to Jacob ”what is your name?”, Jacob must have thought of his own life without God and felt ashamed because all of the blessings he obtained so far could not solve the fear of death. Then, how God helped Jacob? Look at verse 28. Let’s read together. “Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” In this sentence, we can find two meanings. First. when he met God, Jacob was changed to Israel. The change of name means the change of identity. Jacob was a worldly man. He had received many worldly blessings. But these things did not make him happy. These things became a heavy burden to him. God changed this greedy Jacob’s name to Israel. “Israel” means “he struggled with God and won.” The name, ‘Israel’ represents his relationship with God, his wrestling with God, his solving his life problem in God, and his receiving spiritual blessing from God. Among other things, ‘Israel’ means that he met and made relation with God. The tragedy of man is that because of Satan’s temptation, and man’s own pride, he became an enemy of God. Man’s tragedy begins with his leaving God. In the same way, Jacob’s fear and distress also start from when he left God in his life. Even though he seems to believe in God, his life had no relationship with God. Jacob’s real problem was that he had left God out of his life and was living a self-centered life. He left God out for the sake of grabbing the world. He tried hard to live a happy life, but he found it failed in front of Jabbok river. Jacob himself had said before in his prayer, “I am unworthy of all kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant”(32:10). When we hear his prayer, we can find that Jacob already knew the grace of God. However, he had deliberately ignored God’s grace and lived his own life with self ambition. Jacob was born in a believing family. He had met God at Bethel when he was young. However, he lived as if there were no God. So, God came first and changed the eyes of deceiver into eyes which could see God’s world, the spiritual world. This grace is too great to express with words. Praise to God who came first to Jacob and make relationship with him changing his name. Second, Jacob wrestled with God. Up to this point, Jacob had sought happiness in the world. But after getting all the happiness he sought, he found that what he had gotten only became a burden to him. He could not endure any longer, so he grapped God’s trousers. He struggled along with God, and through this spiritual wrestling he was changed in his inner man. This is true wisdom and true happiness. Jacob met God alone. The sin made our relationship with God too hard and painful. There may be many problems in this world. However, in reality there is only one thing that matters. It is to make a right relationship with God. If we wish to make a relationship with God, we must go to God alone. We must, as Jacob did, take hold of God in prayer and struggle with God until our hip is out of joint and our inner life problem is touched by God. Then, just as God changed Jacob by his mighty power, so God also will change our inner self. Jacob grabbed God’s trousers so persistently that God couldn’t get away. God could not but bless Jacob. Jacob’s prayer struggle was so urgent, which is a matter of life or death to him. His inner problem was not yet completely solved, but he finally made a close relationship with God. Let’s think about if we wrestle with someone, pinching, pulling, holding, grabbing, hugging, isn’t it possible not to be close with each other? This was the key to the solution to Jacob’s inner problem. There is a time in our life when we must confront and solve our own basic problem. When this time comes, it does not help to complain about or blame on Laban and Esau. Furthermore, we cannot find any solution by making some political compromise with Laban and Esau. We cannot hide in a dark place and hope the problem will go away. Jacob’s basic problem could not be found in other people or situation. It was in him. It was his own sin problem. We cannot solve our sin problem. Only God can solve man’s sin problem. If we want to solve our basic problem, we must meet God. We must struggle with God until we finds the solution in God. This struggle is the foundation of spiritual life. If we have not struggled in this way, we cannot know the spiritual world. We can know nothing but the world of Esau and Laban and the narrow, physical world. Where can we find happiness? It comes from this spiritual struggle. Look at verse 30. “So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face and yet my life was spared” The name of Peniel means “face of God.” When Jacob saw the face of God, all of his problem were solved. He met God face to face and he did not die. As he passed by Peniel, the sun rose above him and he was limping. Though he was lame in one leg, his mind was full of the grace of God and his face was shining. Consequently, at Jabbok river, Jacob came to know the real blessing and real happiness. For that, he wrestled with God all night struggling with his inner sin problem. When Jacob met God, his life has been changed. Praise to the Lord, who came to Jacob first and changed his name to Israel. Praise to the Lord, who had been struggling with Jacob until he finally be changed to a spiritual man who know the worth of the spiritual blessing. May God help us to struggle with God in prayer. May God also help us to meet God in our daily life. |
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