Monday, October 28, 2019

Genesis 32:29-30 “Reaching The Place of Blessing”


OUTLINE: Genesis 32:22-32

1.      32:22-24   Wrestling with God
2.      32:25  The  Touch of God that Hurts  and Heals
3.      32: 26-28    Winning by Losing
4.      32:29-30    Reaching the Place of Blessing

29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”

Last time our subject from 32:26-28 was ‘winning by losing’. The commentator Derek Kidner says, that “when God touched Jacob’s hip socket, it was defeat and victory all wrapped up in one." [1]   We saw Paul’s principle of strength in weakness applied here “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me… for when I am weak, then I am strong” [2 Cor.12:9-10]. This is biblical logic. Biblical logic doesn’t come easy, since by our sinful default we are not trained to think like this, and our God has amazing and unexpected ways to get our attention in order to conform us more to the likeness and thinking  of His Son.  

From Jacob’s story we learn that God’s ways with us are not always apparent at once. We tend to think that our life is simply a series of cause and effect - ‘life happens’. However,  in truth, nothing happens for the Christian without  God from start to finish, and if we were to ask the apostle Paul about this, he would say, “And we know that for those who love God ALL THINGS work together for good, for those called according to His purpose…”  (Rom. 8:28). Think of Jacob’s story. God met him at the beginning, when  he as the younger was chosen  above the older Esau to  inherit the covenantal promises  (Gen. 25:23). God met him at Bethel (Gen.28:10ff) – Jacob’s first real encounter with God (conversion experience?).  God met him here at  Peniel in terms of a further sanctification experience, and if you go to the  closing  chapters of Genesis 48-50 you will see that God was  with Jacob  until  the very end, still directing  his footsteps.  Life doesn’t just happen for Jacob. His footsteps are directed. (Psalm 37:25 - The steps of a man  are established by the LORD). 

It is such a fact that caused a  hymnwriter like  Philip Doddridge  (1702-1751)  to write,
O God of Jacob, by whose hand, 
Thy people  still are fed
Who  through this weary pilgrimage, 
Hast all our fathers led.

What a blessing to know  that we  are in the hands of the God Almighty, and not in the hands of fate, or the stars or the devil! Thank God that this  story ends  in blessing  at Peniel!

Arriving at Peniel the place of blessing -  through many  dangers, toils and snares

Remember where Jacob came from. His name means ‘deceiver’. This is the nature that we have all inherited in Adam. We are all naturally plotters and schemers, people that love to manage and organize their own lives. However God, in His covenantal faithfulness and love, does not leave His covenant children in Adam’s fallen ways. He gives them new birth. He sanctifies them step by step - most often in small ordinary  ways (using life’s sandpaper), and sometimes he sanctifies us  through crisis experiences, which we might  experience as wrestling. When  that happens  all He needs is a slight touch and  all our  strong wrestling is  over in  the twinkling of an eye. Instantaneously we become aware of our weakness and our utter helplessness.  At this stage  we find ourselves in the position of  blessed helplessness.  At such a moment  the true Christian  learns to cling to Him in  their  weakness, and will cry out “I will not  let you go unless you   bless me”. 

This biographical sketch of Jacob describes the experience of every child of God. Our conversion experience (Bethel) changes our destiny and direction instantaneously, but our  sinful nature – the flesh needs to be subdued  daily and progressively. For this we need experiences like Peniel.    The wonderful truth is that God  is committed to   make His covenant children  fit  for their ultimate blessing - their  promised land– heaven.

Consider what has been accomplished  in Jacob  since the wrestling had ended

1.         He has been broken (32:25)  His self -reliance has been given an appropriate  knock!  He now knows  that He needs God’s help and blessing for the future – particularly as he must now  face Esau on his territory . That is why Jacob says, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

2.   He has been renamed (32:28)  When God says to Jacob, "What is your name?" (32:27), and Jacob  replies,  "Jacob”, God  immediately  renames  him,  "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." (32:28) Significantly,  the Lord says to the Churches in the book of  the Revelation,  "To him who overcomes I will give a new name" (Rev. 2:17).  In this regard you will remember that God also renamed  Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude). God changed “Sarai” (my princess) to “Sarah,” (mother of nations). In the New Testament, Jesus changed Simon’s name,  (God has heard)  to Peter (rock) when He first called him as a disciple. The reason  why God did that  on occasion because their new name would suit better when the fulfilment of God’s promises were realized in  them.    And so, God renames Jacob. He takes away that name which was actually an indictment -  deceiver, and  He gives Him a new name,  Israel -  (He strives with God). This name change indicates a dramatic change.

3.         He has been blessed (32:29).  He breaks him, He renames him, and then He blesses him. Jacob responds to this by saying “tell me who you are”.  But God  does not have to tell him. Jacob knows!   (see 32:30).  He has seen God  face to face. And He has been blessed.

THE PLACE OF  BLESSING 

There are times in our Christian lives when we experience a giant step forward in our growth in grace.  It feels almost like conversion again.  When last did you have such an experience? Have you ever had such an experience? 
I have a sense of expectancy that God may be doing that very thing in  a good number  of you at this time. There  appear  so  many of  our people  wrestling with God – but perhaps  they have not yet understood  that fact. Like Jacob you may think that Esau (or whatever obstacle there is  in your mind)   is your main  problem and obstacle to your perceived happiness.  You can see nothing  and fear nothing but Esau.  But, it is not Esau. It is you, who needs to change.   
Do not fear the change. If you are a Christian, your  God is in control – and that to bless, even if the way  to that  blessing is  via  a spiritual desert  or a  trial.  When God  revealshimself in this  trial, Jacob forgets all about Esau in a moment. In a moment of stunning spiritual clarity Jacob  saw himself in the hands of  God and not of Esau. And so he clung to the Lord and refused to let Him go  and he  pleaded for the blessing of the Lord. 

I trust  that  this little series of sermons  on the life of Jacob’s struggles  helps you as a Christian- a child of the covenant -   to open  your eyes  to the fact that you are not  wrestling against man or circumstances – you  are primarily  wrestling with God.  And you need to be reminded that you are in a wrestling match  to win and to overcome. But you must remember the biblical logic here. You  win by losing! And once you have lost  you are ready to be blessed. God  is  not in this to destroy you.  He is in this to bless you.

We also  need to learn to be thankful to  God that we do not have to wrestle God in the fullness of His glory. If we did, we  would not be able  to live. The Bible says  that no one can see God and live (Ex. 33:20).  It is just as well that Jacob wrestled with the Lord at night. By God’s grace Jacob had seen God  in the form of a man, and  only in the dark.  Thank God that He does not reveal Himself to you in all His glory. You would not be able to live. Those in the Scriptures who had seen God’s  greater glimpses of  God’s glory  always  fell  down  as if dead. That is what happened to many OT characters. It happened to  Paul in  Acts 9 when he had met the  risen, ascended and glorified   Lord Jesus on the Damascus road. John on the island of Patmos saw the Lord Jesus on the Lord’s day and says, “ when I saw  Him, I fell at His feet as though dead.” (Rev.  1:17).  The blessing  of God, even though it may be  a very intimidating experience   is  nevertheless meant to be a blessing.

And, dear friends, we  need to learn from the Scripture to become bolder with God.  Some may think that Jacob is very arrogant to demand a blessing from God. But we must learn   that this  is the faith that God loves and approves of. This  the faith He blesses, because this is a faith that honours God since it clings to Him, and because it  makes Him  be what He is meant to be  in your life. He is your heavenly Father  who loves you  and who  blesses you!

I wonder how many there are in this congregation who want to say with Jacob, "I will not let you go until you bless me!” I wonder  whether there is not someone here who, like Jacob, finds themselves  so surprised by the course life has taken  for them, and who have finally understood that their  struggle has  been  with God (the fear of man being the obstacle). Seeing the face of God  has changed all that.
I wonder whether there is someone here  who stands very much in need of God's blessing- such as  of forgiveness of sin, of hope restored, of peace restored, of fears overcome, of love  that replaces  hatred – all  that fades  when you look into the face of God.

You say to God, like Jacob, "I will not let you go unless you bless me!” The Scripture strongly encourages  us to seek the Lord. The Bible   teaches that those who come to God and refuse to take no for an answer for spiritual blessing will be heard. Seek His face (Psalm 27:8) !


[1] Derek Kidner , Genesis , IVP series, p.169

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