The Man Who Wrestled With God - Crippled But Crowned (Bible Stories Explained)

crippled but crowned jacob fights with god have you ever been in a crisis have you ever had an encounter with god and you've never been the same since jacob had a similar experience and boy did he need it jacob the schemer was always trying to figure out how to do things his way he had stolen his brother's inheritance and ran to laban his uncle now laban was at odds with him and he had left his uncle along with his two wives he was suddenly a man on the run from his father-in-law laban but he ran right into his brother he was not ready to meet his brother however until he had met god and himself have you seen yourself as god knows you let's learn from jacob's crisis experience you'd think that an angelic encounter would encourage jacob and help him put his faith in the lord but he was still plotting and attempting to do things his way one jacob's distress genesis 32 1 new king james version esau comes to meet jacob so jacob went on his way and the angels of god met him when jacob saw them he said this is god's camp and he called the name of that place mahanayam genesis 32 3-6 new king james version then jacob sent messengers before him to esau his brother in the land of seer the country of edom and he commanded them saying speak thus to my lord esau thus your servant jacob says i have dwelt with laban and stayed there until now i have oxen donkeys flocks and male and female servants and i have sent to tell my lord that i may find favor in your sight then the messengers returned to jacob saying we came to your brother esau and he is also coming to meet you and 400 men are with him first jacob dispatched advanced messengers to esau who returned with word that esau was indeed on his way to meet jacob accompanied by 400 men genesis 32 7-8 new king james version so jacob was greatly afraid and distressed and he divided the people that were with him and the flocks and herds and camels into two companies and he said if esau comes to the one company and attacks it then the other company which is left will escape following that we learn that jacob was greatly afraid and distressed he became terrified so he divided his family into groups hoping that at least some of them would survive the angel's vision should have made him trust in the lord but he didn't believe he panicked devised a strategy and hoped for the best aren't we like that all the time we have a bible full of god's promises but we choose to go our own way and we are terrified genesis 32 9-12 new king james version then jacob said o god of my father abraham and god of my father isaac the lord who said to me return to your country and to your family and i will deal well with you i am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which you have shown your servant for i crossed over this jordan with my staff and now i have become two companies deliver me i pray from the hand of my brother from the hand of esau for i fear him lest he come and attack me in the mother with the children for you said i will surely treat you well and make your descendants as the sand of the sea which cannot be numbered for multitude jacob eventually prayed to god this is one of the most powerful prayers in the bible jacob thank god for guiding and speaking into his life jacob realized he was unworthy he reflected on god's blessings in his life then he asked for deliverance has god been gracious to you when we pray we must remind ourselves of how god has faithfully cared for us and helped us through our various life circumstances 2. jacob's defeat genesis 32 13-21 new king james version so he lodged there that same night and took what came to his hand as a present for esau his brother 200 female goats and 20 male goats 200 ewes and 20 rams 30 milk camels with their colts 40 cows and 10 bulls 20 female donkeys and 10 falls then he delivered them to the hand of his servants every drove by itself and said to his servants over before me and put some distance between successive droves and he commanded the first one saying when he saw my brother meets you and asks you saying to whom do you belong and where are you going whose are these in front of you then you shall say they are your servant jacobs it is a present sent to my lord esau and behold he also is behind us so he commanded the second the third and all who followed the droves saying in this manner you shall speak to esau when you find him and also say behold your servant jacob is behind us for he said i will appease him with the present that goes before me and afterward i will see his face perhaps he will accept me so the present went on before him but he himself lodged that night in the camp jacob was still plotting even after he prayed he attempted to appease his brother by showering him with gifts including if i counted correctly about 580 animals i guess he thought that everyone has a price so he was trying to appease his brother then we read that jacob sent his wives and his children across the javik ford while he remained behind alone jaboc means pouring out or emptying god will not use us or fill us with his holy spirit unless we have reached the end of ourselves genesis 32 22 26 new king james version and he arose that night and took his two wives his two female servants and his 11 sons and crossed over the forward of javik he took them sent them over the brook and sent over what he had then jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of day now when he saw that he did not prevail against him he touched the socket of his hip and the socket of jacob's hip was out of joint as he wrestled with him and he said let me go for the day breaks but he said i will not let you go unless you bless me jacob was left alone and then he found himself in the middle of a wrestling match he was not looking for a brawl he was attempting to avoid a brawl jacob was hanging on for dear life waiting for the sun to come up jacob was rendered immobile when his opponent touched the hollow of his thigh i will not let you go unless you bless me jacob declared jacob was learning that the way to blessing is not through scheming but through holding on and asking god for blessing have you been battling god your life's circumstances and complications are nothing more than god wrestling with you hold on and pray for god's blessing the night jacob battled with the angel of god marked a watershed moment in his life he was physically broken when the angel dislocated his hip but he was also emotionally broken when he revealed the truth about his identity and character to the world it was from that point forward that jacob began to realize his god-given destiny jacob and all other leaders must wrestle with god before they gain his blessing jacob was blessed by god because of the following reasons first jacob was alone in the presence of god all sources of distraction had been eliminated second jacob was starving for a relationship with god he yearned greatly to receive what god had in store for him third jacob was broken by god he allowed god to break him and transform him fourth jacob was honest with god he stopped pretending in order to let god work in his life have you ever prevailed in your dealings with god in this manner it is impossible for leaders to do anything significant in the kingdom of god unless they first come before god in humility and seek his face in order to be blessed you must first be broken genesis 32 27 new king james version so he said to him what is your name the lord then inquired about jacob's name jacob had lied the last time he was asked that question when his father asked him he replied i am esau however he answered truthfully here it's almost as if jacob is saying to the lord lord i can't fool you jacob is my given name i am aware of who i am i am the infamous heel snatcher i'm the scheming one i'm the one who stole esau's blessing in birthright this night jacob not only met god but he also met himself genesis 27 19 new king james version jacob said to his father i am esau your firstborn i have done just as you told me please arise sit and eat of my game that your soul may bless me have you accepted yourself for who you are what would you say if god asked you your name have you given yourself a name have you confronted yourself with who you are you will never be what god wants you to be unless you first accept who you are genesis 32 28-30 new king james version and he said your name shall no longer be called jacob but israel for you have struggled with god and with men and have prevailed then jacob asked saying tell me your name i pray and he said why is it that you ask about my name and he blessed him there so jacob called the name of the place pineal i have seen god face to face and my life is preserved the lord renamed jacob he's a god-fearing man jacob was given a new name by god you may require a new name as well as a touch of god in your life you require a completely new name jacob called the name of the place pineal because i have seen god face to face and my life is preserved he had a god experience he had a crisis experience in which he saw himself in god genesis 32 31 new king james version just as he crossed over pineal the sun rose on him and he limped on his hip the next morning when the sun rose on a new day there was a man with a new name he had a new relationship with god in a new way of life he would never be the same again oh and he walked with a limp people who saw him must have wondered jacob what happened to you you are unique yeah i lost a wrestling match last night but i also won jacob would most likely have replied i'm alive because of this limp i'm on a new path with god 3. jacob's deliverance you like jacob may require a crisis experience in which god breaks you god never uses anything until he breaks it genesis 33 new king james version now jacob lifted his eyes and looked in there esau was coming and with him were 400 men so he divided the children among leah rachel and the two maidservants and he put the maidservants in their children in front leah and her children behind and rachel and joseph last then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother but esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and they wept and he lifted his eyes and saw the woman and children and said who are these with you so he said the children whom god has graciously given your servant then the maidservants came near they and their children and bowed down and leah also came near with her children and they bowed down joseph and rachel came near and they bowed down then esau said what do you mean by all this company which i met and he said these are to find favor in the sight of my lord but esau said i have enough my brother keep what you have for yourself and jacob said no please if i have now found favor in your sight then you receive my present from my hand inasmuch as i have seen your face as though i had seen the face of god and you were pleased with me please take my blessing that is brought to you because god has dealt graciously with me and because i have enough so he urged him and he took it then esau said let us take our journey let us go and i will go before you but jacob said to him my lord knows that the children are weak and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me and if the men should drive them hard one day all the flock will die please let my lord go on ahead before his servant i will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me and the children are able to endure until i come to my lord and seer and esau said now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me but he said what need is there let me find favor in the sight of my lord so esau returned that day on his way to seer and jacob journeyed to sukkoth built himself a house and made booths for his livestock therefore the name of the place is called sukkoth jacob comes to canaan then jacob came safely to the city of shechem which is in the land of canaan when he came from paden arum and he pitched his tent before the city and he bought the parcel of land where he had pitched his tent from the children of hamor shechem's father for 100 pieces of money and then he erected an altar there and called it el elohi israel we can see in genesis 33 that jacob still had to face esau he was still a little frightened he who meets god at dawn never need fear meeting man at noon someone once said you don't have to be afraid of any human being if you've met the lord jacob met esau as a completely different person this was no longer jacob the thief he was a new humble man even so he had no idea how esau felt he was referring to the same esau from whom he stole on a birthright and a blessing he was concerned that esau would return to exact as revenge he now had faith in god but he must have been taken aback by his brother's warm welcome this is reconciliation a work of god's grace in the human heart only god has the power to bring about reconciliation god performed a great work in both jacob and esau there was forgiveness and love instead of fear bitterness hostility and anger consider the difficulties you're having in your relationships it can only be resolved through a personal encounter with god in which he performs his work of grace in your heart in life isn't it true that natural leaders have things easy not all of the time even leaders who are endowed with extraordinary natural leadership abilities might encounter difficulties particularly when it comes to questions of character that was certainly true in jacob's case he had a significant amount of impact from the outset no matter what he did or where he went he always seemed to get people's attention the fact that he had captured the heart of his mother as well as the birthright of his brother caused isaac's household to be turned upside down similarly he had an impact on laban's household as well his leadership was responsible for a tremendous deal of prosperity over time and it was his sons who were responsible for the establishment of the 12 tribes of the hebrew nation jacob appeared to have it all he was wealthy powerful and influential and he was blessed with a huge family however a leader who chooses to go his own way and pursues just his own personal gain will not be an effective instrument in god's hands jacob had to be broken in order for god to use him jacob the deceptive heel catcher was transformed into israel a prince with god who desired to serve god rather than himself as a result of the breaking process natural leaders often need to be broken consider your inherent capacity to lead as a gift from god but your character as a gift that you can give back to him consider this every time you overcome difficulty you are preparing yourself to serve god and lead others more effectively just like jacob did the bible also covers some powerful stories that we can learn from to learn more check this video

Channel: Grace Digital Network

Views: 54,730

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Id: 9r5LcEmPJRg

Length: 18min 56sec (1136 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 02 2022