Pastor Scott Jonas
Genesis 28-36
Jacob Wrestles with God
6/21/18
Have you ever
wanted to be someone else? Imagine
messing your life up so bad that you want to run away and start again. That’s where we find Jacob in Genesis chapter
28. Jacob is the son of Isaac, the
grandson of Abraham. He was promised the
blessing of both God and his father. He
was one of three men on earth who shared that distinction and responsibility. The whole world will be blessed by you sounds
neat but in reality it is a heavy weight that he has felt since birth. It finally overwhelmed him. He stole his brother’s birthright by fooling
his blind father. He torched all of his
relationships. He doesn’t know who he
is, anymore.
His brother hates
him and vows to murder him after dad dies.
His father feels betrayed and foolish.
His mother is worried that Jacob is going to marry a foreign woman like
his brother. He has disappointed
everyone he loves. Who knows what God
thinks of him?
God spoke to Jacob
and said “go to Paddan-aram the land of Laban your uncle and marry one of his
daughters. God almighty will bless you
and make you fruitful and multiply. May
he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring that you may take
possession of the land promised. “ So Jacob takes off to travel alone over 300
miles north to his Uncles clan. It is an
opportunity for a fresh start. The trip
would take about a month, giving him a lot of time to think. Who does he want to be? Is he Jacob the deceiver as his brother
claims or is he better than that?
On the journey
Jacob has a dream about a ladder. He
sees this enormous ladder that starts at his feet and towers into the
heavens. Angels use it like a highway to
ascend and descend. God affirms his
promises. Jacob wakes up and says, “How
awesome is this place!” then he makes a
vow ,”If God will be with me and keep me in this way that I go so that I may
one day return to my Father’s house in peace then the Lord shall be my
God.” Be careful what you vow to God.
Jacob travels to
Haran. Finds a well and replenishes
himself. There he sees the woman of his
dreams, her name is Rachel. It turns out
she is the daughter of Laban. That is a
sign! He vowed that he would stay true
to the Lord if the Lord made his way straight and God pointed him right to
Laban’s daughter the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. This fresh start stuff really works. Jacob goes to Laban, explains that he is his
nephew and offers to work 7 years for the right to marry Rachel. Laban agrees.
Imagine a movie montage where the seven years fly by. Jacob and Rachel flirt out in the field. They steal a kiss behind a goat. They hold hands behind a tent. They lay down on a blanket and look up at the
stars. “That is how many descendants God
has promised us,” he says to her. The
seven years go by in a blink. The big
day comes. They have a feast with way
too much wine. God is really answering
Jacob’s prayer.
Record
Scratch. Jacob wakes up from his wedding
night. He looks over and is
horrified. It’s like a scene from the
Hangover. He is married not to his
sweetheart Rachel but instead she’s been replaced with her older sister
Leah. Somewhere Esau is dying of
laughter.
Have you ever made
a deal with God? God I will be good if
you do this for me. If you convince Ann
Myers to marry me, I will be good. If you
get me into college I will be good. If
you get me a job I will be good? If you
give me a child I will be good. When you
make a vow to God it’s easy to think that you’ve turned a corner. You’ve left that old life behind and
everything in front of you will be roses.
But that’s not how life works.
That’s not how the life of faith works.
Following God is hard. Sometimes
things go smooth but that doesn’t mean that it’s because of you. Sometimes smooth makes you entitled. Most of the time God is trying to shape you
into the person he wants you to be. It
is like you are the sculpture and he is the sculptor. Being sculpted hurts.
Jacob has met his
match in Laban, his uncle and father-in-law.
They are the same guy. They both
are sneaky, always thinking seven steps ahead.
They get what they want through manipulation. Jacob conned his family and now Jacob gets
conned by Laban. That hurts. Jacob is married to Leah. He said the words and he completed the
act. Like his stolen blessing from
Isaac, it can’t be taken back. So Jacob
makes the best of it and agrees to marry both Leah and Rachel for another seven
years of working Laban’s livestock. What
good is it being good when bad guys take it all away? Nice Guys finish last.
Predictably this
mindset affects his homelife. God told
him to marry one daughter but he married two.
Now he figures, all rules are out the window. At his dueling wives direction he beds Leah’s
servant and Rachel’s servant. Over the
next 20 years he has 12 boys and 1 girl from 4 women. Yet God is still working on him. God blesses Jacob despite himself. Laban gives Jacob the worst of his animals
and God makes them become the best.
Jacob has a
decision. He can stay and be Laban’s
proteje. He can learn how to be a master
heel . But he decides to turn his back
on that life just as he did at the beginning of his journey 20 years ago. Jacob flees from Laban. He takes his two wives, two concubines, many
spotted livestock and runs away back towards the land that is promised
him. Laban catches him. Jacob proclaims that he has held up his part
of the bargain and Laban is forced to agree.
They part ways, one deceiver goes north and one goes south.
Jacob travels the
300 miles back to his first family. He
starts thinking again. Remember that
dream with the angels on the ladder to heaven.
Remember the words of hope God declared to him. Remember the vow, if you make my way straight
then I will follow you. God gave him
everything he wanted and then some. It
is time follow God again. Especially now
when he thinks about his brother’s vow to kill him. He could definitely use some of that God
protection. He prays to the Lord and
repents, “I am not worthy of all the deeds and steadfast love and all of the
faithfulness that you have shown me.” It
is the first time we have heard words of repentance from him. By my recollection it is the first time
Abraham, Isaac or Jacob has repented to God.
This is momentous. God really is
shaping him.
That same night
God started taking on a more hands on approach to sculpting him. Jacob slept alone anticipating that something
big was going to occur. Maybe he wanted
his brother to find him alone rather than endanger his wives and children. But it wasn’t Esau who overtook him in the
night. It was a messenger from God, an
Angel. Some say Jesus himself. He wrestled Jacob and Jacob wrestled
back. It was like sparring with God
through prayer only physical. All the
anger, disappointment, and fear came out of Jacob and Jesus took it. Jacob fought like a crying toddler fights his
mother. One was hugging while the other
was pushing away. It took until sunrise
but God won. Jacob considered it a
victory just to still be alive.
Jacob wanted to
know his worthy opponent’s name. God
said, “I won’t tell you my name, but I will give you a new name because you
aren’t the same man you used to be. I’ve
sculpted you into something new. You
were Jacob, now let you be Israel.”
God is sculpting
you. I know it hurts. That’s how it works.
.