In our text this morning from Genesis 32, we find that Jacob is motivated by fear, but God is motivated by his promises. Jacob has left his father-in-law, Laban with his four wives and his 11 children and is trekking home to see his aging father and mother. There is one task that Jacob has left unfinished that he must accomplish before he can return to his homeland to reclaim his birthright and inheritance. Remember that Jacob gained his birthright and blessing by tricking his brother, Esau, into giving it to him. Well, now we find these two men many years later. Both have gained great wealth and influence. But, what we are going to find in our text today is that before Jacob could be reconciled with his brother, he had to be reconciled to God. We are going to see this in two parts: “Jacob’s Motivation of Fear” and “God’s Motivation of Grace”.
First, I want you to see that Jacob is motivated by his fear of his brother. Look with me at Gen. 32:1-8. First of all, I want you to notice that this story has its beginning and ending with a visit from angels. There are three times in the story of Jacob that we find God visiting Jacob. One has already happened when God gave Jacob the vision of the stairway to heaven. The second is in verse 1 of this passage, and the last we will see in just a second. In all of three of these cases, God visits Jacob even though Jacob isn’t seeking God. In this case, Jacob is just on his way back home, and God sends angels to meet with Jacob and encourage him on the road ahead. Now, the text does not indicate anything about this visit other than that it happened. We don’t know what was said. The only clue we get from this passage is the name that Jacob gives the place in verse 2: “Mahanaim”. This name means “two camps”. It’s interesting that immediately following this encounter with angels, Jacob sends messengers to Esau to seek out his brother. So, here is what I think transpired in this meeting with God’s angels. I think God sent his messengers to encourage Jacob to reconcile with his brother, Esau. Jacob had no reason to try to reconcile. For all he knew, Esau still wanted to kill him. But, after meeting with these angels, suddenly Jacob takes on the mission of reconciling with his brother.
Even though Jacob obeys the word of God, he still shows great fear in doing so. When his servants return from seeking out Esau they come to report that Esau is on his way with 400 men. This sends Jacob into a panic. Remember that he has young sons and daughters, four wives, and some servants. He doesn’t have trained fighting men. So, he assumes that Esau is on his way to carry out his death wish on Jacob. Jacob is still motivated by fear, in spite of the fact that God has been with him wherever he has gone. God protected him when he left his homeland. God protected him when he lived with Laban. Now, God has commanded him to be reconciled to his brother, and God is still going to protect him in this. But, Jacob is scared to death, and notice what he does. We find out from our text that he splits his clan into two camps. He does this so he might be able to preserve at least half of his family should Esau attack. Another thing we find out later in the chapter is that he sends great gifts out ahead of him to try and buy Esau off. He tries to use his wealth and his wits to protect himself from his brother, but even still he can’t seem to overcome the fear and anxiety that he feels about the situation.
This brings me to my second point. God is motivated by his promises to Jacob. Look with me at verses 22 – 31. Jacob can’t seem to sleep because of his anxiety about his confrontation with Esau, so he gets his family up in the middle of the night and he moves them across the river, then he stays on the other side of the river by himself. Once he gets alone, we find out that immediately he meets a man and he begins to wrestle with him. Now, we don’t have any idea how this transpired. I don’t know if Jacob was waiting on this man to show up, or if Jacob was sitting alone in his camp and the man just appeared. But, for some reason Jacob meets the man and immediately starts wrestling with him. Now, this is no ordinary man. For one, we find out that a single touch from this man was able to dislocate Jacob’s hip. Second, we find out that Jacob knows that this man is indeed the Lord God almighty. For one, we find out from verse 26 that Jacob is wrestling with him because he wants his blessing. Second, the man gives Jacob a new name, Israel, which means, “He strives with God”. Finally, in verse 30, Jacob says that he has met God face to face. So, who is this man? This man is none other than the pre-incarnate Son of God.
So, if Jacob is wrestling with God and God is all-powerful, then why does God allow this to go on all night long? I want to give you two reasons. First of all, before Jacob could be reconciled with his brother, he had to be reconciled to God. Jacob feared his brother because he did not trust God. God had already promised to be with him and shown himself faithful, but now, in his moment of distress, Jacob grabs hold of God had won’t let go until he has some assurance that God will bless him and protect him.
Second, before God would bless Jacob, he had to confess his sin and be changed. Look with me again at verses 26 – 27. How did Jacob gain the blessing from his father, Isaac? Remember, he tricked his blind father into thinking he was Esau and gained his blessing. Now that he is wrestling with God and asking God to bless him, God cuts straight to the heart of the matter. In effect, he asks Jacob, “Are you still a deceiver? Are you going to try and deceive me like you did your father, or are you going to trust me this time?” Notice Jacob’s response to the question: He responds by giving his real name. Now, notice what God does: God changes his name to Israel. Remember, the name Jacob means deceiver, and so God changes his name from what he was to what he will be. He is no longer a deceiver who tries to gain things by his own wits and wealth; he is the man for whom God fights.
Oh, brothers and sisters understand that if you would overcome fear and overcome the bondage of your sins, you must first be reconciled to God. Perhaps you are here today, and you fear what man can do to you, you fear the consequences of your sins, you fear death and hell. First, you must be reconciled to God. The good news that I have for you today is this: God has already provided a means by which you can be reconciled to him. Col. 1:21-22 says “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” You were alienated from God, afraid and lost in the world, and Jesus came and died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. Today, we have two beautiful pictures of that in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper we have a symbol of what Jesus has done for us. This simple meal that sits before us is nothing but unleavened bread and grape juice, but these simple elements are a powerful reminder of the body and blood of Jesus that was offered up so that we might be reconciled to God. The bread is unleavened and white, which symbolizes the purity of Jesus’ life. We are born with a nature to sin into a world full of sin. Jesus lived the life that we could not live by being perfectly obedient to God. This grape juice symbolizes the blood of Jesus, which was offered as a sacrifice for sins. The Old Testament Law tells us that blood is required for the remission of sins. We know that the death of an animal could never pay for our sins. But, the death of the perfect Son of God did pay for our sins by satisfying God’s righteousness and justice. This morning we take this bread and this cup as a reminder of what Christ has done for us.
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