Tuesday, April 29, 2008

 

Unconditional Love Series

 

Genesis 32:28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”  

 

The Constant Fighter

Much of Jacob’s life, he had been fighting for his place.   He was seldom seen as honorable.   Many times he manipulated the situation to get what he wanted.   He deceived his father and cheated his brother out of his rightful blessing.  Jacob then left home only to be cheated by his father-in-law when he worked for his beloved, Leah.    His future brother-in-laws got him drunk and married him off to the unattractive sister.   He then cheated his father-in-law by breeding flocks while his father-in-law’s flocks diminished.  Jacob was never easy.   He faced constant deception, deception he perpetrated and deception that was perpetrated on him.   

 

Finally deciding to return home, he sent everyone else away and was alone in the desert.   The next day he was to face his brother, Esau, who had sworn to kill him.   It was an impending and insurmountable crisis. 

 

We may have to, on some levels, suspend our limits and understandings of God to grasp what happens next.   A man came up to Jacob while he was alone and many understand this man to have been God or an angel.   Immediately, Jacob and this heavenly being began to wrestle.  With the stars overhead they wrestled all night until daybreak.   The common understanding of the story is that when daybreak came, this figure asked Jacob to let him go. 

 

The wrestler touched the socket of Jacob’s hip as he wrestled with him and even though Jacob was injured he still would not let go.   Then the wrestler said, “Let me go for it is daybreak.”  But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”  Then the wrestler asked him, “What is your name?”  “Jacob,” he answered.  Then the wrestler answered, “Your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel because you have struggled with God and with me and have overcome.”   After that the sun rose and Jacob was limping because of his hip and went and met his brother.

 

Jacob was a constant fighter.  His struggles were not so dissimilar to our struggles.  And I must say there are times I feel I have wrestled with God.  It is important to realize that Jacob was not a perfect man.  He was always imperfectly pushing but God saw his heart and blessed him.  

 

We are people who struggle and in our struggles we can also find the blessings of God.   We don’t have to be perfect to find places where God does indeed bless each one of us.  

 

Prayer:

Dear God, please bless me and help me to overcome my struggles.    Amen.