WRESTLING WITH GOD Kay Keith Peebles 4/10/2020 20.12
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible consistently reveals the same theme, although the characters change with each generation. Attitudes in the western church today are much like those in Israel in Jesus’ day. There is a sense of self-righteousness or entitlement which overrides the need for a serious pursuit of holiness and sanctification. The Jewish leaders were confronted by Jesus about the issue of circumcision. Although their bodies carried the “marks” of covenant with God and they were descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their hearts were so far from God they did not recognize their promised Messiah.
Some, like the western church and the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day, pursue the blessing (inheritance) without submission and obedience to His word. This produces a stagnant form of religion that is powerless and unfruitful. Others pursue the Lord by faith, seeking purity and sanctification that produces a lifestyle of the Lord’s favor and blessing and provides the assurance of eternal life with Him. See Matthew 25:1-14, the parable of the Ten Virgins.
The Grace of God demands there must be evidence of the fruit of righteousness in a believer’s life. “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14. The moment we receive Jesus as Savior and LORD, we are considered righteous. However, the Grace of God through the working of His Holy Spirit empowers us to surrender to His discipline of sanctification and purification. This process produces the lasting fruit of righteousness in us.
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat? Or ‘What shall we drink?’ Or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:25-33.
We can understand these concepts by looking at the story of Jacob and Esau. Rebekah’s womb was carrying two opposing personalities. Esau was a man of physical strength who had an appetite for pleasure. Jacob was a contemplator who sought the God of his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham. The two were twins in Rebekah’s womb and they were struggling with each other to gain the blessing of being the first born son, because the inheritance always came to the first born.
The Lord made it clear to Rebekah when she felt the wrestling in her womb that she was carrying two nations inside. Two opposing positions were vying for dominance. He told her, “Two nations are in your womb; and the separation of two nations has begun in your body; the one people shall be stronger than the other; and the older shall serve the younger.” See Genesis 25:23
It was not Esau’s physical strength that was the dominating force of which the Lord spoke to Rebekah. It was Jacob’s weakness that made him dependent upon the Lord and caused him to become stronger. When the time came for Isaac to die and pass down the inheritance and the blessing, the Lord had already determined who was to receive it. However, Isaac was more partial to Esau and fully intended to pass the inheritance down to him since he was his first born son. Rebekah remembered God had spoken that Jacob would rule over Esau so she chose to take matters into her own hands and drew Jacob into a plan to deceive Isaac.
Although years earlier Esau had quickly sold his inheritance to Jacob for a bowl of stew, he did not consider his folly binding, but the Lord did! “Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and got up and went his way. In this way Esau scorned his birthright.” Genesis 25:34. Jacob seized his own opportunity to barter the inheritance from Esau knowing his weakness for temporal pleasure. However, Jacob did not know how to obtain it from Isaac who would customarily pass it down to the eldest son before his death.
“Continually pursue peace with everyone, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many are defiled; and that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that later on, when he wanted his inheritance of the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, even though he sought for it with tears.” Hebrews 12:15-17.
After Jacob and Rebekah succeeded in deceiving Isaac for the blessing, Esau was filled with hatred toward Jacob and sought to kill him. Isaac blessed Jacob sending him away. Jacob fled to his uncle Laban in Haran to seek refuge and find a wife among his daughters. In anger, Esau retaliated against Isaac and sought Ishmael’s family to marry a wife from Canaan, whom Isaac had told Jacob not to marry because of their idolatry. Esau’s rebellion was complete. His descendants became the Amalakites who attacked the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness centuries later.
On his way to Haran, Jacob had an encounter with the Lord (pre-incarnate Jesus). Running in fear, and probably weighed down with guilt and condemnation, Jacob lay down to rest for the night. Even though the Lord had told Rebekah Jacob would be the one to whom Abraham’s inherited blessing would flow, it was gained through deceit of his father Isaac. Jacob obtained it by means of his flesh, but his strong desire for it and willingness to risk all to obtain it proved how much he valued his inheritance in God. That zeal must have pleased God.
Jacob lay down to rest and the Lord gave him a dream of angels ascending and descending on a stairway from earth to heaven. See Genesis 28:12. “And behold, the Lord stood over him and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land on which you are lying. And your offspring shall be as the sand of the ground, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and south; and by you and your Off-spring (Jesus) shall all the families of the earth be blessed…” See Genesis 28:13-15. Emphasis mine.
“And Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.’ He was afraid and said, ‘How to be feared and reverenced is the place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven!’ And he named that place Bethel [the house of God]. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear, so that I may come again to my father’s house in peace, the Lord shall be my God; and this stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument) shall be God’s house and of all that You give me I will give the tenth to You.’” Genesis 16-22.
This first and powerful encounter with the Lord was wonderful but Jacob’s wrestling was not over. He reached Laban’s home and immediately met Rachael whom he would eventually marry. Having no means to give Laban a dowry for her, he agreed to work for Laban for 7 years. The wedding day came and after the marriage was consummated, Jacob discovered he had been deceived by Laban, who had put Rachael’s older sister Leah behind the wedding veil. Distraught, Jacob agreed to work 7 more years for Rachael. His deceit of his father and Esau came back to haunt him but this time he sought the Lord for direction and guidance.
The grace of God which forgives us when we repent does not always remove all the consequences of our sin. Through this experience, Jacob gained compassion for his brother Esau, understanding what it felt like to be on the opposite end of deception. Because of his obedience to the Lord, Jacob learned his lesson and was blessed mightily by God. After 20 years of working for Laban, Jacob and his two wives and children left Laban’s household and began the journey back to Rebekah and Isaac.
While on the way home, Jacob received word that Esau had an entourage of 400 that was heading to meet him. Jacob cringed in fear because he expected a violent confrontation. Knowing Esau’s vow to kill him, Jacob planned to give him a generous portion of his herds and possessions hoping to appease his prior sins against him. He sent his family ahead of him and spent the night gripped by fear. All alone, he contemplated what would happen when Esau caught up with him.
“So Jacob was left alone, and a Man (Jesus) wrestled with him until daybreak. When the Man saw that He had not prevailed against Jacob, He touched his hip joint; and Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with Him. Then He said, ‘Let Me go, for day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing on me.’ So He asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob (to supplant, assail, circumvent, overreach), but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed’… So Jacob named the place Peniel (the face of God), saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, yet my life has not been snatched away.’” Genesis 32:30-32. Emphasis mine.
Not only did the Lord bless Jacob again, He removed all the blunders of his past and gave him a new name that would be honored and revered forever. When Esau met up with Jacob/Israel, he had no anger, hatred or enmity against him. They celebrated re-uniting. It was a miracle!
Some, like Esau, refuse to allow the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit to conquer their fleshly desires that continually lead them to sin. Jacob represents those who refuse to “let go” of God until their name and identity are completely changed. Wrestling with the Lord is contending for the faith. Refusing to let Him go without our breakthrough brings life-changing encounters which place an indelible mark upon us.
We were created in the image of Christ Jesus but born in the image of the world because of Adam’s sin. The battlefield of faith is fought in our mind. Where our fleshly passions once ruled our decision-making, we now contend for the Holy Spirit to rule and reign in our lives. Once this process is complete, we can enter into the rest of God, being raised up with Christ Jesus and seated in heavenly places with Him. As the Sons of God, we have taken on His nature and become one with Him. Those who tenaciously hold onto the Lord in order to receive their inheritance as sons of God will also wrestle with Him until His life is perfected in them. They will not only live fully by the principles of the Kingdom of God; they will also demonstrate its power by healing the sick, casting out demons, cleansing the lepers and raising the dead! Happy Resurrection Day!
