-Woah, this is really getting long. 8 parts. –
Yeah, this wasn’t the plan, but Jacob’s story aint over yet.
-Okay, so Jacob got his new name, what next? Surely, he’s been restored and can now go get his inheritance?-
Well let’s see.
When Jacob understood his new name, 29 Jacob said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ Then he blessed him there.
Funny thing is, Jacob didn’t need an answer to his question.
-What do you mean?-
He already had the answer.
-How?-
Okay, Jacob was just named Israel. What does Israel mean? May God prevail. He struggles with God. And when asked why he was named Israel, he was told: “for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
In order for Jacob to know the name of the man he struggled, all he needed to know was his own name. All he had to do was continue to tell himself who he was, and as he did, he would know who he struggled with, because their names were tied together.
We see in verse 29 that after Jacob realises who the man was, he was blessed straight afterwards, just as God promised him.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.’
Not only did Jacob realise that he had not overcome or prevailed against his opponent, but he understood that he was actually spared. It is kinda like when you’re playing with kids, and you go easy on them, to build up their confidence and teach them the game…before destroying them and killing all their hope.
-Erm, that last part-
Anyways, though the kids often know we are holding back, they still feel joyous because of it. God oftentimes will allow us to prevail in our struggles with Him in order to teach us something.
God dislocated Jacob’s hip, but he could’ve done so much worse. God let Jacob live out this struggle because through it, Jacob learnt where his blessing lies. Not in himself. But in God.
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
For the rest of Jacob’s life, his limp served as a constant reminder of his struggle with God. A constant reminder of where his blessing lies. A constant reminder that every step he takes is affected and impacted by God’s hand.
The question I’ve got to ask you is this:
Will it take God dislocating your hip, for you to recognise where your blessing lies?
-You’re joking right?-
Seriously, what has to happen to you for you to recognise who’s in control?
Would you rather be a blessed person with a limp or just another person who can keep on walking without a problem but also without a blessing?
-I mean…I don’t really want a limp. Maybe a little bop. I can work with a bop. Bops are cool right? Right?-
When I say limp, it may not always be a physical sacrifice. It might be lost time. It might be a friend. It might be a lover. It might be a job. It might be finances. Maybe even food…
-Are you saying my eating habits may be affecting my blessing? Mind your business bro. –
A small handicap for a huge blessing.
So, let’s start wrapping this up then, what happened between Jacob and Esau?
Well can I be honest, that was never the main point. I mean of course it feels like we’ve been building up to this big battle between Jacob and Esau at the end, after all they’ve been through. But maybe, just maybe, it’s all in our head, and was all in Jacob’s too.
You ever do something wrong to someone and you’re not sure if they even know that you’ve done it? So now you fear even seeing them because you don’t know how to interact with them. You don’t know where you stand with them. Suddenly you’re imagining the worst things possible. You’re already preparing excuses. Thinking of ways to pay them back. That was Jacob.
But this time Jacob knew that Esau knew, and that was even more terrifying.
Andddddd let’s end it there…until the final part next week.
My Sunday Skl 