Genesis 30-32

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Genesis 30:25-43

“And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. 27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake. 28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. 29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. 30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? 31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock. 32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. 33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. 34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. 35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36 And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks. 37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. 38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they come to drink. 39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle. 41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. 42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.”

Introduction

[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED536]

“Genesis chapter 30, we have followed Jacob to Padam-Aram where he has encountered his uncle Laban, he’s encountered his own gene-pool, and he’s been in trouble ever since. Laban of course making him work seven years for Rachel, and finding out that the morning after his wedding night that he woke up next to Leah and not Rachel, quickly learning the “customs” not so much of the land but of uncle Laban. And going through the process then of God seeing Jacob’s penchant towards Rachel, he’s deeply in love with her, Leah neglected, and then God opening the womb of Leah and we follow Zilpah and Bilhah and finally Rachel, where we ended the last time we were here, Rachel gives birth to Joseph in verse 24, verse 22 it of Genesis 30, it says “And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb, and she conceived and bare a son, and said, God hath taken away my reproach, and she called his name Joseph, and said, The LORD” she uses the word Jehovah [Yahweh] here, so growing in the knowledge of the true and living God, “The LORD shall add to me another son.”

After Joseph’s Born To Rachel, Jacob Tries To Break Free From Uncle Laban

Verse 25 is where we pick up, “And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.” Now we don’t know why Jacob, after 14 years, decides when Joseph is born, it says, ‘When she had born Joseph,’ there’s something in this, you know, he had loved Rachel, Rachel was the only woman he had wanted, he’s gotten himself into this circumstance with Laban. He had longed for Rachel to have children, Rachel had gotten him angry over the fact that she is barren, now finally this boy Joseph is born, and something in the birth, something in the coming from Rachel, something in all of this stirs Jacob’s remembrance of the promises that God had made him 14 years before at Bethel, something in this sequence, and he decides at this point in time ‘It’s time for me to go back, I’m not from Mesopotamia, I am from Canaan, there is a land where my future and my heritage both reside.’ So he decides it’s time for him to go to his own country. He says to Laban “Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.” (verses 26-27) ‘because of you I’ve been blessed.’ “And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.” (verse 28) Now there’s an interesting thing here, it is on Jacob’s heart, no doubt from the LORD, to return to Canaan. As he goes and makes this request to Laban, Laban says ‘Look, I have realized that blessing has come on my life because of you.’ We have no record of Jacob praying, or building an altar or sacrificing anything, and yet God had made a covenant with Jacob and God’s blessing was still on his life, and Laban wisely says ‘Hey, I’ve never been this blessed in my entire life, God is blessing me because of your presence, I don’t want you to leave, I want you to tarry, so name your price, I will give you a pay raise, whatever you want.’ That’s hard for a Jacob to pass up. It’s hard for the Jacob in any of us to pass up. You know, how many times in our lives is there a point when God is saying ‘Move on,’ God is saying ‘Step out,’ God is saying ‘Come back to the place I spoke you about long ago,’ God is calling us back to a first-love place, he’s leading us on. And all of a sudden some thing in the practical is too good to pass up, seems to raise up its head and say ‘Name your price. I know you think the Lord’s leading you, but if you stay here you get a raise, and you get whatever raise you want,’ and man it’s gonna cost him in more ways than one. And so it’s interesting of course, this is right up Jacob’s alley in some ways. He said ‘Appoint me thy wages,’ Laban’s saying, ‘I’ll give it to you.’ “And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?” (verses 29-30) ‘You know, you’re blessed and yet here I am now with four wives, eleven boys,’ and we don’t know how many girls, ‘I think I probably need to take care of my own future a little bit here.’ “And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.” (verse 31) ‘If you recognize God’s blessing on your life because of me, then let me have things this way.’ Now it’s a very interesting set of ideas here, and it’s a little bit hard to sort out, but I’ll do my best. He says ‘I don’t want you to do anything, but I want you to do this thing for me, then I’ll keep your flock again.’ “I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.” (verse 32) ‘This is what I’m going to do Laban, if it’s ok with you. I’m going to go through all of your flocks of goats,’ and in this part of the world the purebred goats were all black, the purebred sheep were all white, we hear Isaiah say ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they’ll be as white as wool.’ He says this, ‘Let me go through your flocks, and I’ll remove, I’ll leave all of the black goats, and let me separate out from them all of the speckled and spotted goats, let me go through all of your white sheep, and I’ll remove all of the brown ones that have been born, and will separate them.’ And what he’s going to say to him here, it seems, and it seems remarkable. He says ‘You take then all of the speckled goats and all of the brown sheep and put them with your sons and your men, and let them go and get away from here, and leave me here with all of your pure black goats and all of your white sheep, and from this point on, any speckled goats that are born and any brown sheep that are born, will be mine.’ Now Laban’s gonna think ‘This kid’s got hit on the head with a rock, this is the best deal ever,’ he’s gonna say ‘Well of course.’ “So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.” (verses 33-36) So, we’re going to see what happens. What’s going to happen is, Jacob’s then going to start to keep Laban’s flocks, all the white sheep and all the black goats, and the black goats are going to start to have speckled and straked kids, and the white sheep are going to start to have brown sheep hues, and then it’s going to increase to the point where Laban’s going to get mad and say ‘Oh no, no, no, let’s change this, ok, all of the speckled and brown sheep will be mine, and all of the black goats and white sheep will be yours,’ and finally Jacob’s going to say ‘Hey, you have changed my wages ten times,’ and each time Laban does it God continues to bless Jacob. We’ll look at it here and see what it is. It’s part of a process, so we’re not going to camp here, but we’ll move through this. He says ‘That will be my hire, of such will be born from now on,’ the idea is, “So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face:” (verse 33a) ‘you will know, Laban, that it is God’s blessing.’ “So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.” ‘If you see me with any white sheep or black goats, you know that it’s stolen.’ “And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.” ‘And Laban said, that is a good deal for me.’ because he’s thinking ‘if I don’t have the speckled goats interbreeding with the black ones, and the brown sheep breeding with the white sheep, he’s not going to have much of a chance of increasing.’ He didn’t know anything about dominant and recessive genes obviously, but he’s thinking along those lines and he doesn’t know it. “And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.” This is Laban, “And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.” (verses 35-36) So what he does, is he takes, he gives all of the brown sheep and speckled goats, Laban does, to his own sons and separates them three days journey away from Jacob, so he knows that he’s not up to anything, and then Jacob goes out to keep his flocks then with all the white sheep and all of the black goats. Ok now, don’t ask me about this, all right? I’ve read a hundred opinions on it and I don’t know if anybody’s got the right one, he’s going to come around and say ‘God did it, anyway.’ “And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they come to drink.” (verses 37-38) So he takes these different types of wood and peels the bark so that they’re streaky looking, and he puts them in the trough where they drink. Now some say sap or something that did this, nobody knows, but I don’t think that Jacob knew either, but he’s doing what he’s doing, he’s being Jacob that’s for sure. And as the females are coming to drink, they’re breeding right there, and he’s doing this hoping that they’ll conceive then straked and speckled offspring, “And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle.” (verses 39-40) So now as he’s getting brown sheep and speckled goats, he’s setting them aside from Laban’s. “And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.” (verse 41) So don’t ask me, but what it’s saying is, the healthiest goats and the healthiest sheep, as they conceived, he kept these rods and straked and speckled branches before them. “But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.” (verse 42) Not only is he getting speckled goats and brown sheep, he’s getting stronger ones, and the white sheep and black goats are getting weaker as time goes on. “And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.” (verse 43)

31:1-55

“And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. 2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. 3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. 4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock. 5 And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. 6 And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. 7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. 8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle that bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. 9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. 10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. 11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. 14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? 15 Are we not counted of him as strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money. 16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do. 17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; 18 and he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padam-Aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. 19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s. 20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. 21 So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead. 22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. 23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. 24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. 25 Then Leban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? 27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? 28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. 29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spoke unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. 30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? 31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. 32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. 33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the two maidservants’ tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not. 35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images. 36 And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me? 37 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both. 38 This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. 39 That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. 40 Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. 41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. 42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight. 43 And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine; and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? 44 Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. 45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. 46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap. 47 And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. 48 And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; 49 and Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. 50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. 51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; 52 this heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. 53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount. 55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.”

Jacob Hears That Laban’s Not Happy With Him

So he’s somewhere, Jacob, at a family gathering somewhere, and he happens to overhear Laban’s sons speaking saying “And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.” (verse 1) because they’re the heirs of Laban’s wealth. They’re discontent, they’re angry. Jacob overhears, “And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.” (verse 2) So he looks at uncle Laban and uncle Laban is a sourpuss, he is not happy at all with what’s going on here. And through this process now, Jacob’s focus is going to come back to verse 25, where he said ‘Let me go back to my homeland, let me go back.’ Laban just had to say ‘Let me increase your pay,’ and Jacob stayed, he tarried instead of leaving. What God has to do now is create a situation where everybody else is miserable with him, picking on him, discontent with him, and when he looks around at other people’s faces he’s just saying ‘I do not want to be here anymore.’ Now look, God’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. If God asks you to move on and go somewhere, and for a higher price you decide to stay, and it seems like you’re being blessed, don’t be surprised as time goes on, if everybody’s growling at you, ‘Growlllll,’ if everybody’s giving you those looks, ‘nobody likes me,’ if God can’t move you through obedience, he’ll move you through disobedience, he’s going to win. “And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.” (verse 3) now God speaks to him again. And this is the first time we hear specifically, the LORD had no doubt spoken to him, but put it on his heart. And God would much rather have us obedient as he puts an impression on our heart, but now it says the LORD “spake” unto Jacob, “Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.” gives him one sentence, plain vanilla, no confusion, ‘I want you to go back.’ No mention of prayer, of an altar, God comes and speaks to him. “And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock.” (verse 4) Now he doesn’t talk to the eleven boys or their sister, they’re young. He doesn’t talk to Bilhah and Zilpah, they may still have some loyalty towards Laban, he gets to himself his two wives, Rachel and Leah, and he now has a conversation with them. He takes them out in the field where they won’t be overheard, “And said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.” (verses 5-7) ‘Awh, poor Jacob, somebody’s deceived you.’ He’s got a little bit of amnesia right now, doesn’t he? ‘And he’s changed my wages ten times,’ so we’re not given those details, Laban must have been saying ‘OK, we’re changing this, from now on you get the white sheep and you get the black goats and I’ll get the streaked ones,’ and evidently this keeps going back and forth, because whatever side Jacob is on seems to be the productive side, ‘he changed my wages ten times.’ “If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle that bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.” (verses 8-10) God showed him in a dream the gene-pool in the mating process that God was going to give birth, it had nothing to do with the sticks in the watering troughs, that God was going to give him favour. “And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.” (verses 11-13) 20 years after Bethel, 20 years after Bethel. Is God faithful? You know, maybe you’re seventeen now, and God’s asking you to do something, and you’re thinking ‘I’m going to do whatever I want to do.’ No you’re not. Because when you’re 37 he’s gonna still be talking to you. This is 20 years later. “I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?” (verses 13-14) ‘Hey, we understand, we’re not getting anything, he’s our father and we’re not getting anything out of this.’ “Are we not counted of him as strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.” (verse 15) ‘He sold us to you for seven years of labour, what do you think he thinks of us? and he’s not given us anything, we have no money of the inheritance.’ “For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.” (verse 16) and it’s a great thing when your wife confirms your leading, particularly when you’re talking about picking up and moving, she’s going to say many times ‘Are you sure? are you sure?’ It’s wonderful when your wife says ‘Do it,’ then you know God’s speaking, then you know. Wisdom is always in the feminine gender in the Old Testament, so when your wife says ‘Go for it, Honey,’ then you’re scared to death. ‘Really? Maybe we should pray about it a little longer.’ “Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; and he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padam-Aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.” (verses 17-19) So, Laban goes to shear his sheep, there’s still blessing there because of Jacob. Jacob is still scheming, even though God told him to go, he’s loading up everything while Laban’s away. Rachel as a chip off the old block, doesn’t want to leave without stealing her dad’s gods, [ah, what a family] so she sneaks in the house and steals the teraphim, the gods of her father. They were probably little Baals. And in that day the Code of Hammurabi said you would be put to death if you stole someone’s gods. Now it’s a no-brainer if somebody can steal your god, you got the wrong god. If somebody can break into your house when you’re not there and steal your god, choose again. But it happens to people everyday, doesn’t it, people break in and steal their gods. The little Baals in that day, there would be a Baal of wheat, a little Baal for oil, a little Baal for fertility, a little idol for the vineyards, a little idol for weather, so you’d have all these little Baals in your house, and supposedly they brought all of those blessings. And to steal that from someone, you were stealing their wellbeing. Well Rachel still doesn’t have Jehovah-God straight in her mind. She’s a chip off the old block, so she’s going to take all the blessings, so she, unbeknownst to her husband Jacob, she stole the images that were in her father’s house.

Jacob Runs Away From Laban, Taking His Wives & 11 Sons

“And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead. And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.” (verses 20-22) So three days later he finds out he’s gone. Three days, he’s got flocks, he’s got kids, he’s gotta have at least a 60 mile, I mean, I believe he’s hoofing it, he’s worried about Laban, he’s gotta have at least a 50, 60 mile lead on him anyway. And it says “And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.” (verses 23-24) he says to Laban ‘Alright Bub, hands off, Jacob is mine, you better be careful that you don’t do anything good or bad to him.’ “Then Leban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.” (verse 25) Now look, all of this while, here’s Jehovah, Yahweh in the background blessing and protecting Jacob. Had a calling on his life, and a purpose for his life, and though Jacob in many ways is not cooperating, he’d rather stay somewhere he shouldn’t be because he gets a raise, all of these things, God is still active on his behalf. “Then Leban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.” they must have come close enough to see his encampment, “And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?” (verses 25-26) your two girls couldn’t wait to get away from you. “Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?” (verse 27) ‘I wanted to have a going away party, and cut your head off.’ Imagine if God hadn’t come to him in a dream and told him ‘Don’t you touch him,’ you think God did that and said to himself ‘Oh, I didn’t know why I did that, I really didn’t need to do that? He was going to be nice to Jacob.’ No, God knew. This is the gene-pool, he comes and says ‘I can’t believe you left, you took my daughters at the point of the sword, I wanted to have a big going-away party for you.’ “And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spoke unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.” (verses 28-29) And I have a feeling when God comes to you and says ‘Look out,’ it’s crystal clear. “And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?” (verse 30) This is after the True and Living God came and spoke to him, now he’s worried about his little gods, ‘Why have you stolen my gods?’ Make sure your god can’t be stolen. “And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.” (verses 31-32) Now it wasn’t yet written “I’m the LORD thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me,” but Jacob knew that because his grandfather Abraham had left Ur of the Chaldees and all of that idolatry to follow the True and Living God. Jacob knew well at this point in time, he’s a believer, God had appeared to him at Bethel, he knew there was one God. “whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live:” ‘Find somebody in my camp with your gods, kill him.’ “before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the two maidservants’ tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah’s tent, and entered into Rachel’s tent.” (verses 32b-33) You can imagine, he’s tearing it all apart, you’ve seen those movies, looking through the drawers, dumping stuff out. “Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture,” in the camel’s saddle, on the side-bags “and sat upon them.” If someone can put your god in the camel’s side-bag, you have the wrong god, ok? “And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.” (verse 34) If they were real gods, they would have been saying ‘You’re getting warm, warm, we’re over here!’ He searched the whole tent, he didn’t find them, “And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.” (verse 35) ‘I’m having my period, and I have PMS and you do not, don’t ask me to stand up. I’m sitting on the camel’s saddle, the camel is dead because he gave me a hard time today, but I’m sitting here.’ So she’s a chip off the old block, she’s lying and scheming, and Laban’s getting a dose of his own medicine here, ‘Don’t start with me.’ “And he searched, but found not the images.” Now if someone can sit on your gods, I just want to make this clear all along the way, you have the wrong god if somebody can sit on your god, you know. “And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?” (verse 36) Jacob blows a gasket, everything’s torn apart, all of the tents, he’s gone through everything, “and Jacob was wroth,” the word means “to burn,” “and chode with Laban” the word “chode” means “to seethe and to tear.” So this is it, Jacob finally just steam blows out of his ears. Jacob’s 90-years old, he’s only middle aged because he lives to be 175, [no, Jacob lives to be 147 years old, Genesis 47:28, it was Abraham who lived to be 175 years old] so he’s still in pretty good shape. “And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me? Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff,” ‘Look, it’s all over the ground, you tore up my whole camp, “what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.” (verses 36-37) ‘Put it here, where’s your stupid little gods!?’ “This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.” (verses 38-39) He said ‘I kept your flocks, God blessed, and it anything got injured, I considered that my loss, I didn’t come to you and say a lion or a wolf killed this animal,’ “Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.” (verses 40-41) You know, he’s just blowing steam, this is years of frustration pouring out now. You have to be careful, ok. Because we’re representatives of the True and Living God. God’s not telling Jacob to mince Laban up in little pieces. He says “Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle:” I don’t know what that says for the girls, that’s one more year than the cattle to get girls, “and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.” (verses 41b-42) Jacob is steaming. “And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine; and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?” (verse 43) You know, Laban’s saying ‘I’m the patriarch, all of this is related to me,’ he knows he can’t do anything because God spoke to him, “Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap. And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.” (verses 44-47) and the idea is “heap of witness,” “And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; and Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.” (verses 48-49) “Mizpah” has the idea of a watchtower, but it isn’t in a negative sense. People kind of take that in a kind of romantic way, and they get these little half-coins, I have half the coin, you have half the coin, and it means God watch between us while we’re not together. Well they’re putting this up in a very negative sense, saying ‘God is witness between us! This is a pillar here, and this is Galeed, and this is Jegarsahadutha, this is Mizpah, this is the place of testimony between us, God is witness,’ it’s in a very stern sense, “If thou shalt afflict my daughters,” Laban says “or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.” (verse 50) Now there’s no evidence ever that Jacob would ever do anything like that. “or if thou take other wives beside my daughters,” Laban, he only wanted one, Rachel, ‘You’re the one that stuck me with all the other ones,’ “no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.” “And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; this heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.” (verses 51-52) So there’s no law here that they can never visit, but the idea is there’s mistrust. “The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount. And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.” (verses 53-55) and he is gone, he is off the page, gone, going home pouting because he couldn’t find his little gods. The real True and Living God had come and revealed himself to him.

Genesis 32:1-32

“And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. 3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: 5 and I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; 8 and said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape. 9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. 11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. 12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. 13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; 14 two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, 15 thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. 16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. 17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? 18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us. 19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. 20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me. 21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company. 22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. 23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. 32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.”

Jacob, On The Way Home, Is Terrified Of What Esau Might Do

“And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.” (verse 1) as he is in obedience now, coming back to the land of Promise, it says the angels of God met him, 20 years after the last time he had seen the angels of God [Stairway to Heaven]. God is so patient to work in our lives. The angels of God met him. They had been there, an angel was involved in the dream for him (Genesis 31:11-12), God’s faithfulness had been there. But we can spend 20 years and not at all be aware of God’s superintending your life, of his care, his tenderness. And how many times do we get through a set of circumstances, when we get to the other side and we look back and say ‘Lord Jesus, now I see why you were telling me to do that. Now from here I see your hand, I see your faithfulness, in hindsight Lord, I see your love and your grace.’ “the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.” (verses 1b-2) which is “two hosts.” So I guess there was one host of angels that were watching him with Laban, and there’s another host of angels that’s going to watch him as Esau approaches, I don’t know, two hosts, two hosts of angels. “And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.” (verse 3) now one problem is gone, Laban is gone. Jacob coming back into the land, seeing the angels, remembers ‘Oh ya, Hairy, I fled 20 years ago when he wanted to kill me, swore to kill me when I come back, the Laban problem is gone, the Hairy problem is being reborn here, I probably should tell my wives and kids about uncle Hairy.’ “And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:” (verses 3-4) this is going to be one of the best butter-up jobs you’ve ever seen in your life here, ok. God told him to come back, God told him he would bless him, Jacob appreciates all of that, but he’s going to make sure it happens smoothly, by his own contribution. ‘say to my lord Esau,’ notice “Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: and I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.” (verses 4-5) ‘Go tell Esau, I’m not coming for my inheritance, I got plenty, you don’t have to worry about anything.’ “And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.” (verse 6) ‘Hey, it’s funny, we came to thy brother Esau, we met him, he is coming to meet you, with 400 guys with him.’ [And looking at whom the Edomites became, they were probably riding on horseback, galloping along like a troop.] There’s a monkey wrench in the works. “Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;” maybe he figured one group of angels could watch each one, “and said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.” (verses 7-8) at least I’ll get away with half my stuff.’ “And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:” (verse 9) now it’s going to be a very sincere prayer, he’s going to tell God that he’s afraid, and he’s going to pour out his heart before God in a wonderful way. But he’s also going to say ‘I’ve devised this plan, now bless it.’ He doesn’t even give God multiple choice, you know, ‘I came up with three ideas, which one do you like?’ Jacob says, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:” (verse 9) ‘Hairy’s coming, but you told me if I come back you would deal well with me,’ “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,” and I think he’s being completely genuine, “and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.” (verse 10) ‘I’ve doubled, I’ve got these two huge companies, all I had was this staff when I left Canaan.’ And this staff, what a history lesson this staff has been witness to, because we’re going to see at the end of Jacob’s life when he blesses his 12 sons, it says he leans upon his staff and he blesses them, then he pulls his feet up into the bed and gives up the ghost, this staff is a very interesting piece in his life. “Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.” (verse 11) ‘LORD, you promised to bless me, here I am, I did what you said, but Hairy’s coming, he’s got 400 guys with him,’ “And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.” (verse 12) ‘LORD, your plans are all tied up in this,’ “And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present” the idea is, a bribe, “for Esau his brother;” (verse 13) now he’s taking everything back into his own hands, where he said ‘God, this is what I want you to do, I’m afraid, this is what you promised me, I’m putting this in your hands, for about 15 minutes, then I’m going to take it back into my hands.’ You cannot relate to that at all, that only happened in the Old Testament, I’m just kidding of course. This is not a doctrinal thing, it’s a joke. Here’s the present, and it gives you an idea of his wealth, “two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.” (verse 14-15) 580 animals he’s sending as a present, to his brother. “And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.” (verse 16) ‘I want to wear him down, layer upon layer, present upon present, bribe upon bribe. “And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.” (verses 17-18) ‘Each time he asks I want you to say ‘Oh, these are for you, a present from Jacob,’ and then he’s going to move on further, and the next wave comes, ‘What are these?’ ‘These are a present for you, from Jacob my lord,’ then the next layer comes, ‘What are these?’ ‘These are a present from Jacob,’ you can just imagine. “And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said,” now here’s his scheming, “I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.” (verses 19-20) ‘Perhaps he won’t kill me then, he’ll be softened.’ “So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.” (verse 21) Now I wonder if he’s thinking ‘My poor servants, if Esau’s really mad he’ll just murder them and take everything,’ he’s more worried about his own hide. And it says “And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.” (verses 22-23) now he sends them in front of him too, thinking ‘Well maybe if he’s really, really mad, and he meets my four wives and my 11 sons and my daughter, and if he kills all them, I’ll get away.’ What is he thinking? He’s a desperate man, he made his plans, he tries to lay down at night, he can’t sleep, he gets up in the night and he sends them over in the dark. Now there’s no street lights, we don’t know if it’s a full moon, he’s sending them out into the dark, sending them on their way ahead of him. Are the kids crying, saying ‘I don’t want to go, uncle Hairy’s coming, I don’t want to go.’ Just imagine. Now he’s at the Jabbok, Jabbok means “emptying.” Twenty years he’s been on his way to Jabbok.

The Purpose Of The LORD’s Wrestling Match With Jacob

It says in verse 24, “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.” At Bethel, 20 years before this, he found belief. It’s at Jabbok that he finds sanctification, 20 years later. It was at Bethel 20 years earlier where he found faith, it’s here where he finds the behaviour of a believer. It was 20 years earlier at Bethel he kind of found salvation. Now it’s 20 years later at Jabbok, an emptying, where he finally finds brokenness. Isn’t it interesting, the process of our lives. You know, certainly we’re saved, and certainly he believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but it will take 20 years until he’s alone. His flocks are gone, his herds are gone, his wealth is gone, his beloved Rachel is gone, Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah, the handmaidens, the children, he’s all alone, he’s all alone. And God is so patient to get us to that place of emptying where we’re alone with him. And I believe we get there in different degrees as life goes on, you know God works, and there are different times and different circumstances in our lives where we say Uncle and we surrender to him, and we’re more emptied than we were before that experience. And he’s so patient, if it takes 20 years, if it takes 10 years. Because Jacob, his name is going to be changed to Israel in this wrestling, this night of wrestling. You may have a gloss in your column that says that means “prince of God.” In around the Hebrew where you have a verb compound name with “El,” in a few places where it’s Ya, there’s 40 circumstances in the Old Testament where “El” God is compound with a verb, Isra-El is a combination, then it’s always nominative and God always practices whatever the verb is in every instance. So Isra-El is “God commands.” Some rightly say “Governed by God,” God is commanding after this encounter with Jacob. Something has changed. God changes his name from Jacob to Israel, “commanded of God, governed by God.” Yes, a prince as it were, but the movement of the word signifies that God is the one now calling the shots in this man’s life. 20 years it took him to come to Jabbak, and he’s there alone. No lights, does he have a fire going, does that help? You’re in the middle of the night, you’re camped by a river, a brook, you can hear the noise. Is the fire crackling? Every time you hear a noise somewhere around you, are you thinking ‘Hairy, it’s Hairy, he’s got a knife, he’s sneaking up on me.’ How unsettling this night must be. And I’m sure that in the process, when he’s all alone, everything he always thought was valuable is gone, he must be saying ‘God,’ he must be back to that, ‘You promised, LORD, you said you would bless, LORD.’ And somewhere out of the dark now, a hand grabs him. Now I would just have a heart attack and die. I’m sure the first thing Jacob does, after he composes himself, is swing over and see if it feels like a goat, to see if it’s Hairy that’s got him. It says “And Jacob was left alone” he’s at his Gethsemane as it were, where he’s going to finally say ‘Not my will, but thine be done.’ “and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.” (verse 24) there wrestled a man with him. Very interesting word “wrestled.” It is the word “vapour” or “dust.” It’s nowhere else used in the Old Testament, wrestling, only in this circumstance, vapour, or dust, signifying the dust of the ground. And Hebrew scholars feel that it’s used here because the LORD came and wrestled with Jacob, down into the dirt, into the dust. We know it’s not just a spiritual wrestling or a symbolic wrestling or just a dream, because a dream doesn’t put your hip out of joint. He’s going to limp for the rest of his life. He has an encounter here, someone appears, and begins to wrestle with him, and wrestled with him all night. Jacob is not the initiator, Jacob is not wrestling with the person, the person is wrestling with Jacob. The person wants Jacob to give, because we’re going to find out that the person is the LORD. Hosea would say this to us, “He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he has power with God, yea, he had power over the Angel and prevailed,” and then he says “he wept and made supplication unto him.” [the Biblical grammarist] say that the language demands that the weeping and begging took place during the wrestling and not afterwards. So somewhere in this process Jacob gets a sense of who he’s wrestling with, it says “he found him at Bethel, “Even the LORD God of hosts, the LORD is his memorial.” So it goes on to say clearly Jacob is wrestling with the LORD. He prevails with him, it tells us in Hosea, through supplication and weeping. You know, we wonder how the evening started out, Jacob is still spry, he’s wrestling, and God is at any point able to touch his thigh and take away his strength, could have done that in the first moment. He would much rather have Jacob yield. And God is always going to touch whatever we feel is the strength and self-confidence and natural talents of our life that are keeping us from the full blessing that he desires to place upon us. God is wrestling with Jacob unto Jacob’s benefit, not to God’s benefit. And there are some here this evening God is wrestling with you, because he wants to bless you. And you may be as stubborn as Jacob, wrestling all night long, and God is saying give up your pride, he’s got you, full-nelson, a headlock, forget your pride, I want to bless you, you’re going ‘No! I’m not giving it up,’ ‘Let go of this money, I want to bless you,’ ‘No, I won’t give,’ ‘You’re in this relationship, I have a better thing for you,’ ‘no, I won’t give…’ and aren’t we like that? God says ‘This is what we should have in a relationship, sexual sin is wrong, you shouldn’t be in this, you, you shouldn’t be in this circumstance, you shouldn’t be doing this,’ you’re in your self-confidence, you think your musical gifts, you’re thinking all of this is you, ‘And I am not able to bless because you don’t have it in the right lens, you don’t have it in the right perspective, you don’t have it in the right place, you’re self-confident, yes, you’re a believer, but you are not yet a broken individual. Yes, you are a believer, but your life is not yet set aside, yes, you’re a believer but your strength is not yet in me, it’s still in yourself. And if you’re going to be the father of the 12 tribes, and you’re going to begin one of the greatest movements in history, all of your offspring need to understand who I am and who you are.’ And he wrestles there with Jacob, condescending, stooping down. “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him,” Jacob is being stubborn “he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.” (verses 24-25) that doesn’t sound like any fun. “And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” (verse 26) Hosea tells us this process occurred with weeping and supplication, saying “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” He has seen something in the face of this wrestler, he realized that in one instant he could have just touched me in the beginning and defeated me, he’s been so gracious with me, and now the LORD is saying ‘Let me go, let me go.’ It isn’t that he can’t get away. Any of you that have raised kids, my little daughter when the kids were little, she’d just come in and just hang on me, and I’d have to leave, and I’d say ‘Come on Honey, let me go, give me a kiss, let me go, I have to go, let me go,’ I could have gone at any point ‘Whack!’ I mean, she’s just 3, it’s not a question of, ‘Come on Honey, I have to go,’ ‘Give me a kiss before you go,’ just ‘I’m not going to let go until you bless me.’ Because he’s going to say to him “And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.” (verse 27) “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.” (verses 28-29) Because he’s going to say to him ‘What’s your name?’ and the LORD’s going to say ‘Why do you ask me my name?’ And Jacob will call the place Peniel, which is “the face of God,” the face of God. 20 years God waited, 20 years God patient, longsuffering, wanting to bless, wanting Jacob to be done with himself, his heel-catching as a supplanter, as a conniver, 20 years waiting, watching over, caring for, and now finally face to face, because God initiated it and God would not stop, he wrestled with him. ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking,’ and he said ‘I will not let thee go,’ weeping, ‘except you bless me.’ “And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.” (verse 27) 20 years before someone had asked him that question and he said ‘Esau, your son,’ to steal the blessing. And now comes “What is your name?” and he said ‘Jacob, heel-catcher, stubborn, willful, rebellious, selfwilled, Jacob, that’s my name.’ “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” (verse 28) Power with me, God’s blessing on his life, power with God as he learned in supplication and weeping and seeking God and pouring out his heart. And God responds, and God meets. “And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.” (verse 29) didn’t really answer him, “And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (verse 30) Imagine, imagine, imagine wrestling, terrified at first, the wrestling goes on, dust, vapour, the wrestling, and Jacob realizing, getting a sense of who it is on the other end. The morning beginning to come, trying to get a look at his face as the morning’s coming, and a touch, he’s defeated, his hip is out of joint, he’s in agony, but by now he’s weeping, he’s making supplication, and the voice is saying ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking,’ ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ ‘What’s your name, son?’ ‘stubborn, selfwilled, carnal, self-assured, self-confident, Jacob’ ‘Here’s the blessing, I’m changing your name, you will no longer be Jacob, you will be Israel, governed of God, and in that you will have influence with men and with God.’ ‘Tell me your name?’ ‘Why?’ “And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (verses 29c-30) “And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.” (verse 31) You could see him now coming on his staff, he’s limping, coming. And they could see Jacob, Leah, the kids, ‘Jacob, what’s wrong? Jacob, what happened? Jacob, why are you limping?’ ‘My name is not Jacob, my name is Israel,’ he’s a different man, he was emptied [of pride, self-confidence, self-assurance, scheming, self-will] at Jabbok, the place of emptying. And the children saw a different look upon his face, they sense a different tone in his voice, and he would struggle, but this is the place where the man was broken, this is the place where the man yields, this is the place where the man is left alone…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Genesis 30:25-43, Genesis 31:1-55 and Genesis 32:1-32, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]