From Jacob to Israel

Bible Passage: Genesis 32:22-32

I. About Jacob

1. A deceiver (cf. 27:36; 31:26)
2. A fugitive for about two decades (cf. 27:43)
3. A trickster by nature (30:43)
4. A man who lived with constant fear and consequences of his deceptive deeds (31:11)
5. A family of unpleasant track record
6. Despite his deception and trickery, God met Jacob in Bethel and affirmed His covenant with him (28:10-15 )

a. The story of Jacob is not about how good, righteous, and religious Jacob was
b. But it is all about God who sovereignly chose Isaac and worked through his sinful, messed up life
c. So that, he will not take credit for his life, but worshipfully attribute everything to God—it’s a preview of the Gospel

7. Through harshness of life over many decades, God protected Jacob in his journey from Beersheba to Padan Aram and now on his way to Canaan (31)

a. God blessed Jacob with wives, children, and wealth
b. God protected Jacob from Laban
c. But now, Jacob is afraid of his brother Esau

i. Gen 32:6 the messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him
ii. 32:7a Jacob was very afraid and upset

8. Jacob now has wealth, family, and substance to live in abundance
9. Jacob was left alone (32:22) at the river Jabbok

a. A vulnerable place—Jacob prays a long prayer: verse 9
b. This is the beginning of new Jacob (self-sufficient Jacob feeling helplessness)
c. A point of complete brokenness
d. Someone who tried to bless himself by going any extend of cheating, deception, and trickery

10. “A Man” visits Jacob in the night and wrestles with him till the dawn (verse 22)

a. The identity of “the Man” is not revealed

i. Most Christian interpreters of this passage look at “the Man” as Jesus (Justin Martyr, Luther, etc.)
ii. According to them, the Man here is the pre-incarnate Jesus—Christophany

b. The identity of “the Man” becomes clearer as the day breaks

i. God Himself—neither the Man nor the narrator reveal the name
ii. Gen 32:26 Then the Man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, “unless you bless me”

c. Jacob called the place where this happened “Peniel” meaning “I have seen God face to face and have survived” (verse 30)

i. He was afraid of his brother Esau: “Rescue me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children”
ii. The meaning of Peniel: “I have seen God face to face and have survived”
iii. In other words, God let him live even after seeing God—this gives him the courage to live further without fear of being attacked by his brother, Esau

d. God met Jacob at his vulnerable and utterly broken point of his life

11. The Man changes Jacob’s name from Jacob to Israel

a. Gen 32:27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob”
b. Gen 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the Man told him, “but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have prevailed”
c. Jacob means “cheater”—by telling his name, he confessed who was

i. Heal grabber
ii. Stealer of someone’s birth right
iii. Deceiver of his dad
iv. Trickster in his father-in-law’s house
v. With his original character, Jacob would not re-enter Canaan, which is going to be the Promised Land

d. Israel means “the one who strives with God” or “God fights”

i. Jacob had to be completely changed before he receives blessings from “the Man”
ii. Verse 28: “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the Man told him, “but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have prevailed”

12. Jacob was trying to bless himself through cheating, deception, and trickery
13. He seemed to have prevailed till now with his old traits, but he needs to live henceforth with God fighting for him

a. This is going to determine his life henceforth, i.e., the life in Canaan
b. Jacob will win only when God fights for him
c. Jacob started limping symbolically he needed to depend on God rather than remaining self-sufficient (verse 31)

i. Gen 32:31 The sun rose over him as he crossed over Penuel, but he was limping because of his hip
ii. God restricted Jacob’s natural strength, but his life and future was in the Hands of the One who restricted him

d. Gen 28 Jacob exits Canaan and Gen 32 Jacob re-enters Canaan
e. God appears to him in Bethel “the Ladder” and God appears to him again in Peniel “the Man”
f. At Bethel God promises him to bless and bring him back, and in Peniel God fulfills His promise of bringing him safely
g. When he went to Bethel, it was the evening; at Peniel it was the morning (a new beginning)
h. God delivered Jacob from his fear of his brother (exited Canaan with the fear of his brother and now re-enters Canaan with no fear of his fear)
i. This story resembles the story of Israel that it can continue to exist only when God fights for her or only when it strives with her God

II. Principles

1. God fights for His people
2. God’s children need to be broken and be surrendered to God before they see breakthrough in their life
3. God’s children must renounce self-sufficiency and their desire to live and progress independently without God and His help
4. God saves His children from that which threatens them and transforms the situation
5. John 14:6 Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me
6. John 10:7 I am the door for the sheep
7. No one comes to the Father with their self-sufficiency and self-effort
8. Just as Jacob met the Man in Peniel, you and I need to meet Jesus the Man to enter the Kingdom of God
9. No one enters the Kingdom of God as Jacob, but God needs to make them Israel (God fights)

Takeaway:

Be broken and vulnerable before God because your survival is based on how God fights for you or how you strive with God for your survival