Jacob and the Promise of Presence
For Meditation
We’re continuing our new sermon series this week called Pointing to the Promise in which we're exploring signposts of the coming Kingdom of God throughout the Old Testament.
This Sunday, we’ll be taking a look at the character of Jacob, in particular the story in which he wrestles with a mysterious figure found in Genesis 32:22–32. In preparation for worship this week, I encourage you to take a look at the whole story of Jacob from Genesis 25 through this week's passage. You’ll notice that Jacob's life is full of wrestling—he came out of the womb wrestling with his twin brother Esau, and he never stops wheeling and dealing and looking out for Number One.
In spite of Jacob's less-than-exemplary behavior, we note that God regularly shows up in his life in very real ways: Jacob's story has a surprising number of “theophanies,” or visible appearances of God and His messengers. Over and over again, God pulls back the veil between heaven and earth and gives Jacob a glimpse of what's happening behind the scenes in the heavenly realm, the ways God is protecting him, providing for him, and remaining present with him through uncertainty. This week we’ll explore why God does this, what it tells us about the coming Kingdom of God, and what assurance it brings to us today, even as we wrestle for our own blessings.
Scripture Reading | Genesis 32:22–32
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.