TAKING THE RISK OF KNOWING GOD
Genesis 32:22-30
Rev. Paul Wrightman 6/25/23
WE CONTINUE OUR SERMON SERIES
ON THE MOST IMPORTANT TEXTS IN THE BIBLE.
LAST WEEK WE WERE INTRODUCED
TO THE HIGHLY DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY
OF ISAAC AND REBECCA, ESAU AND JACOB.
WE SAW HOW ISAAC BLATANTLY FAVORED ESAU,
AND HOW REBECCA BLATANTLY FAVORED JACOB.
WE WITNESSED
JACOB'S MANIPULATION OF HIS BROTHER
TO TRICK HIM OUT OF HIS BIRTHRIGHT.
CONCURRENTLY, WE WITNESSED
ESAU'S FOCUS ON IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION,
AND HOW HE NONCHALANTLY
SOLD HIS BIRTHRIGHT
FOR A BOWL OF LENTIL SOUP.
THINGS WENT FROM BAD TO WORSE
WHEN ISSAC WAS READY TO BESTOW
HIS SOLEMN BLESSING ON HIS ELDEST-SON, ESAU,
AND REBECCA AND JACOB
SUCCESSFULLY CONNIVED TO STEAL
ESAU'S BLESSING AS WELL.
NOT SURPRISINGLY, ESAU
THREATENED TO KILL JACOB,
AND JACOB FLED FOR HIS LIFE
TO THE LAND OF HARAN
TO FIND SHELTER IN THE FAMILY
OF HIS UNCLE, LABAN.
ON HIS JOURNEY TO HARAN
JACOB HAD HIS WONDERFUL DREAM
OF A LADDER POPULATED WITH
ASCENDING AND DESCENDING ANGELS.
UPON WAKING, JACOB SPONTANEOUSLY UTTERED
A PHRASE WITH WHICH MANY OF US CAN IDENTIFY:
"SURELY THE LORD IS IN THIS PLACE --
AND I DID NOT KNOW IT!"
IN THE DREAM GOD HAD GRACIOUSLY TOLD JACOB
"KNOW THAT I AM WITH YOU
AND WILL KEEP YOU WHEREVER YOU GO."
BUT INSTEAD OF CELEBRATING GOD'S PROMISE,
JACOB HAD THE CHEEK
TO ATTEMPT TO MAKE A DEAL WITH GOD.
HE SAID TO GOD:
IF [YOU] WILL BE WITH ME,
AND WILL KEEP ME IN THIS WAY THAT I GO,
AND WILL GIVE ME BREAD TO EAT
AND CLOTHING TO WEAR…
THEN [YOU] SHALL BE MY GOD…
UP TO THIS POINT JACOB HAS EXHIBITED
A BOATLOAD OF CHARACTER DEFECTS,
AND HAS NOT SHOWN MUCH MATURITY
OF ANY KIND.
HE MAKES IT TO HARAN,
IS TAKEN INTO THE CARE OF LABAN'S HOUSEHOLD,
FALLS IN LOVE WITH RACHEL,
LABAN'S YOUNGER DAUGHTER,
AND AGREES TO WORK FOR LABAN
FOR SEVEN YEARS IN ORDER TO "EARN" RACHEL.
ON THE NIGHT OF JACOB'S MARRIAGE,
LABAN PULLS A FAST ONE ON JACOB,
MUCH LIKE THE "FAST ONES"
JACOB HAD PULLED HIMSELF.
REMEMBER, THESE WERE THE DAYS
WHEN WOMEN'S CLOTHING LITERALLY COVERED
THEM FROM HEAD TO FOOT,
ESPECIALLY ON THEIR WEDDING DAY.
LABAN GETS JACOB DRUNK AT THE WEDDING FEAST,
AND SLIPS LEAH, HIS ELDEST DAUGHTER,
INTO THE WEDDING TENT INSTEAD OF RACHEL.
JACOB WAKES UP THE NEXT MORNING
NEXT TO LEAH, NOT RACHEL,
AND LEARNS THAT HE HAS TO WORK
ANOTHER SEVEN YEARS FOR RACHEL.
JACOB HAS MET HIS MATCH IN TRICKERY.
THE BIBLE SEEMS TO BE TEACHING US A LESSON
IN KARMA HERE:
WATCH WHAT YOU DO--
IT'S LIABLE TO COME BACK TO HAUNT YOU.
JACOB PUTS IN SEVEN MORE YEARS
AND MARRIES RACHEL.
HE HAS BECOME AN EXPERT AT RAISING SHEEP
AND BY NOW IS EXCEEDINGLY WEALTHY.
FOURTEEN YEARS HAVE COME AND GONE.
JACOB YEARNS TO RETURN HOME.
HE HAS TO SNEAK AWAY
FROM LABAN'S TERRITORY,
BECAUSE LABAN WOULD LIKE TO
DETAIN HIM FOR HIS SERVICES INDEFINITELY.
JACOB, RACHEL, LEAH,
AND HIS LARGE ENTOURAGE OF SERVANTS
AND LARGE FLOCKS OF LIVESTOCK
ARE NOW ON THEIR WAY BACK TO CANAAN.
THIS PROVIDES THE CONTEXT
FOR OUR TEXT FOR TODAY.
THERE IS ONE HUGE OBSTACLE TO JACOB'S
SUCCESSFULLY RETURNING TO HIS HOMELAND,
AND THAT OBSTACLE IS THE FACT THAT HE
HAS TO JOURNEY THROUGH
HIS ESTRANGED BROTHER ESAU'S TERRITORY
TO GET THERE.
HE SENDS MESSENGERS TO ESAU,
TAKING A SUBSERVIENT POSITION
IN INSTRUCTING HIS SERVANTS
TO ADDRESS HIS BROTHER ON HIS BEHALF
AS "MY LORD ESAU."
JACOB'S FEAR GROWS
WITH THE RETURN OF HIS MESSENGERS
AND THEIR LACONIC ANNOUNCEMENT
THAT ESAU IS COMING TO MEET HIM,
AND COMING WITH HIM ARE FOUR HUNDRED,
PRESUMABLY ARMED, MEN.
JACOB'S FIRST REACTION IS TO FALL BACK
ON HIS OWN CLEVERNESS:
HE SHREWDLY SPLITS HIS CAMP IN TWO,
REASONING THAT IF ONE OF THE CAMPS
IS OVERCOME,
THE OTHER MAY BE ABLE TO ESCAPE.
GIVEN THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE SITUATION,
HOWEVER, JACOB REALIZES
THAT EVEN HIS CUNNING
MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE HIM THIS TIME.
SO HE DOES A VERY CURIOUS THING: HE PRAYS.
UNLIKE HIS PREVIOUS IF … THEN PRAYER,
THIS ONE -- NECESSITATED BY CIRCUMSTANCE,
A "FOXHOLE PRAYER," SO TO SPEAK --
IS A REAL PRAYER.
HIS REAL FEAR HAS PUSHED HIM
TO OFFER A REAL PRAYER:
ESSENTIALLY, HE PLEADS FOR GOD'S PROTECTION,
ESPECIALLY FOR THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN
IN HIS CAMP.
EVEN SO, A LOT OF JACOB'S "OLD" CHARACTER
COMES THROUGH:
HE BEGINS HIS PRAYER WITH A PHRASE
WHICH IS HARD NOT TO SEE
AS A WHINING COMPLAINT:
HE SAYS TO GOD: "YOU TOLD ME…"
AND IN CLOSING, HE HAS THE GALL
TO REMIND GOD OF GOD'S OWN PROMISES TO HIM:
"YOU YOURSELF SAID…"
THUS, JACOB'S PRAYER IS A MIXED BAG…
LIKE MANY OF MY PRAYERS,
AND PERHAPS LIKE SOME OF YOURS.
EVEN THE AMBIGUOUS NATURE OF THIS PRAYER,
HOWEVER, STANDS IN FAVORABLE CONTRAST
TO THE RATHER UNMIXED TREACHERY AND DECEIT
WHICH JACOB HAS DISPLAYED UP TILL NOW.
AMBIVALENT GOODNESS IS STILL
A MORAL AND SPIRITUAL IMPROVEMENT
OVER CONSISTENT DECEIT AND TREACHERY.
JACOB APPEARS TO BE MATURING,
ALBEIT SLOWLY.
JACOB HAD OFFERED THIS PRAYER
DURING THE NIGHT, A TIME FOR MANY OF US
WHEN OUR FEARS ESCAPE THEIR CAGES
AND PROWL AROUND AT WILL.
WITH THE CLEAR LIGHT OF DAY, HOWEVER,
JACOB DEVISES ANOTHER CLEVER SCHEME
TO WIN OVER HIS BROTHER.
JACOB DECIDES TO BRIBE HIS BROTHER
INTO FORGIVING HIM BY SENDING HIM
A TRULY OVERWHELMING GIFT.
THE GIFT IS MADE IN INSTALLMENTS
DESIGNED TO KEEP ESAU GUESSING
AND TO GRADUALKLY OVERWHELM HIM
WITH JACOB'S GENEROSITY.
SO, IN STAGES, ESAU RECEIVES
TWO HUNDRED FEMALE GOATS
AND TWENTY MALE GOATS,
TWO HUNDRED EWES AND TWENTY RAMS,
THIRTY MILCH CAMELS AND THEIR COLTS,
FORTY COWS AND TEN BULLS,
AND FINALLY,TWENTY FEMALE DONKEYS
AND TEN MALE DONKEYS.
THE GIFTS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED.
JACOB IS STILL IN UNBEARABLE SUSPENSE
AS TO THE SPIRIT IN WHICH THEY WERE RECEIVED,
AND NOW, ONCE AGAIN, IT IS NIGHT,
THAT TIME OF DAY WHEN JACOB IS VULNERABLE
TO ENCOUNTERS WITH THE DIVINE.
WHAT HAPPENS TO HIM
ON THIS PARTICULAR NIGHT
IS OF SUCH CONSEQUENCE
THAT IT CHANGES THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE.
THE STORY OF JACOB'S STRUGGLE
WITH THE "MYSTERIOUS BEING," --
SOME TRANSLATIONS
CALL HIM "A MAN," OTHERS "AN ANGEL,"
STILL OTHERS, "GOD" -- THE HEBREW IN THIS CASE
CAN MEAN ALL THREE --
JACOB'S STRUGGLE WITH
THIS "MYSTERIOUS BEING"
IS, ON A SURFACE READING,
ONE OF THE MOST PERPLEXING ACCOUNTS
IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE.
AT FACE VALUE,
IT IS RIDDLED WITH CONTRADICTIONS.
THE SO-CALLED "MAN"
IS OBVIOUSLY MORE THAN A MERE MAN.
ACCORDING TO
BOTH JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TRADITION,
HE IS REALLY AN ANGEL.
THIS "ANGEL," HOWEVER,
IS OBVIOUSLY MORE THAN A MERE ANGEL.
OTHERWISE, HOW COULD JACOB SAY
AT THE END OF OUR STORY,
"I HAVE SEEN GOD FACE TO FACE…"
ON JACOB'S OWN TESTIMONY,
HIS CONTENDER WAS UNTIMATELY GOD.
ASSUMING THIS TO BE THE CASE --
THAT JACOB WAS IN SOME WAY
WRESTLING WITH GOD --
HOW DARE THIS STORY CLAIM
THAT JACOB PREVAILED?
I BELIEVE THAT THE KEY
TO UNLOCK THE RIDDLE OF THIS STORY
IS THE USE TO WHICH THE EDITOR
OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS HAS MADE OF IT.
LOOKING AT THE SEQUENCE OF JACOB STORIES
AS A WHOLE,
WE CAN SEE THAT THIS ONE IS PIVOTAL.
IT IS THE WATERSHED EXPERIENCE
OF JACOB'S LIFE,
HIS CONDENSED FORM OF A "MID-LIFE CRISIS,"
IF YOU WILL.
BEFORE THIS EXPERIENCE,
JACOB WAS BASICALLY A TRICKSTER.
AFTER HIS WRESTLING MATCH WITH GOD,
JACOB BECOMES A SIGNIFICANTLY
DIFFERENT PERSON; SO DIFFERENT, IN FACT,
THAT HIS NAME IS CHANGED
FROM "JACOB" TO "ISRAEL."
AFTER THIS ONE-ON-ONE WITH GOD,
JACOB'S ROUGH EDGES GRADUALLY FADE AWAY
UNTIL HE BECOMES A PERSON
WITH CONSIDERABLE SPIRITUAL DEPTH
AND HUMAN COMPASSION.
BUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
BY THE BANK OF THE STREAM?
THE OBSCURITY OF JACOB'S OPPONENT
AND THE COMPLEXITY
OF THE QUESTIONS RAISED BY THIS STORY
POINT TO THE FACT
THAT SEVERAL THINGS WERE HAPPENING
AT THE SAME TIME.
THE FOLLOWING INTERPRETATION
IS, OF COURSE, INFERRED,
BUT MY INFERENCES ARE BASED
ON STRONG HINTS IN THE BIBLICAL TEXT.
JACOB'S IMMINENT MEETING WITH ESAU --
THE OUTCOME OF WHICH
IS MADDENINGLY UNCERTAIN --
HAS LITERALLY
STOPPED JACOB IN HIS TRACKS FOR ONCE
AND FORCED HIM TO THINK
ABOUT SOME ISSUES WHICH, UNTIL NOW,
HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO ESCAPE.
NOT SURPRISINGLY,
THESE ARE THE BIG QUESTIONS
WHICH ALL OF US MUST FACE,
AND FROM WHICH MOST OF US TRY TO ESCAPE:
WHO AM I?
WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY LIFE?
DO I WANT TO CHANGE?
CAN I CHANGE?
WHAT IS THE REAL MEANING OF MY LIFE?
JACOB NEEDS MORE TIME TO THINK
AND, PRESUMABLY, TO PRAY.
SO HE MOVES HIS CAMP ACROSS THE STREAM,
BACK TO THE SIDE FROM WHICH THEY HAD COME.
HE HIMSELF RECROSSES THE JABBOK
SO THAT HE CAN BE ALONE.
BUT HE IS NOT ALONE.
HE IMMEDIATELY FINDS HIMSELF
GRAPPLING WITH ANOTHER,
AND THIS OTHER IS,
SOMETIMES ALTERNATIVELY,
SOMETIMES SIMULTANEOUSLY,
HIMSELF, AN ANGEL, AND GOD.
THE "MAN" IS JACOB HIMSELF,
BECAUSE JACOB IS A DIVIDED SELF,
A PERSON EXPERIENCING WAR
BETWEEN HIS SELF-CENTERED PAST
AND HIS HIGH CALLING.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE,
BY CROSSING THE JABBOK TO BE ALONE,
JACOB IS CHOOSING TO ALLOW
HIS YEARNING FOR GREATNESS --
THE TRUE GREATNESS
OF REAL VULNERABILITY
TOWARD HIS BROTHER AND TOWARD GOD --
TO DO BATTLE WITH HIS "NORMAL" SELF.
THE BATTLE RAGES ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT
UNTIL DAWN.
THE "MAN" WITH WHOM JACOB WRESTLES
HAS BEEN TRADITIONALLY INTERPRETED
BY JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY
AS BEING JACOB'S "GUARDIAN ANGEL,"
WHO HAS BEEN PATIENTLY WAITING
FOR JUST SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY
TO WRESTLE HIS HUMAN CHARGE
INTO CONVERSION.
THE "MAN," FINALLY, IS GOD,
FOR IT IS ONLY GOD WHO CAN
REMAKE AND RENAME A PERSON.
JACOB'S NEW NAME, ISRAEL,
CAPTURES THE TRANSFORMATION
WHICH TAKES PLACE IN HIM THAT NIGHT.
ACCORDING TO POPULAR ETYMOLOGY,
THE NAME "ISRAEL" MEANS
"ONE WHO HAS CONTENDED WITH DIVINE
AND HUMAN BEINGS AND HAS PREVAILED."
BUT ISN'T THIS NEW NAME
SIMPLY ANOTHER EXAMPLE
OF JACOB'S INVINCIBLE IMPUDENCE,
THIS TIME TO THE EXTENT
OF USURPING EVEN GOD?
NOT REALLY.
JACOB'S DESIGNATION AS "ISRAEL"
IS A CELEBRATION OF THE FACT
THAT JACOB HAS FINALLY WRESTLED
WITH HIMSELF AND WITH GOD,
AND THAT PRECISELY THROUGH
THIS LONG-POSTPONED STRUGGLE
HE HAS AT LAST PREVAILED
IN BECOMING A WHOLE PERSON,
AN UNDIVIDED SELF.
IT IS FITTING THAT WHEN THE MYSTERIOUS BEING
ASKS JACOB TO LET GO,
JACOB BOLDLY REPLIES
"I WILL NOT LET YOU GO
UNLESS OR UNTIL YOU BLESS ME."
(THE HEBREW CAN MEAN BOTH.)
"I WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNLESS YOU BLESS ME;"
"I WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNTIL YOU BLESS ME."
JACOB'S OLD IMPUDENCE?
YES, BUT WITH THIS ALL-IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE --
HE IS USING HIS BOLDNESS IN A NEW CAUSE --
HIS LONGING TO BREAK FREE FROM
HIS UNPRINCIPLED PAST,
HIS LONGING TO BREAK THROUGH
TO A REAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS BROTHER
AND WITH GOD.
IT IS JACOB'S WILLINGNESS
TO USE THIS "OLD" TRAIT
FOR THIS "NEW" PURPOSE
THAT ALLOWS GOD TO STEP INTO HIS LIFE
AND, THROUGH THIS ALL-NIGHT STRUGGLE,
TO BRING ABOUT A TRULY SIGNIFICANT
TRANSFORMATION AND HEALING IN HIS LIFE.
THE BATTLE RAGES UNTIL DAWN.
AT ITS CONCLUSION JACOB IS A CHANGED PERSON.
IT IS NOT THAT ONE SELF,
ONE SIDE OF HIS PERSONALITY,
HAS TOTALLY TRIUMPHED OVER THE OTHER,
BUT THAT HIS TWO SIDES
ARE FINALLY WORKING WITH,
INSTEAD OF AGAINST EACH OTHER.
HE CAN NOW USE HIS NATURAL CLEVERNESS
TO FURTHER HIS BEST INTERESTS,
INSTEAD OF HIS WORST ONES.
WHILE THERE IS MUCH IN JACOB
THAT WE DESCENDANTS OF HIS
WOULD NOT WANT TO EMULATE,
THIS PARTICULAR EVENT MAKES HIM
A DECISIVE ROLE MODEL FOR ALL OF US
STRUGGLING TO GROW IN MATURITY AND WISDOM.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM JACOB'S EXAMPLE?
FIRST, IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT JACOB
MADE THE CHOICE TO BE ALONE WITH GOD.
PRESUMABLY, IF HE HAD NOT DONE THIS,
HE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD THIS ENCOUNTER,
HE WOULD NOT HAVE EXPERIENCED
REAL CONVERSION,
AND HIS LATER LIFE
WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT,
PROBABLY A LONG SUCCESSION
OF HIS "OLD" TRICKS AND LIES.
THIS RAISES THE OBVIOUS QUESTIONS FOR EACH OF US:
DO I REGULARLY CHOOSE TO SPEND SOME TIME --
NOT JUST AN OCCASIONAL FIVE OR TEN MINUTES --
BUT A SIZEABLE CHUNK OF TIME --
ALONE WITH GOD?
OR, AM I LIKE THE EARLY JACOB,
AT WAR WITH MYSELF,
AND RUNNING AWAY
FROM ANY POSSIBLE CONFRONTATION
WITH MYSELF AND GOD
THAT COULD MAKE ME WHOLE?
SECOND, WE CAN LEARN FROM JACOB'S
"I WILL NOT LEST YOU GO UNTIL YOU BLESS ME"
NOT TO BE SO TIMID
IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
GOD WANTS A REAL RELATIONSHIP WITH US,
NOT SOME PIOUS CHARADE
IN WHICH WE GO THROUGH POLITE MOTIONS.
A REAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
WILL INCLUDE A CERTAIN AMOUNT
OF WRESTLING AND CONFLICT,
EVEN EXPRESSIONS OF
ANGER AND DISAPPOINTMENT ON OUR PART.
AS WE LEARN FROM JACOB'S EXAMPLE,
GOD IS NOT TOO "HOLY" TO BE "TOUCHED,"
TO BE GRAPPLED WITH IN RAW RELATIONSHIP.
OUR HEALING AND TRANSFORMATION
CAN COME ABOUT
ONLY THROUGH OUR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION,
OUR TOTAL ENGAGEMENT,
IN OUR OWN PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH GOD.
AMEN.