sarkakaiaima

There is one more application I think can be legitimately drawn from Jacob’s life. His life, as recorded in Genesis, teaches us, in part, that God is always pursuing us to bring us to the point where we can experience being delivered and brought into the covenant relationship with him. This process happens in the same way it did for Jacob: Through surrender to the living God when confronted with the Truth about God’s grace and demands upon us. This work of bringing us to the point of repentance and surrender is absolutely necessary for us to come under God’s covenant blessing of Abraham. Or as the Lord Jesus said, repentance is necessary to enter God’s Kingdom that has now arrived. Repentance is to turn around and change directions to go in the right way; if genuine it is fruit of spiritual surrender to God.         In the end, when Jacob finally learned the necessity of surrender, he began to change to obey God’s direction for his life. W...

Jacob was a schemer. Not to say that he was a cruel man. Rather he was one who that depended upon his own cleverness and intellect to get through life. Scheming persons are deeply distrusting and they only act to change when the pain threshold gets high enough. Jacob is an example of how God works with such a person: God takes the consequences of their actions and pressing them into their souls he pushes for response to God’s mercy which is always being offered. The utmost patience is shown in Jacob’s life for the sake of the promise made to Abraham. God took the relational wreckage Jacob left and formed a people from his children; he took the one who “struggled with God” (thus the meaning of his name) and made of him a man of faith. In the end he did become a faithful man who lived under God’s blessing. He became over time a man of faith who could hear and prophesy about his descendants. What gives us evidence of his transformed character and faith is that he had the courage ...

Jacob has resolved to go meet his brother after many years. First he sent his wives and children and servant and wealth ahead of him and he stayed behind. In keeping with his normal mode of relating to others he is suspicious of his brother and still fears for his life. Thus his plan is to “butter up” his brother with gifts so as to soften any hostility he may have still toward him (Genesis 32:13-21). But before he has that encounter with his brother he meets God in a way that he never expected and never forgot! This unwelcomed visit from God’s Messenger (God himself Jacob finds out) becomes the turning point of his whole life. (Genesis 32:22-32) Notice that he is attacked while he is alone—he is ambushed and has to engage in a strenuous wrestling match against this man he does not know. Jacob is used to fighting to survive. And he fights for his life against him. And in this case this “man” cannot master him in the wrestling contest (v.25). But he knew how to force him to sur...