Genesis
32:22-32
ALONE with God
– Accident or on Agreement
22-24a
Family then possessions gone –
all alone
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.
Jesus
gave example that being alone was important:
“Very early in the morning, while it was still
dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he
prayed.” (Mark 1:35)
“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and
prayed.” (Luke 5:16)
“Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray,
and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples
to him and chose twelve of them.” (Luke 6:12-13)
“One day Jesus was praying in a
certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him,
‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He said
to them, ‘When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your
name, your kingdom come…”‘” (Luke 11:1-2)
“When Jesus heard what had happened [that
John the Baptist was beheaded], he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary
place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.” (Matthew
14:13)
Matthew 14:23
“Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and
make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” (John
6:15)
When have you been alone with God in
this way? Ever?
ASSESSMENT – Agent
and answer
24b-29
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.”
Hosea 12:1-6
Initial
struggles had been with Esau then Laban – now God
·
Physical struggle
·
Passionate struggle
·
Personal struggle
In 25 – Could
the man really not overpower Jacob? He
touched his hip – literally – strike – naw gah –
In 26 – It
was time to be done – what did Jacob want in his arrogance?
In 27 – Does
God ask because He does not know or to remind Jacob of what he is (grabber)
before he renames him in 28? When had
Jacob last asked for a blessing from someone and how had he obtained it? What was the result?
He had to
recognize who he really was – as do we –
[Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God p
144,145)
In 28 –
Jacob’s name is changed – have you been changed and what is new about you after
struggling with God?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT – Ask and attain
29-32
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.
29 – Know God by name or Know God – God didn’t
want to be known just by name but to be known as we see in the next verse – Judges
13:18
30 – When did you see God face to face – as you
are – as you have been – at your root and survived? Where was it?
Exodus 33:20 – cannot see God’s face – just His angel and work
31- Physical scar – but Sun coming up – have you
had anything you have lost or was ‘messed up’ because of your being changed by
God?
32 – Traditions handed down acknowledge that
incident -
Do your traditions point back to a specific
incident or do they distract?
Do you know of anyone else’s testimony of when
they came to Christ? Who – and how do
they celebrate it? How do we celebrate
our own birthday?
Psalm 46:10-11
Hebrews 11:6
Personal Prayer Time and Spiritual Gift
Assessment
