Jacob Wrestles with God

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Genesis 32:1-33:20

Jacob moves

  1. From pride (32:1-23)

  2. To dependence (32:24-32)

  3. And redemption (33:1-11)

  4. …and partial obedience (33:12-20)

“Artist and saint alike grope in awe to comprehend the incomprehensible disproportion of the glory of God and the humility of the Incarnation: The Master of the Universe, become of the earth, earthy, in order to be one with his creatures so that we may be one with him.” - Madeleine L’Engle

 

Jacob Wrestles with Laban

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Genesis 30:25-31:55

Roadmap for tonight:

  1. God blesses Jacob in wrestling with Laban

  2. God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility

  3. Jacob’s life being transformed

“Hard times come to us all. But how we respond to them, how we interpret them, and what attitudes we settle into - those are the choices we get to make. That’s what we can control…..what narrative am I constructing for my life? How will I interpret what is in front of me and where I’ve been? Will I let the hard parts bring me down and keep me from delighting in the good? The story you tell yourself about your life will dictate how you view God, your own capacity and potential, and your future. Consider the narrative you are creating…” - From Calm Your Anxious Heart

“The presence of God is our true strength…. When God is your supreme value, your ultimate good - when you would rather have a lowly place with God than a comfortable place without Him - then no matter what pain washes into your life, your deepest joy cannot be threatened. YOU ARE SAFE. Nothing can touch you. Even the valleys of life become places of fruitfulness.” - Dane Ortlund, In the Lord I Take Refuge

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. O, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." - Psalm 34:7-8

 

Jacob Deceives Isaac; The God of Abraham Promises

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Genesis 27:1-28:22

Roadmap:

  • Jacob’s continued wrestling

  • The results of deception

  • God’s faithfulness

Psalm 2:1-4
“Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples of the earth devising a vain thing?  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’  He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.

Job 42:2
“I know that Thou canst do all things and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted.”                                                                    

Genesis 27:1-28:22

Lamentations 3:22-23
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.  His mercies never fail.  They are new every morning.  Great is Thy faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:21
“This I recall to mind and therefore I have hope…”       

“For I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.  For this also I believe – that unless I believe I shall not understand.” - St. Anselm of Canterbury

 

Jacob Wrestles Esau

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Genesis 25:19-26:35

Road Map

  1. Covenant Matriarch

  2. Esau disregards the Promise

  3. God Sets the Stage for a Nation

Sarah:: Gen 17:16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Rebekah:: Gen 24:60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possessthe gate of those who hate him!”