Who Is The God of Jacob?

Psalms 20:1-9

Jim Davis

Salvation history is revealed to us as we strive to comprehend the nature of our salvation through the lives of those God salvaged. We may think salvation is a list of do’s and don’ts. Salvation is actually revealed through lives of real people as they struggle to know God.  

Hebrews 12:1
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 

The Hebrew writer encourages us to look to the past to find mentors. Hebrews chapter eleven gives us a glimpse of the faithful men and women from our past—Able, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Sarah, Rahab, Samson, etc. He refers to them as a cloud of witnesses that surround us from the past to whom we are to look to for wisdom and encouragement. It is not as though these people of our past are looking down upon us. Their lives and their experiences simply witnessed the presence of God’s salvation as they struggled to live for God. The Old Testament stories constantly pointed God’s people to their faithful forefathers. We learn from their strengths and weakness, but most of all we see God as he reveals himself through their lives. 

Psalms 20 encourages David to look to the God of Jacob for encouragement as he prepares for battle. 

Psalms 20:1-9
20:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David.

May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary 
and grant you support from Zion. 
3 May he remember all your sacrifices 
and accept your burnt offerings. 
Selah  

4 May he give you the desire of your heart 
and make all your plans succeed. 
5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious 
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests. 

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven 
with the saving power of his right hand. 
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm. 

9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer us when we call! NIV

Who is the God of Jacob? The psalmist encourages David by saying “May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.” Well the question may not be who the God of Jacob is, but who is Jacob. You can’t clearly see the God of Jacob without knowing Jacob for it is God who is seeking to reveal himself through the life of Jacob. 

The story of Jacob is not so much about Jacob as it is about God. There is no doubt the psalmist knew the story of Jacob well—he knew those reading the psalm had an intimate knowledge of Jacob. Today we may need to relive the story of Jacob in our minds to know the God of Jacob. To know the God of Jacob you have to know Jacob. It is encouraging to see how God moved in Jacob’s life. As I mediate on Jacob’s life I realize Jacobs’s story is God’s story about himself.

We may believe stories from the past could not possibly have any meaning for such a modern world. However, this is precisely the point—God intervenes in the lives in ancient seemingly hopeless cultures to reveal himself.  We can’t imagine living in those ancient cultures. Cultures that offered human sacrifices, animal sacrifices and worshipped the pharaohs and Caesars as sons of the gods are to barbaric for us to imagine living in those times.  

In every culture and time unchanging human nature shines through as it reveals itself with the same relentless propensities. 

God Sees the End from the Beginning

It is comforting to understand God knows our lives from the end to the beginning. He is committed to us every step of the way. He will not leave us or forsake us. God foretold the plight of Jacob and Esau before their births as they were struggling in Rebekah’s womb. 

Genesis 25:21- 23
21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
    and the older will serve the younger.”
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.[d] 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.[e] Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
God knows Jacob will rule over Esau before either is born.  This is not to say that God predetermined every choice they made. To say God knows the end from the beginning is not to say that our life is programmed to end a certain way. It doesn’t mean that we have no choice in making choices for our lives. 

Proverbs 16:9
9 In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps. NIV

All the twist and turns Jacob made were his choices. They were not choices he had to make to get to the destination God had planned for him. It is comforting to see God salvaging Jacob’s life as he made decisions he would have been better off not making. Jacob made his plans to live life his way. God simply directed his steps as he staggered through life’s experiences. 

If Rebekah told the boys what God told her—I am sure she did—it only heightened the sibling rivalry. In fact, it seems as though Rebekah kept Jacob pointed in that direction. Both thought it was their duty to make it happen according to God’s plan—after all God said the younger would rule over the older. The question is did it have to go the direction it did. I can only wonder what would have happened if they allowed God to bring it about without their interference. Of course who has patience for that... 

Have you ever made a choice in life where you thought your faith in God was all it took to make you succeed? You were convinced that your faith in God was directing you to make the choice. You made a choice thinking as long as God is with me everything will be okay—no problem. You start down the road you have chosen only to discover that things didn’t turn out exactly as you thought. You discover that you could have made much better choices—but there is no turning back. It seems the farther you get down the road your choices lead you the more difficult it gets. It gets to the point where you start to think, I have got to do something even if it is wrong. We begin struggling to make things turn out as we thought they would when we initially made our choice. We begin to think the end justifies the means. It only makes things worse. 

This is where we find Jacob. It is weird how we make decisions thinking faith in God will make everything turn out alright. As we travel the road we have chosen we never see God traveling with us. Our faith is transferred from God to our personal faith in the choices we make. Because after all I am a person of faith—we begin thinking our faith in God automatically means we make the right choices—as long as we have faith in God. We may travel this road for years thinking, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” After all, this is where my faith has led me. We sort of lose sight of God as we work through the terrible circumstances our choices have created. It is sort of like we have this faith in God—but we end up placing our faith in our choices—after all we have faith.  We end up at a place we never dreamed in our wildest dreams and all is not well. 
Life gets complicated as we wrestle with the circumstances our choices have created. We begin questioning our faith in God. We fail to realize that where we are is a result of our choices and not a result of our faith in God. 

It wasn’t that Jacob didn’t have a godly desire for his life. No doubt Jacob’s mother reminded him of God’s promise constantly.  Jacob and his mother spent their time planning how to manipulate the family to make God’s promise come true. I wonder--did they think God’s promise gave them the right. Did they have a distorted view of God’s promise?

Jacob’s Story

The first thing Jacob did was cheat Esau out of his birthright. Esau came in from the field hungry. Jacob saw his chance to drive a good bargain with Esau. He persuaded Esau to trade him his birthright for something to eat. Esau wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Whatever made him strike such a bargain with Jacob is beyond me. But he did. Esau was the oldest and as the oldest son he would share in the greater portion of the family’s inheritance. I can only wonder—did Jacob think God’s promise that he would rule over Esau justified cheating Esau out of his birthright. 

Jacob didn’t stop here. He deceived his father into bestowing the blessing of the first born upon him. He went to the trouble of clothing himself in animal furs to convince his blind father he was Esau. 

Genesis 27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it.10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessingbefore he dies.”
11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing.”
13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say;go and get them for me.”
14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father.”
“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“I am,” he replied.
25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”
Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank.26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”
27 So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said,
“Ah, the smell of my son
    is like the smell of a field
    that the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give you heaven’s dew
    and earth’s richness—
    an abundance of grain and new wine.
29 May nations serve you
    and peoples bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed
    and those who bless you be blessed.”
30 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”
32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cryand said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob[a]? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”
37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”
38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
39 His father Isaac answered him,
“Your dwelling will be
    away from the earth’s richness,
    away from the dew of heaven above.
40 You will live by the sword
    and you will serve your brother.
But when you grow restless,
    you will throw his yoke
    from off your neck.”

41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you. 43 Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee at once to my brother Laban in Harran. 44 Stay with him for a while until your brother’s fury subsides. 45 When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”
Genesis 28:10-20
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dreamin which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it[c] stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the landon which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[d]15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his headand set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel,[e] though the city used to be called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord[f] will be my God 22 and[g] this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

God’s Protection Remained Constant

Salvation is about how God protects us even when our faith is misguided. He is patient until as he guides us to an understanding of what true faith really is. God does not rebuke Jacob for his misguided decisions. He simply appears to him in a dream to remind him of his continued blessings upon him and his descendants.

As the psalmist pens Psalms 20 he understands the true nature of God as he reflects upon the life of Jacob. The psalmist knows how God protected Jacob and the prayer is that Jacob’s God will protect the king. He talks about God sending help from his sanctuary. Remember Jacob’s dream, angels are descending down a ladder from heaven—he is receiving help and encouragement from God’s sanctuary from above as he lay there with only a stone for a pillow. This is the God of Jacob. The psalmist writes “May he [God] send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.” 

Genesis 28:10-15
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. [keep in mind this is as he was fleeing from Esau’s threats to kill him] 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." NIV

As Jacob fled for his life after cheating Esau out of his birth right God appeared to him reassuring him of his presence. As I recall this story—I’m thinking—God doesn’t say a thing about why Jacob finds himself in his predicament. There is no lecture about he should have known better. No lecture about bad choices. God’s patience simply allows Jacob to learn those lessons in the process of time. All the while angels are going up and down this latter sustaining Jacob. 

The voices in our heads reminding of all the bad things we have done is probably not God’s voice. It is our carnal mind seeking to pull us away from God.

Jacob’s bad choices did not diminish God’s promise in the least. It is not that choices are unimportant—it is important to understand that God’s oversight of our lives is everlasting regardless of choices. We are completely free to wrestle with the ways of the world and the ways of God within our hearts. As we do we need to understand God is an ever present help in good times and when we have completely blown it.   

Jacob is in a place where all of his choices have led. He has been abused, taken advantage of and cheated but he is not forsaken by God. Today we are where we are because of our choices. If those choices have been poor we may have difficulty believing God is present because of our choices. When I look back through salvation history—no matter how bad it got for God’s people—God was always present. God seldom changes the circumstances our choices create—he is more than willing to empower us in our circumstances as he directs or steps through our misguided plans. 

God’s salvation is a free gift independent of the choices we have made. I realize that we are too weak and ignorant to make all the right choices. Yet, God is able to give the weakest the strength to stand. In our weakness and ignorance we wrestle with impossible problems overshadowing our very existence. None of this means that choices aren’t important.  

God knows full well the circumstances our choices are going to create. It was no surprise to God that Jacob ended up with a stone for his pillow. It is amazing that God shows up at a very crucial time to remind Jacob he was still with him. God does this throughout Jacob’s life.

This promise was made to Abraham as God looked down the stream of time seeing exactly where the choices of Abraham’s descendants would lead. It didn’t matter—God would be with those who chose to believe despite where their choices led them. 

Genesis 15:9-19
9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[e] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

You may feel very uncomfortable calling upon God from where you are. What do you deserve? Your choices have created your circumstances. Yet, God is with you to deliver you. 

The psalmists writes:

Pslams 20:1-2
May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary 
and grant you support from Zion. 
3 May he remember all your sacrifices 
and accept your burnt offerings. 
Selah  

AS the psalmist contemplates the nature of Jacobs’s salvation he is reminded that  despite the strength or weakness of all his plans victory would come from God’s oversight—God’s protection. This prayer doesn’t revolve around hopes of how well the king is prepared for battle. All the preparation in the world without God is hopeless—“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.” 

God Will Not Forsake Us

God appeared to Jacob at every crucial turning point—each time he reached the end of himself. It wasn’t that God wasn’t always there; it’s just a fact that too often we refuse to recognize him until we come to the dead end of the road. It wasn’t Jacob’s strength of character—or his infallible plans—it was God’s desire to salvage Jacob. In doing so God revealed himself to Jacob and to the world. We see God working through Jacob’s weakest plans to develop his character as God totally sanctifies his life—God sets Jacob’s life apart for his purposes. In essence he sent help from his heavenly sanctuary on high.

God was always there for Jacob. He was there when he sought to cheat Esau and ended up with nothing. He was there when he worked seven years to pay the dowry for Rachel and ended up with Leah. He was there when he worked another seven years for the woman he bargained for in the first place. He was there when he made a bargain to work for the uncle who took advantage of him at every turn. God was there when Jacob decided he had best take his flocks and herds and run for safety from his uncle. God was there wrestling with Jacob when he was returning to Esau. God wrestled with Jacob all through his life until Jacob fully realized his need for a new identity—he was given a new name--Israel. It meant one who wrestled with God and man and overcame.

Jacob’s bad choices did not diminish God’s promise in the least. It is not that choices aren’t important—it is important to understand that God’s oversight of our lives is everlasting regardless of choices. We are completely free to wrestle with the ways of the world and the ways of God. As we do we need to understand God is an ever present help in good times and when we have completely blown it.    

The Growth of Jacob’s Faith

Jacob is in a place where all of his choices have led. He has been abused, taken advantage of and cheated but he is not forsaken by God. His choices brought him to this place, but God salvages the mess he has made and delivers Jacob. God was in the middle of every business deal Jacob made with his father-in-law. Jacob finally awakens to the fact that God is always present. Looking back he realizes God was at work in his daily struggles as he herds the sheep and beholds their breeding propensity. He was working hard but he finally sees God as the one who is taking care of him and his family. 

Each time Jacob’s plans brought him to the end of his rope God was there protecting and reassuring Jacob. Jacob had a plan to make the streaked and spotted mail goats breed with those without streaks and spots. He had made a deal with his father-in-law that he work for the streaked and spotted animals of his flock as his wages. It would allow him to build a nest egg for himself. Evidently they were not that common and it seemed like a better than a fair deal with Laban.

Genesis 30:37-43
37 Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38 Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40 Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals. 41 Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42 but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys. NIV

Jacob had a plan—but God was the one overseeing his plan making it happen! Laban soon realized that Jacob was getting more than his share of his animals. His attitude toward Jacob changed.

Genesis 31:4-13
4 So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. 5 He said to them, "I see that your father's attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I've worked for your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me. 8 If he said, 'The speckled ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, 'The streaked ones will be your wages,' then all the flocks bore streaked young. 9 So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me. 

10 "In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' 12 And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.'" NIV 
 
Bethel was the place where Jacob had only a stone for a pillow. It was the place where he made a vow to God. Jacob has a plan to breed all the livestock to his favor, but he comes to a point in his life where he begins to see God as the one bringing his life to fruition. 

Proverbs 16:9
9 In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps. NIV

Wrestling with God Head On

God’s promise had little to do with how well Jacob initially understood God’s promise. It doesn’t matter how clear your understanding of God’s promise is—the important part is seeking it. 

Matthew 7:7-8
7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. NIV

It seemed as though all of Jacob’s plans always brought him face to face with himself. Each time he was forced to face himself he gained the kind of wisdom that built his confidence in God. Jacob was fleeing from Laban on his way back to his brother Esau. Keep in mind that the last time he saw Esau was when he cheated him out of his father’s blessing. At that time Esau was bent on killing Jacob. Now he returns in fear for his life. He returns like any black sheep of the family would return. He sends gifts and his family ahead of him to hopefully soften the blow to Esau. It was there that he was forced to face all of his failures head on. He is following God’s directions, but with fear and trembling. At this juncture life comes full circle.

Genesis 32:22-30
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants 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 men 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." NIV

There at Peniel a lifetime of struggle comes to fruition in Jacob’s encounter with God. I am sure that during those times in his life when he was fleeing for his life after all his plans failed he wondered, “is God was really with me”. As he fled his troubled life he always discovered that God was at the end of the road. It wasn’t that God was waiting for him to fail. God was with him every step of the way, but it was difficult for Jacob to recognize God’s presence until he came to the end of himself. God wasn’t there to say I told you so—he was there to reassure Jacob that he had greater plans for his life. 

We can begin to realize who the “God of Jacob” is. God was always there directing Jacob’s steps in the midst of Jacob’s plans. God’s plans are always mysterious and rightly so. We can look back with 20/20 hindsight at Jacob’s life with a clear understanding of God’s plan for his life. However, Jacob was struggling like most of us fearful of what tomorrow would bring. If I knew every twist and turn God’s promise would lead me through—God would probably have to drag me to my destination because of my unwillingness to put myself through the circumstances. I would spend all my time looking for a better way. God has a way of directing your steps through circumstances you never imagined your plans would lead. He does it to develop a specific attribute in your life for your good and his glory. The God of Jacob has sanctified your life. This means that he has set you apart for his purposes. He will direct our steps through the good and bad. God works all things for good for those who seek him. 

Jeremiah 10:23-24
23 I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own;
it is not for man to direct his steps. 
24 Correct me, LORD, but only with justice — 
not in your anger,
lest you reduce me to nothing. NIV

It wasn’t that Jacob wasn’t seeking God in all his endeavors. He was given a dream at birth—through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. The blessings of Abraham were to fall on his descendants. He had made a vow to God. Jacob was simply seeking to make it happen according to his own distorted view rather than depending on God. Really that is the way it had to be—he had to seek it. It was given to him, but he had to work for it. He sought it but God made it possible. It took a life time of searching and struggling to realize the true nature of God’s blessings. Actually, he never realized the full extent of the blessings God bestowed upon him—we have a much clearer understanding through Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5
3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance. NIV

We may think there was something special about Jacob that made it possible for God to use him. It was not about Jacob is or his talents. It was about what God wanted to accomplish in a person as common as Jacob. 

God Reveals Himself

God is not just trying to salvage Jacob’s life. He is in the process of revealing himself to others around Jacob. Laban saw the hand of God moving in Jacob’s life.

Genesis 30:25-28
25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban , "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26 Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you." 

27 But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you." 28 He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them." NIV

Those whom God’s people work for rarely ever understand that God may bless them in ways they never imagined in order for the blessings to overflow into the lives of his children—this is why it rains on the just and the unjust. Think of Esther and Daniel living in the midst of world upheaval. Yet, God salvages their lives as they live under the hand of the heathen. God’s influence over the kings Daniel worked for is almost unbelievable. They realized there was a man of God among them and they heeded Daniel’s wisdom. Daniel’s and Esther’s lives ultimately brought salvation to all of God’s people. Esther saved the Jews from vengeful hands and Daniel’s influence made it possible for Nehemiah to lead God’s people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

We are not alone in this world. God is working in us and through us to bring his message to the world. It is a struggle to believe, but the struggle will eventually bring us face to face with God. It was on the road back home that Jacob wrestled with an angel. It was where he was given the name of “the one who struggled with God and man and overcame.”

Conclusion:

Psalms 20 encourages us to look to the God of Jacob for deliverance.  As we seek an eternal existence with God it is the same God Jacob was seeking. We are not given the wisdom at birth to make all the right moves. We gain that wisdom through experiences—through good choices—not so good choices—and completely stupid choices. We may have the idea when God’s word remains in us we can know exactly what to do without any trouble. God’s word remained in Jacob in the shape of a promised dream he had difficulty understanding—it seems as though he never lost sight of God’s promise. He hid this promise in his heart. It remained a part of his life—he wrestled with that dream until it became a reality. 

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart 
and lean not on your own understanding; 
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. NIV

Jacob’s name was changed to Israel—it meant one who struggled with God and man and overcame. “Israel” is a name that inspires victory in the mist of troubled lives. The Hebrew Christians who were about to give up hope were encouraged by these words from the Hebrew writer: 

Hebrews 10:35-39
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, 

"He who is coming will come and will not delay. 
38 But my righteous one will live by faith. 
And if he shrinks back, 
I will not be pleased with him."   

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. NIV

When the Hebrew writer speaks of the one who is coming—he is not speaking of the Lord coming in the end of time. He is speaking of God’s deliverance which comes to each of us in God’s own timing in each circumstance we find ourselves. We must hold on realizing that God’s deliverance will come. 

Psalms 20:6-8
6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven 
with the saving power of his right hand. 
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm. 

A faith that shapes my expectations, hopes and dreams in exigent circumstances is tough but it is built upon my confidence in God’s willingness to salvage my life daily. It is built upon an understanding of the God of Jacob.

1 John 5:13-15
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him. NIV
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