Jacob travels on to meet up with his uncle (mom's brother), and we soon learn that the deceiver gene is in the whole family. Laban is actually much better than his own sister or Jacob, since after seven years of work, Jacob ends up with the wrong sister, and then quickly agrees to another seven for the right one! We fast forward as Jacob is now married, raising kids and livestock, and in short, living the life of most of us. Day after day, kids and work, dinner and bed, rinse and repeat. And then he gets restless. He sees that he's been enriching Laban, but doesn't have much to show for it himself. In a dream, God gives him a plan on how to get his fair share, properly, with God's blessing and Laban's approval. But it works out so well, that Laban the deceiver, suspects that Jacob the deceiver, has deceived him! Our reputations precede us, and those who are suspicious will always see things that they can't understand, and so assume that we're still our old selves. You can read that part of the story in Gen. 29 and 30. But Jacob has clearly changed. Now we come to this, spoken to Rachel: (Gen 31:5-13 ESV) . . . the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’” And so it's time to go, but this time, it's God who is calling him to leave, and Laban who is livid.
Now we arrive at chapter 32. As Jacob is headed home, word comes that his brother Esau, yes, the one who wanted him dead, is coming. With 400 men. Right. That feeling in your gut just now is nothing like what must have hit Jacob's. This cannot be good. So he does two things: He prays, asking for help, and He prepares, doing his part. It is so easy to do one or the other. We cry out to God and sit. Or we worry ourselves and work in a frenzy without God. Usually, God calls us to do both, to invite Him into our battles, and then to do our part, whatever that may be. After crying out to God, remembering the promise and blessing, he divides his family, servants, and livestock, and sends a greeting party ahead to meet Esau, with a present of livestock and servants. And then: (32:21, 24) So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp. . .And Jacob was left alone.
Jacob is now exactly where he started, alone in the wilderness, with an uncertain future, and a past that he cannot return to. Don't miss it. When he fled from home, there was no way back, and he had no idea what lay ahead, and he was alone. Now, he's fled Laban's and cannot return, has no idea what lies ahead, and is all alone. Except, this time, he is NOT alone, and his future has a promise attached to it. God is there with him. And that makes all the difference in the world. What occurs next is puzzling on so many levels since there is nothing else like it in Scripture. (v 25-31) And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Peniel, limping because of his hip.
"A man" who we quickly learn is God with flesh on, begins to wrestle with Jacob. No, we don't know why! But Jacob will not let go, and persists until he receives a blessing. You may ask, but he's already received God's blessing. And I remind you of something I said in the very first part, Jacob is so much like us. He fights for clarity, to remember God's blessing, and so quickly forgets, and needs a fresh reminder. And God, who is rich in all things, does not withhold. But God asks a strange question, "What is your name." Now, God knows his name, so the point must be for Jacob to give voice to it, to effectively say, I am a deceiver, it's who I am, it's who I'll always be accused of being, and every day, I try to live differently, but I fail so often. We live up to the taglines that have been given to us. Addict. Felon. Divorcee. Broke. Unemployed. Animal. Angry. In a moment, all that we are and all that we truly believe we are, surfaces. And we know that we cannot change it, no matter how hard we try and run.
God changes everything, and here we see Him change Jacob's identity. “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel..." Have you heard of Israel? Yes, it exists today. And remember, Jacob is the father of the 12 tribes. This Jacob, no longer Jacob, but Israel. God has given him a new identity, new papers.
We can ask a lot of questions and make a lot of points here. Perhaps there is only one right question, which is, "Does this apply to you? Today?" By that I mean, we so often read these stories and think, "Oh, how nice...It really worked out well for them. (Or didn't, for some.)" Instead, we should wonder, was that ordinary or extraordinary? If extraordinary, we would expect to find no more stories like this. Parting a sea, ok, two seas. Walls falling down for victory. An angel slaying a vast army. The firstborn of a country all killed on one night. Virgins impregnated. But for name changes, there are MANY! It's almost normal for God's people to have their names changed, to get a new identity. And when it's in keeping in understanding that we're getting a new heart (Ezek 36:25ff) and that we're new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), it's actually consistent with Scripture. We should wonder, and even ask: "God, do you have a new name for me?"
Second, you're going to have to fight for this new identity. Remember in the Matrix how 'Mr. Anderson' has to fight the agent? All the while, the agent will call him nothing but Mr. Anderson. The agent fears that Neo will discover who he really is. The enemy fears that you will discover who you really are. You are fearsome, and God's glory is being replaced on you day by day (2 Cor. 3:18). You must fight to hold onto your new identity, to remember what God has told you. To remember the blessing.
And here's the other ordinary thing: We can ask God. Find a quiet place, take your Bible, a pen, a notebook, and ask, "God, what would you say to me now? Who am I?" And wrestle with Him until you hear Him speak. He loves to transform his children.And He only broke a hip once in Scripture.
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