Pastor Sam Davison | “All of God’s Children Must Come to Jabbok” | Summer of 2014 at Harvest Baptist Church, Mt Vernon, WA

All God’s Children Must Come to Jabbok

Go to Genesis and chapter 32. Now, for those of you that have not been with us since Thursday night, we are in the account in the book of Genesis that deals with the life of this man named Jacob. Remember that the name Jacob—so when we talk about what supplanting is, you can look that up later. Of course, it’s related to deception; I use the word “chicanery,” which isn’t a word used very often, but it’s a very appropriate word in this occasion: one who works underhandedly and manipulates and such as that.

I don’t know that there’s ever been a character in history that lived up to their name better than Jacob did. Because what Jacob’s name was, that’s how Jacob lived, and that’s how he practiced. Except God was not going to leave Jacob alone. God was going to be actively involved—not condoning what Jacob was, but shaping him to become what God meant him to be.

Now, you tell me how that’s different than God’s intent in my life and God’s intent in your life. None of us are the finished product. I said none of us are the finished product; God is the kind of God and our Father that is constantly at work in us to make us less of what we were and more what He means for us to be. And so that’s why we are considering the life of Jacob. People say, “Well, you’re talking about something way back in the book of Genesis; how could this possibly be relevant?”. Oh, don’t worry, my friend; God gave us a book that’s relevant.

I hear about preachers in contemporary preaching, and they’re striving for relevance. Well, just preach the book. God already took care of the relevant part. And if we’re faithful to declare the Word of God, we’ll see it speaks to us right where we are—very clear and very plain.

All right, so we have this story of Jacob. Now, Jacob has—from the time that we are introduced to him—he has been a deceiver. He deceived his brother, took advantage of his weakness, and manipulated so that he might get the birthright from Esau, his weak and profane brother. And then he later—our account where we started on Thursday night—he and his mother teamed up together to manipulate and get the blessing that Isaac, his father, wanted to give to the elder, the firstborn of these twins, Esau. And so Rebecca and Jacob got together and they connived and deceived. Jacob went in pretending to be Esau and, therefore, by deception, got the blessing from Isaac that Isaac meant to give to Esau.

Oh, it just caused awful problems. By then, these boys were 75 years old. Mom and Dad had been married about 97 years. And so you have a time when you’d think this family—that is a descendant of Abraham, such a significant person, and Isaac—you’d think it’d be a time in the family’s life where they would all be mature and grown and it would be a great time in their family life. Instead, it’s confusion and turmoil, contention and strife, resentment and hostility, till Esau says, “When Dad dies, so will Jacob, because I’m going to kill him”. Because he took my birthright and he deceived and got the blessing that my father meant to give to me, and when Dad dies, I will kill him.

So Jacob takes off. It’s part of the plan from Dad, Isaac, and Mom, Rebecca. And they send him off to Haran. That’s where she came from, and that’s where her brother was and where her family was back in Haran—about a 500-mile journey up in what’s called the Fertile Crescent, in that area between the Euphrates River and the Tigris River, this land called Haran.

And so Jacob took off for Haran. When he got there, he met Rachel. He met Laban, his mother’s brother, and his family. And he had daughters: Rachel and Leah. Actually, Leah and Rachel, but Jacob was most interested in Rachel. Beautiful young lady, delightful—he loved her. Leah, a little less attractive, wasn’t so appealing to Jacob, and he wanted Rachel. And so his uncle, his mother’s brother, said, “Well, if you’ll work for me for seven years…” and Jacob offered this: “I’ll work for you for seven years, and I’ll get Rachel to be my wife”. And so he did.

The only thing is, when that seven years was finished—time for Jacob to take Rachel—he who was a deceiver and a manipulator got deceived and was manipulated. And instead of having Rachel as his wife, he wound up with Leah as his wife. Well, then he said, “I can’t live without Rachel. I’ll work seven more years for you”. And then a week after he got Leah, he got Rachel also to be his wife and a seven-year commitment to this deceiver by the name of Laban.

Now he’s in a real fix because he’s got two wives. Not a good thing. One man, two wives: not good. Never was good. All the Word of God—it never was. Always created confusion and turmoil. And so through the process of time, then, he not only has Rachel and Leah, but then he has Rachel’s handmaid, Bilhah. He then gets Leah’s handmaid, Zilpah. And now you’ve got one man, four wives. So if he had twice as many as he should have had, now he’s got four times as many as he should have had. And I think more than four times as many problems. There’s such a thing as this compound interest that grows on a thing, and the problems just multiplied for him.

Well, by the time we come to the place of our reading, Jacob is the father of 11 sons—Benjamin is not yet born—and one daughter. So the time comes after he has been with Laban now for 20 years. And Jacob has prospered. He has grown in wealth. He has continued to manipulate. I think you could argue the fact that in his father-in-law’s livestock, an arrangement they made, he manipulated and discovered what we might call selective breeding in the livestock so that he wound up with greater prosperity than his father-in-law. And the tension grew between them until it was obvious this isn’t going to work.

So Jacob, by the command of God actually, gathered his family together and departed from Laban. When he departed from Laban, God had told him, “You go back to the land of Canaan”. You go back to that place where I met with you, back to this place called Bethel, and I want you to go back there, and I’m going to bless you and prosper you back there in the land that I promised to Abraham, your grandfather, and to Isaac, your father, and nothing has changed in that covenant. Now you go from here back to there.

Well, there was a problem with that, see, because he needed to get away from Laban and all the tension and the strife that was there. He needed to get his family away from that. He needed to go back where he was supposed to be. Though 20 years have passed, he is now very much afraid to face his brother, Esau.

You know, when people are bitter and angry, it really doesn’t seem to matter how many years pass. If they never deal with the bitterness and the anger and the hatred, it really doesn’t matter that 20 years have passed. If a person doesn’t deal with bitterness, it’s like a cancer: it just destroys, it consumes an individual. And so Jacob now is going to take his family back, but he doesn’t know where Esau is. Oh, he knows the land he dwells in; it’s not a matter of geography. He doesn’t know where he is in his heart. And so he doesn’t know, “Am I going to go back and face this man who is against me and who wants to destroy me?”. The last words he heard from Esau were, “When Dad dies, I’m going to kill my brother”. Now he’s going to go back, and he’s got great fear.

Would you look in chapter 32 and verse 1. Why don’t we stand together and we’ll read a few verses here. Chapter 32 and verse 1: “And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him”. So Jacob is doing what God said and heading back to the land of Canaan. And watch this—see the graciousness of God. Watch this in verse 1: “And the angels of God met him”. So the angels of God came, and it was more than just a few; it was a host. And when Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s host,” and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. He recognizes the care of God and the provision of God.

Verse number six: messengers returned to Jacob saying, “We came to thy brother Esau and also he cometh to meet thee”. Oh, by the way, just a little side item: he has 400 men with him. Oh, great. My brother is coming. We have to remember they lived a rather nomadic lifestyle. And probably Esau and his men, if you understand his background, they were probably marauders. It looks like that Esau and his 400 men are already out on the warpath, and now he’s going to meet Jacob. Jacob is saying, “Great. This is really good”. But don’t forget the host of angels are there. It’s not like God has left the man alone.

Verse 7: “Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed”. Look at this: instead of being more blessed by a host of angels, he is more afraid of his brother. And watch what he did: “And he divided the people that was with him and the flocks and herds and the camels into two bands”. Now, excuse me here. Can I have your attention up here? Who’s in charge here? Jacob.

Look in verse eight: “And said, ‘If Esau come to the one company and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape'”. Jacob says, “I’m getting this thing all worked out”. So here’s the host of angels to protect God’s servant, Jacob, and here’s Jacob saying, “I can handle this”. Is everybody with me?.

If you go on down through to around verse number 20, you’ll see that Jacob continues to manipulate. Here’s what he did: he took his family and he divided it up, and he put in the most vulnerable position those that were least significant in his family. He said if Esau comes on a rampage, then the first people he’s going to meet are the handmaids and their children. That would be Leah’s handmaid first and then Bilhah’s handmaid second and their children. And then the next most vulnerable would be Leah and her children. And the last, most protected, is Rachel and Joseph.

What a Dad. Come on, what a Dad. But he’s got it all figured out, got all the bases covered. He’s got a puzzle here and he’s moving all the pieces and Jacob is in control. Never mind the host of angels—”I’ve got this all figured out”. So Jacob is still being—finish the sentence, please—Jacob is still being Jacob: deceiver, supplanter, “I can handle this,” “I’m in charge”.

Look at verse 20: “And say ye moreover, Behold thy servant Jacob is behind us”. For he said—here’s Jacob’s thinking behind it all—”I will appease him with the present that goeth before me… Peradventure he will accept of me”. He is trying to win his favor. “I believe if I work this right, Jacob will have mercy on me.” Wait, I mean Esau will have mercy on me.

So went the present over before him, and himself lodged that night in the company. Verse 22: rose up that night, took his two wives and his two women servants and his 11 sons and passed over the ford Jabbok. Now the day is going to dawn in just a few hours when he meets his brother Esau. But that night, after he got everybody arranged, verse 24: “Jacob was left alone. And there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day”.

This is no guy that was stumbling along out in the wilderness there and just came upon Jacob. No, no, no. We got quite a scene that develops here. Verse 25: “And when he saw that he prevailed not against him”—the man that wrestled with him saw that he prevailed not against Jacob—”he touched the hollow of his, Jacob’s, thigh. And the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him”.

And the man that wrestled with him—we’re going to say, I’m going to go ahead and say it, the Lord—said, “Let me go for the day breaketh”. And Jacob said, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me”. And He said unto him, “What is thy name?” And he said, “Jacob”. And He said to Jacob, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince thou hast power with God and with men and hast prevailed”.

Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. What does that mean? Well, you kind of get a clue here: “For I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved”. And as he passed over Penuel, the sun rose on him and he halted upon his thigh.

The title of the message for a few moments this morning is this: “All God’s children must come to Jabbok”. Now, Jabbok is the brook where Jacob was. It became a significant place—not because of the water or the beauty, but because this brook, Jabbok, is where God chose to get Jacob once again alone and do another measure of work in this man’s life.

Listen to me carefully: all God’s children must come to Jabbok, or all God’s children must come to such a time or a place as this. When Jacob went back, it sort of reminds me of situations where a person comes to a point of no return. He has already left Haran and his father-in-law, Laban, and the situation behind there, and he is going this way. He can’t stay where he is.

Once you leave that platform, baby, you’re going down. Amen?. Once you’ve committed, there’s nothing you can do. And Jacob has made such a commitment. Now there’s nothing he can do; he has already left the platform.

At this particular time, God intervenes. The man that came and wrestled with Jacob was Deity. Jacob’s response after: he knew that he had had an encounter with God. One thing I think is very important to understand—and we’re going to clear this before we go any farther into it—and that is that Jacob was not this man desiring to be godly if he could just convince God to bless him.

If you want God’s blessing, mark this down: God wants you to have His blessing. You don’t have to contend and wrestle with God to be holy or to be godly. God means for you to be holy. The issue is not “Can he convince God to bless him?” The issue is: will he ever surrender to God? That’s the real issue.

When this wrestling takes place here, when it is initiated, you mark this down real good: God initiated the wrestling. And He contends with this man Jacob. It says clearly in verse 24, “and Jacob was left alone”.

If there are people around him, then Jacob is going to be governing and moving and administering and moving the pieces around with hands-on authority and control to take care of everything. So God separates him and he’s by himself. And God comes to contend with him. And the moment He begins to contend with Jacob, don’t you wish that it read Jacob saying, “I give in; I need You; I surrender to You”? Wouldn’t that have been wonderful?.

But no. No. When the Lord comes, Jacob is wrestling. He’s fighting. He’s contending. “I don’t want to give up control. My name is Jacob. I want to be Jacob”. And the angel contends with him.

What the Angel of the Lord is trying to do is show him his helplessness. If the Lord wanted it to end before daybreak, He could have done what He did at any time. It’s to show the frustration and the futility of striving with God in the energy of the flesh. I’m going to say to you, my friend, if God is working on your life and you’re contentious with Him about surrendering to His will, you will lose. To strive with God in the energy of our flesh and to contend with Him about His will for our life and hope that somehow He’ll change His mind or He’ll let us have our way is utter futility.

Most people that occupy Baptist church chairs and pews this morning are somewhat frustrated and absent of joy in their life because they are still contending for that control. God is saying to Jacob, “You’re not man enough for this”. He lets him wrestle all the night till the breaking of the day to make known the frustration and the futility of contending with God in the flesh.

And He touched his thigh to show—listen to this—to show Jacob and to show us: “I can break you at any time”. You better remember that when you’re contending with God. When He touched the hollow of his thigh, it means that all of a sudden he was rendered helpless.

Now, something is happening here. Jacob now is wrestling with his thigh gone, rent, useless, powerless. He recognizes it. Jacob is weary; he is spent. I mean, he is physically drained. He is physically shot. And he is not only that; he is a spiritual mess.

He said, “I will not let you go until you bless me”. Jacob is getting to the point where he realizes, “I can’t do this. I’ve contended all night and gotten absolutely nowhere… and as a matter of fact, I’m in worse shape now than I was before”. And the Angel of the Lord, it’s like He says to him, “All right, now here is the acid test. Here is the real question: What is thy name?”.

This question that is asked at this time is like a one-question exam. Have we gotten anywhere with Jacob?. Have we gotten anywhere since I met with him at Bethel?. Have we gotten anywhere with him experiencing the frustration of his manipulation and his deception?.

And he said, “Jacob”. No, check it out. He is saying, “My name is Jacob, and all that the name implies”. “When I was born, I was hanging on to my brother’s heel… after I was born, I took advantage of my weak brother… I was a part of a corroboration that lied against my father… My name is Jacob”. And I hear him saying, “My name is Jacob, and I’m sick of being Jacob”.

God says to him, “Admit who you are. Admit what you are. Admit your helplessness to do anything about it. Now we’re getting somewhere”. “Thy name shall be no more Jacob, but Israel”.

Jacob’s a planter, deceiver, cheater, liar. Israel: prince with God, honor, promotion, strength, might, dignity, integrity. Do we see the difference?. He’s hanging on because he doesn’t want to be this anymore. He’s hanging on because his life is still empty.

By now, Jacob is about 100 years old. This is the first real breakthrough, and he’s 100 years old. Why do I mention that for? The patience of God. The relentless pursuit of God in the life of His child. You and I might have written Jacob off a long time ago, but not God.

There’s no such thing as instant maturity, instant holiness, instant growth, instant mature Christian. It doesn’t happen. In God’s economy of things, He is not going to bend to the whims of people that want everything they want when they want it. Your life and my life is going to be a constant project where God is tweaking here, breaking here, molding here, shaping here, changing here.

Sometimes God touches the hollow of our thigh. This isn’t a cheap threat; I’m just here to tell you that God means business. He took a man like Jacob, who never walked the same again. When you see him going in before Pharaoh in Egypt, here he comes with that one-legged, hopping, hobbling, crippled approach because it was a constant reminder to him that you can’t contend with God.

What might God be contending with you about?. You better say, “I give up. No more Jacob. I surrender right now”. What is your name? Jacob, or child of God, prince with God, surrendered to God, yielded to God?.

Jacob finally said, “I will not let go till you bless me. I am helpless. I need You. I must have Your blessings”. And God said, “Now we’re getting somewhere”. And where Jacob was is where you and I are supposed to be. And when we are, He can move us to the next step and get us more to where He wants for us to be for His glory and His purposes.