Thurs.’s Devo - Wrestling with God and Winning

Read: Genesis 32:13-34:31; Matthew 11:7-30; Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 3:19-20 Jacob selected a list of animals from his flocks to present to Esau. Each animal group had a different shepherd, and when he approached Esau, he was to give him his herd and say that Jacob was right behind them. Jacob hoped to appease any anger Esau might still have towards him with his gifts. *** During the night, Jacob sent everyone across the Jabbok River and he stayed alone in the camp. A man came and wrestled with him until the dawn was breaking. When the man saw he couldn’t win, he touched Jacob in his thigh and injured it. Jacob still would not let him go so the man asked Jacob his name. The man changed his name to Israel which means ‘he will rule as a prince of God’. Jacob asked the man his name but he didn’t tell him. *** Jacob named the place Peniel which means ‘face of God’ for he knew he had seen God face to face and yet been spared. Jacob limped back to his family. *** Jacob saw Esau coming with his 400 men and divided his children with Bilhah and Zilpah and their children in the first group, then Leah and her children in the second group, and last of all Rachel and her son. Jacob went ahead of them all and met Esau. Esau ran and embraced him and they both wept. Jacob introduced his family to Esau and insisted that he kept the flocks he had sent ahead. Both Esau and Jacob had become very wealthy. *** Esau wanted to lead Jacob back with him to Seir but Jacob insisted on coming alone at their own pace. Jacob ended up in Shechem in Canaan. Jacob bought his first plot of land in Canaan for 100 pieces of silver. (Abraham had bought his first plot of land in Canaan for 400 pieces of silver.) *** One day Leah’s daughter, Dinah, was defiled by Shechem who was the local prince and the son of Hamor. Afterwards, Shechem fell in love with Dinah and wanted to marry her. Her brothers found out she had been raped and were furious. Hamor came to Jacob and his sons to ask for the hand of Dinah in marriage for his son, Shechem. He wanted to enter into a covenant through this marriage between his people and Jacob’s. Jacob’s reply was that they could only agree to this if their men were circumcised. Hamor and his son, Shechem were able to get the men in the town to agree so they all got circumcised. *** Three days later, while the men were good and sore, Simeon and Levi, Leah’s sons, attacked the town and slaughtered all the male there including Hamor and his son. The men were too sore to even put up a fight. When the other sons of Jacob arrived they saw the slaughter and plundered the town of all their wealth. They also took flocks and herds, the women and children. *** When Jacob found out what had happened, he was very upset, he was afraid the people around there would retaliate and he would lose everything, but this didn’t happen. Jacob would curse Simeon and Levi because of this act in his blessing at the end of his life (Genesis 49:5-8). This was not a small injustice they had done. God was not pleased. *** In Matthew, Jesus had just answered John the Baptist’s disciples question about whether he was the Messiah. As they left to go tell John what Jesus had said, Jesus turned to the crowd and asked them why they had gone out to listen to John. He reminded them that John was a prophet who didn’t dress in expensive clothes, but he was the one that scriptures had said would prepare the way for the Messiah. John was the greatest prophet that ever lived and yet he was less than those who lived in the Kingdom of Heaven. When John began preaching about the Kingdom, a war in heaven had begun and the Kingdom of Heaven was winning. *** People found every kind of reason to find fault in John because he wasn’t what they had expected. The same went for Jesus. He did miracles the people had never seen before and yet many had not repented of their sins. Every place Jesus had gone and displayed the Kingdom of God would be judged for how they received him. Yet there were those with child-like faith who had accepted Jesus, and they would be given the gift of salvation. They would enter into God’s rest and learn of him. *** Jacob had struggled with God and won and we must struggle with him also and win. We struggle with our pride and giving our whole will over to him. We struggle with sin and losing our lives. But, we always find that God’s life is better. *** Lord, may we never take lightly the gift of salvation and the joy of knowing you. May we always have child-like faith and struggle to enter into your rest.