Okay, a sheet coming round again. Have your Bible open at Genesis 32. And that passage, it was just read to us. So let's make sure, what ones have we had so far? Enoch. Walking with, the whole title. Enoch. Walking with God. Abraham. Meeting with God and trusting in God. And then tonight we come to Jacob wrestling with God. Jacob wrestling with God. When I was a young boy, about 10 years old, growing up, on Saturday, I think it was Saturday mornings on the television, I'm not sure I was really allowed to watch this, but we crept in and watched it anyway. There was wrestling on the television. And there were people, they were names like Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks. and they would fight one another. And as a 10-year-old boy, I was enthralled by these battles that would happen, and watching the wrestling on the television. And then my brother and I would try and act it out afterwards in our bedroom. But my brother was older than me, and he always won. But as I was watching this, as I grew up a bit, I began to realize something. It was all staged. was all decided beforehand, they would work out beforehand what was going to happen, who was going to throw which moves, how the baddie would almost win, and then in the end the good person would win the day. It was all a stage, it was all just put on for the audience. It was all a show. Well, what we have in this passage is very different. We still have two men wrestling, but there's nothing staged about it. It's not a show, there's no one else there, there's no one else watching. It's very real, and for Jacob, I imagine, very frightening. And there's a profound sense of mystery about it, actually. But though we don't understand everything about it, and about what happened that night, there are some really important, vital truths for us. So I hope that we can stay awake and alert for one more session this evening. What threats can we give? They've had the cake, have they? Did we have cake? I didn't have any cake. I just realized that. Let me just set it in its context, okay? So, now we're considering this man Jacob, the son of Isaac, the grandson of Abraham. When we get to this passage, he's on his way back to the land of Canaan, after an absence of 20 years. He's been away for 20 years. He'd had to leave in a hurry, running for his life from his brother Esau, whom he cheated out of his father's blessing, and Esau had determined to kill him, you remember. He'd left with nothing. But on the outward journey, God had met with him. You remember that occasion when he has that vision of the ladder going up to heaven? And God had promised to be with him and bless him and bring him back to the land. But it's been 20 years and it's been a tough 20 years. working for his cruel, cunning Uncle Laban. You remember who tricked him into marrying Leah before then giving him Rachel. You don't want an uncle like Uncle Laban. My children have a quite mean uncle called Uncle James, but he doesn't come anywhere near Uncle Laban. And so those 20 years, they've been not very easy, working for his uncle, jealousy amongst his wives. And yet the Lord has blessed him and when he flees from his uncle Laban, he does so as a wealthy man with 11 sons. But now, now he's facing the prospect of meeting his brother. The last he'd heard of him, Esau had vowed to kill him. But Jacob, he sent messengers ahead, hasn't he, to Esau telling him that he's returning. And they've come back with news that Esau is on his way with 400 men. And Jacob's afraid, but he acts fast. So you remember what he does? He divides the company in two, or the family and the sheep and everything, so that if one is attacked, maybe the other ones may be able to escape. Then he sends ahead of him a whole series of gifts for Esau, so that as Esau comes, he'll receive each of these gifts, and maybe that will pacify him. But the most important thing that Jacob does is he prays. Look at verse 9 of the chapter. We didn't read this passage, but look at verse 9. Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, return to your country and to your family and I will deal well with you. I'm not worthy of the least of all the mercies and all the truth that you've shown your servant, for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff and now I've become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For you said, I will surely treat you well and make your descendants as the sand of the sea which cannot be numbered for multitude." So he prays. And that's the setting then in which we find this amazing, mysterious passage from verse 22. You'll see on the sheet we've got six things. So the last message we have three points. I'm hoping this isn't gonna be twice as long for this session. I'm sure it won't be. Six things, okay, for us to think about. Number one, Jacob alone. Now that's verses 22 to 24. Verse 24 says, then Jacob was left alone. Those are significant words. With four wives, and eleven children, and many servants, and a huge farm to run, I don't imagine Jacob had very much time alone. Life was extremely busy. It had been extremely full. Lots of people, no doubt, wanting to see him and speak to him. But here in this passage, as he heads back then to the land of Canaan, after those twenty years, he's heading back to face his brother Esau, he clearly wants to spend some time alone. So, when he comes to the fort of Jabbok, verse 22, we see, look at verse 22, he sends over his wives, and his children, and all his possessions, and all that he has, and then he stays on the other side of the brook. He's alone. His family have gone, his possessions have gone, it's just him. No radio, no television, no phone, nothing to distract him. I wonder when the last time he was alone was. Well it's clear I think that he puts himself in that position. It's what he does, what he wants. Now we're not told specifically why, but I think we can assume from what follows that he wants to meet with God. He at least wants to pray and prepare himself for what's ahead. He's alone. Now, I wonder what you're like at being alone. Whether you like being alone. I wonder whether you seek time when you're alone. There was a great preacher of the 19th century called Robert Murray McShane and he said this, what a man is, what a person is, alone on their knees before God that they are and no more. In other words he's saying that's where you find out where you really are at if you like as a Christian. Not how many meetings you attend, not how much theology you know, not how well you sing, but what about when you're alone? What about when you're alone? What are we like when we're alone? We live in an age, don't we, where people are rarely alone with nothing to distract them. We've always got the TV on, or the radio on, or the phones going, and there's messages pinging up all of the time. And it seems that we don't really like to be alone. Perhaps then we might have to think, or perhaps then our conscience might trouble us, or perhaps then God might speak to us. But I want to say to you, young people, that you need time alone, without any distractions. Time when you can be alone with God and His Word, where there's no one to impress, No one to worry about when it's just you and God so that you can speak to Him and He can have dealings with you. You need time alone. Don't just take my word for it. Take Jesus' word for it. You remember what He says in Matthew chapter 6, verse 5 and 6, when you pray, you should not be like the hypocrites for they love to pray standing in the synagogues or on the corners of the streets that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you shut the door, pray to your Father who's in the secret place, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. Time alone. Can I say something radical? If you turn off your phone, you don't die. Do you know that? Have you ever tried it? I think some people think if they turn their phone off they go and disappear and their life force would go. No, no. You can turn off your phone. You ought to turn off your phone when it comes to your devotions. Time alone. Can I ask another question? Have you ever been alone with God? Have you ever had a moment where No one else matters but you and God. Do you remember that occasion, that parable that Jesus told? The Pharisee and the tax collector. What does the tax collector pray? God be merciful to me, a sinner. Actually it's the sinner, isn't it? In the original. As if there's nobody else there, there's nobody else that matters. It's just him and God. Has that happened with you? I mean one day you're going to have to stand before God alone. And there's only one way to be ready for that, and that's to stand to meet him alone now in your sin and ask him to be your savior. Jacob alone, that's the first one. Second one, Jacob wrestling. Verse 24 and 25. So we've come to this strange, mysterious account. I'm not sure anyone fully understands it. And once again, we have to acknowledge, don't we, that, as we were thinking last time, God's ways are higher than ours. We can't put God in a box, can we, and say, this is what God's gonna do here. So if none of us had read this chapter before, and we got to this passage, and we go, what do you think's gonna happen next? None of us would have said, I know what's gonna happen. God's gonna come and wrestle with Jacob. None of us would have thought of that, would we? God's surprising, isn't He? You never know what He's going to do. His ways are higher than ours. But let's be clear what happens here. So it's the night, Jacob's alone, and suddenly, look, verse 24, a man appears and starts wrestling with him. So they're fighting, they're grappling with each other. Who is it who's turned up? Well, it's described as a man in verse 24, isn't it? So clearly, you know, it's real. Someone that Jacob can grab hold of and wrestle with and cling to. This is sort of flesh and blood. But it becomes clear, doesn't it? He's no ordinary man. Look down to verse 28. He struggled with God. Or what does Jacob say in verse 30, I have seen God face to face. In the book of Hosea. You perhaps want to turn there or you can just listen. Hosea chapter 12. Hosea refers back to this occasion when God, when Jacob wrestled with God. And he speaks of it there in Hosea 12 verse 4. He struggled with the angel and prevailed. He wept and sought his favor. It speaks there about him wrestling with with God's. In his strength he struggled with God's. So this is another one of those occasions where God comes. And we said yesterday, didn't we, that when those occasions occur, it's the Son of God, it's the second person of the Trinity who appears, the Angel of the Lord. A pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus. Now the mystery is, Why does the Lord come and wrestle with Jacob? Now, we're not specifically told in our passage, are we? But I think we can come up with some ideas. Surely when this happens, think about this now with me, Jacob stops worrying about Esau and realizes there's something far, someone far greater to fear. You say, I wonder, has Jacob's mind become so filled with Esau and worrying about him, so the Lord has to come to Jacob and remind him, Jacob, you've got bigger issues, you've got someone greater to fear than Esau. Sometimes we can be like that, can't we? We worry about all sorts of things and all sorts of people, and actually our biggest issue is with the living God. He's the one we should fear. Especially, of course, if you're not a Christian. You know, we can think, well, I've got all sorts of things to worry about in my life. You know, real, genuine things about my exams and my support and money and finance and everything else. And yet, the biggest issue we have is God. Are we right with Him? Do we fear Him? Sometimes as Christians we can be plagued with the fear of people. We can worry about, what does so-and-so think about me? That can often be a very debilitating thing. And actually, what we're called upon to do is to fear God. To remember that He's actually awesome. And sometimes we can be so worried about other people, and what other people think of us, and not as concerned as we ought to be about our walk with the Lord, and about sin in our lives, and about the fact that we must one day give account to God. And I think that as the Lord comes and as he wrestles with Jacob, it's as if he's saying, hello? Remember me? Your mind seems a bit filled with Esau, but here am I. And surely the Lord also wrestles with Jacob just to humble him and remind him of his weakness. Jacob's, you know, he's a pretty big man now, isn't he? He's a pretty impressive man, he's got wealth, and he's a strong man, and of course for a while, and while the Lord lets him, he can hold his own in this wrestling match. But it only takes a touch, doesn't it, we see from the Lord, and he's rendered useless, and he'll walk with a limp for the rest of his life as a constant reminder to him of the Lord's touch and of his own weakness. And sometimes the Lord brings things into our lives, perhaps we could say wrestles with us if you like, in order to remind us of our weakness. In order to make us lean on him and cling to him as we'll see in a moment. Jacob does. He gives Paul, doesn't he, a thorn in the flesh so that Paul will realize my grace is sufficient for you. Jacob wrestles. It's, it's, it's a reminder that, that he's the fear god. That's what he needs to do. Jacob alone. Jacob wrestling. Jacob clinging. Verse 25 and 26. Look at those two verses. We've seen that Jacob gives a good account of himself. He wrestles with this man until daybreak, but it becomes clear that it's only because the Lord's been allowing him to. Because all the Lord has to do is touch the socket of Jacob's hip and it comes out of joint. And it's not simply some special judo move that the Lord's got. It's divine power, isn't it? He could have done it earlier. But he allows Jacob to wrestle with him, but once this has happened, Jacob's rendered useless. He can't fight, he can't wrestle with his hip out of joint, and all he can do is cling. He doesn't give up, does he? He just keeps clinging to his opponent. He won't let go. He's beaten, but he won't let go of God. Now that passage in Hosea 12 that I just read from, fills us in a little bit about what this clinging involved. You hear what it said? It said this, yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed. He wept and sought favor from him. Or it can be translated, he pleaded for his favor. So we discover that as Jacob's clinging, he's now weeping and he's pleading with the Lord for what? For his favor. In other words, for his smile, that's what it means, his acceptance. And do you see what's happened here? Before this he's been concerned about Esau's favor, hasn't he? But back in verse 20, perhaps he will accept me. And he's sending all these gifts to try and gain Esau's favor. But now something's happened. Now he wants someone else's favor. Now what he's interested in is God's favor. And so when the Lord says, let me go, he says, I will not let you go unless you bless me. That's now what he wants more than anything else. The blessing of God, the favor of God, the smile of God. And he's going to cling to God and he's not going to let God go until he does bless him. He's determined. That's what he's interested in now. You see, his situation's changed. Esau, in one sense, has been forgotten. Having Esau's favors been forgotten, now he's met the Lord and he wants His favor. And you know that's how we're to be. Not wanting one another's favor so much, but wanting the Lord's favor. Wanting the Lord's smile, concerned about what the Lord thinks about us. Clinging to Him. I think I mentioned Yesterday, the beginning of Psalm 63, David's psalm. You remember when David says, oh God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. He's longing for God. A bit later on in that psalm in verse eight, it says, my soul follows close behind you. And it can be translated, my soul clings to you. That's David. He wants God. He wants to know God more than anything else and he's going to cling to Him. The Apostle Paul speaks like that, doesn't he? Letting go of everything else that he might have Jesus Christ and cling to Him. Because that matters more than anything else. And I want to say to you, that's what the Lord loves. That's what He delights in. When His people cling to Him. When they say, Lord, I want You more than anything else. I need You more than anything else. Are you clinging to Him? When you're alone, is there that wrestling? That pleading, that sense, if you like, of desperation, I will not let you go unless you bless me? Is that time alone more than just saying your prayers? But there's this encounter with God, with the Lord, that you want Him, His smile, His blessing more than anything else. Have we been humbled enough to see our own weakness and our need of the Lord's? So, Jacob alone. Jacob wrestling. Jacob clinging. Fourthly, Jacob changing. Verse 27 and 28. So in verse 27, the Lord asked Jacob, what is your name? Now why does he do that? Has he forgotten Jacob's name? Do you think so? He hasn't forgotten his name, has he? I mean I forget names, I forget my children's names. I just say all four of them and the dog's name as well and know that one of them's right. But the Lord's not like that, is he? He doesn't ask because he doesn't know Jacob's name. There's more to the question than that. Jacob's been asked who he is before. You remember when he sought to deceive his father? You remember when he He tries to get his brother's, well he does get his brother's blessing by pretending to be his brother Esau. And his blind father had asked him, chapter 27 verse 18, who are you? And he pretended to be Esau and he tricked his father into blessing him. And Esau said, at that point, Esau said, chapter 27 verse 36, is he not rightly named Jacob? For he supplanted me these two times. What does Jacob mean? Deceiver, supplanter, grasper. And he'd lived up to his name, hadn't he? That's what he'd been. He'd taken what was not his. He'd been a deceiver and a thief and a liar. And if you like, his name expressed his nature. So when God asks him to, asks him what his name is, it's not that God needs information. He's wanting Jacob to admit who he is. He's wanting Jacob to admit what he's been. It's a bit like, you remember, when Adam and Eve are in the garden, and they've sinned, and they hide, and God says, where are you? Does God not know where they are? Of course he does. It's like an invitation. Come on, come and tell me. Tell me what's happened. Tell me where you are. Come and admit it. And I think there's a sense in which God's doing that with Jacob. Come on, Jacob, tell me your name. Tell me who you are. Admit what you are. And Jacob does that, doesn't he? He doesn't try and hide it. He says, I'm Jacob. And I think in doing that, he's facing up to what he's been and who he's been. And his sin, he's acknowledging it. And we all have to come to that point where we say to God, this is what I am. I'm a sinner. I can't pretend, I can't hide. God be merciful to me. The sinner. And what does God do? Look at those verses. He changes his name, doesn't he? You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. What does Israel mean? Prince with God, doesn't it? changes his name. Some of you have had to change your name, haven't you, coming here? You've got so unpronounceable names for us that you've just gone, call me Harry. Because I can't say your name, it's about ten syllables long. Call me Harry instead. My name's actually changed since I went to Norfolk. You call me Hugh, but in Norfolk they can only call me Who. That's all they can say, so I get called who, which is a bit confusing when people say, who are you? Some people have changed their name by legally. So I was reading about a man called Jason Burrows, who in 2007 changed his name to Megaton, one of the Transformers. because he liked transformers. That's okay when you're sort of 14, but when you're sort of 45 and going for a job interview and you say your name's Megaton, it doesn't really go very well, does it? But here's God changing his name. So he goes from Jacob the deceiver to being Israel, prince with God. That's what God's brought him to be. That's what God's done in him. If you like, the change of name is an indication of a change of heart and a change of status. He's a new man. He's a new creation. God's dealt with him. God's humbled him. And God's delivered him and rescued him. He's a different man. And surely that's a reminder to us of what God does to us. We might have the same name that we have, but if we're Christians, we'd be made different people. We're in a different status now, aren't we? We're princes and princesses. I go to Nigeria. When I first went to Nigeria, there's a lot of princes. I was thinking, wow, we've got a lot of royalty. Because everybody's called, I've discovered lots of people are called prince. But that's what we are, aren't we? We're children of God, children of the King. God's done something amazing in us. Can I say to you, can I put it like this? If you're not, I mean, I don't know you all. I would love that you're all believers and all Christians and all truly following Jesus, but I don't know that, so I can't assume it. So, can I say to you, if you've never done so before, go to God and tell Him who you are and what you are. and be honest with him and ask him to change it. And he will. He will. Let's hurry on. Fifth thing, Jacob blessed. Verse 29. Look at verse 29. This is a fascinating thing again. Having been asked his name, Jacob then asked this man his name. Tell me your name, I pray, he says in verse 29. And the Lord replies, Why is it that you ask about my name? You remember a similar occasion in Judges, when the angel of the Lord appears to Manoah and his wife. Who are Manoah and his wife? They are Samson's parents. And Manoah asks the angel of the Lord then, doesn't he, his name. And the angel replies, why do you ask my name? Saying, it's wonderful. And then we know that the name of God reveals who God is. It tells us who he is and what he's like. So in the Bible, we have various names for God, don't we? So there's the word El or Elohim, which means mighty, almighty, and it reminds us of the power of God. In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. We have the name Adonai, which means Lord, which reminds us of the sovereignty of God. Or we have the covenant name of God, Jehovah, Yahweh, which means I am, that reminds us of the eternal, unchanging nature of God. Or we come to Jesus, and of course we have many names for Jesus. Immanuel, God with us, you shall call him Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. So God's name reveals who God is. So just turn to Exodus with me, you're being very patient, just Exodus chapter 33. Do you remember that occasion when Moses prays? to the Lord, please show me your glory. You remember that? In Exodus 33 verse 18, or verse 70, no, verse 18 he says, please show me your glory. And what does the Lord say in the next verse? Verse 19, then he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. And that's what he does, doesn't he, in the next chapter. He proclaims his name, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious and so on. So he tells him his name. That's how we understand God, isn't it? We see something of his glory in that way. So in asking his name, Jacob is asking God, show me who you are. Tell me who you are. Let me see you. Let me understand you. Let me know you. And I think it's significant. Back in our passage now, look at verse 29. He says, why do you ask about my name? And then what does it say after that? And he blessed him there. Now, what greater blessing could there be than for God to tell him his name and show him his glory? And so that he sees who God is. That's eternal life, isn't it? Knowing God. Knowing Jesus Christ. That's why he can say, I've seen God face to face. His glory is being made known to me. So here's a prayer for us to pray. Here's a good prayer for you to pray. Do you ever pray this? Lord, show me your glory. Why don't you open the Bible? That's a good prayer to pray. Lord, show me your glory. And what is the brightness of God's glory? It's Jesus, isn't it? The brightness of God's glory. One last thing. Jacob alone, Jacob wrestling, Jacob clinging, Jacob changing, Jacob blessed. Lastly, Jacob spared. Verse 30. So he calls the name Peniel or Penua, which means face of God. And he says, I've seen God's face and my life is preserved. So it's an amazing thing that he's seen God. That he's seen God's face. In a sense, he's looked into the eyes of God. He's been allowed to wrestle with God and cling to God. I mean, that's amazing. But there's something even more amazing. That he's done that and survived. Because if you understand anything of the God of the Bible, he's holy, he's awesome. He can't look on sin. He has to deal with sin. He's a consuming fire. That's one of the clearest message of the Bible. And that's what Jacob struck by. As he walks away from this scene, not just that he's wrestled with God, but that he's still alive. How is that possible? How is it that Jacob's not frazzled and dead on the ground? He's a sinner, God's holy. I mean, if we've got any understanding of the holiness of God and our own sinfulness, we should be asking that question. How is it that Jacob's alive? And the only answer is this, that the one who Jacob wrestles with would one day come and die for Him. Really take on flesh and blood. Become one of us. In order to enter our world. Not to fight us, but to fight sin and the devil and conquer death. And make a way by which sinners like us can actually stand in the presence of God. That's the only way that Jacob survived. That's the only way you and I can survive an encounter with God. And the only way you and I can survive the judgment day is because this, this one came and lived and died and rose again so that through him we can know God and see his glory and walk with him and trust him and live for him. and wrestle with him and say, I won't let you go unless you bless me. Wrestling with God. Jacob alone, Jacob wrestling, Jacob clinging, Jacob changing, Jacob blessed, Jacob spared. Is that the story of your life? Can you say, by God's grace, that's me tonight? May that be true for every one of us. Let's pray as we finish. Lord God, we thank you again for this chapter. It's wonderful, it's mysterious. We ask Lord again that you would teach us through it, that you will humble us through it, that you give us a longing desire for you, that you will show us your glory, and that you might cause us to long for you and cling to you more and more. Lord God, you know us all. You know what we're like when we're alone and when it's just you and us. You know whether our Christianity is real. We ask Lord God that you will search us out this evening. And if we've never done so before, that we'll just come and tell you who we are, all our sin, and look to you to change us. because of Jesus Christ. Bless us, Lord, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.