Jacob's limp. Jacob's limp was the crippling blow which God gave to Jacob to cure him of his idolatry. It was a very painful injury, a debilitating injury that caused Jacob to walk with a crutch painfully for the last 47 years of his life. Every step at Peniel. Now Jacob's limp is an important element to study in God's work of sanctification, which we will do this morning, and to be able to understand something of sanctification with his children, which he works in them within the school of Jesus Christ. It is very important to understand the role God uses in in giving Jacob's limp. God uses man to accomplish his plan, and Jacob was one of the patriarchs of the scriptures. We know that the persons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were central to God's plan for the universe, which he had designed and implemented in the stillness of a never-begun eternity in his grand to eternal life in heaven. There God predestinated Esau, whom he hated to eternal life in hell. Within God's predestinated love, Jacob's 12 sons are given to be the foundation, the human foundations in heaven. Heaven's walls have 12 foundations, Bow down then before God's holy face this morning and hear his word concerning one of the greatest wrestling matches and experiences the world has ever seen. Let us hear his word from Genesis 32 verse 1. And Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, this is the God's host. And he called the name of that place Manum. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau, his brother, and to the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And down to verse six, and the messengers returned to Jacob saying, we came to thy brother Esau, him. Then was Jacob greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels into two bands, and said, if Esau come to the one company and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape. And down to verse 21, lodged that night in the company. And he rose up that night and took his two wives and his two women servants and his eleven sons and passed over the four jaybook. And he took them and sent them over the brook and sent them over that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And there rustled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him. And he said, let me go, for the day breaketh. And he, Jacob, said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said, let me go, for the day breaketh, And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he, Jesus, said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. For as a prince thou hast power with God and with men, and hath prevailed. And Jacob asked him and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he, Jesus, blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, and the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. that shrank. Thus far the reading of God's Holy Word. This morning we will look at Father Jacob and the theme of sanctification, that all the saints must enter heaven through many tribulations. We will look at this in three main points. The first point is Jacob, the deceiver. The second point is the birthright received. The third point is Jacob's name being changed to Israel. The fourth point is Jacob, now named Israel, struggling, advancing through the school of Jesus Christ. Now in our first point, Jacob the deceiver. We must insist that Jacob was conceived and born dead in sins and trespasses, just exactly like every other human ever born on earth. There was no reason within Jacob why that God chose Jacob. universe? Absolutely none, for he was no different than what we are. He was a sinner, a great sinner. But God, for his own sovereign reasons, chose Jacob specifically to play such a prominent role in his grand master plan. It was nothing but God's but even looked exactly the opposite. Yes, all the human reasonings in the world put together could not begin to scratch the surface of God's divine reasoning. His thoughts are infinitely higher than all human thoughts together. Now, we must remember, however, in paradise, before we sinned in our covenant head, Adam us. Oh, then we were wiser and able to see so much more. But, but when we broke his covenant, God did not have one requirement, not one requirement to save even one person on earth, one person, much less the Oh, wonder of free and sovereign grace! Everything is mercy, is grace in the finished work of the blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, do you think often of Yes, after our deep fall, God owes humans absolutely nothing to me or to you. Nothing outside of hell. For every privilege we have is being outside of that awful, dreadful, eternal place. Yes, through our sins we have earned hell as covenant breakers. Oh, we must bow deeply before the Most High and the Most Holy One this morning, who does not have to give any of his divine reasons for anything he does to us, sinful worms of the dust by comparison to him. But tragically, we imagine we are still kings in the covenant of works in paradise and foolishly insist that God must act as we want him to act, like we think he should act, like we think humans should act, and that if it cannot be explained, God's work explained by human logic, it cannot be true. Oh, what a small, puny, finite God we have, measure it. God rightly calls us but worms in comparison to him. And so we are, as worms, simply made what he made from the dust in paradise. And look how much more than we have sinned in Eden. Oh, then we must realize we are the clay, He is the potter. He can do whatsoever he wills with us. Now this morning, let us look at the patriarch Jacob's early life, where he richly earned and he deserved the name of deceiver. Deceiver? Yes, what an awful name for a saint. Deceiver? for a patriarch deceiver. Clearly, Jacob was a deceiver, a slippery character. He appears to routinely have used lies and deceit to get his way. Even his father did not trust him. Now, his twin Esau, by outward appearances, looked and acted more masculine, more like that more looking like a mediator. But now, on the other hand, Jacob, this weak, lying deceiver, was more what we would say today a mommy's boy, preferring to work with his mother, Rebecca, in the tent in the house instead of doing outward, robust things like hunting with Esau. Jacob was a good salesman and a good cook, as we can see, in selling his soup to Esau, with such a high price tag of the birthright. Oh, Jacob knew what he needed, what he wanted, but these two twins could not be more different. Isaac favored Esau, but Rebecca favored Jacob. Yes, even appearance. And he wanted Esau to get the birthright and to be the Messiah lineage. But Rebecca was not so deceived. She had been taught differently and she knew that God had chosen Jacob for the Messiah lineage. And that was the reason she was so willing to so forcefully where the Messiah blessing was going to be given by Isaac. But we must never forget that God does not look on the outward things, but look at the inward parts. He examines our hearts. And the bitter reality was from eternity And we don't know when exactly Jacob was regenerated by God, but it appears to have happened at an early age when God planted the new birth in his soul and entered him into kindergarten in the school of Jesus Christ. Now this school is a each advanced year of life. Actually, it is so difficult that many of those enrolled in this school never even reach graduation. Some never get past kindergarten. But what God has begun, he will finish. But how very, very few do graduate Jacob finally did at the age of 147 years. But he had to walk with a severe limp and great pain and many tribulations for his last 47 years. For that painful limp was given to daily remind Jacob Now in our second point, the birthright received in Jacob's 20 years after fleeing from Esau. Oh, we know how angry Esau was when the birthright was stolen from him and that he planned to kill Jacob after Isaac died. There was no reasoning with Esau, for he was a reprobate. Knowing this, Rebecca and Isaac, not wanting to lose both of their sons, blessed Jacob again and sent Jacob away to save his life. Not knowing this was all God's will and God's plan to build his church. Yes, so often God's ways And this is especially true with Father Jacob. Fleeing from Esau, Jacob slept that first night we know at Bethel. There he was encouraged and he learned through a strange way that God had approved of his actions and of him and of the Messiah promise was indeed his and that God would bless Jacob. There we know he dreamed and saw a ladder reaching up into heaven. and angels ascending and descending upon it. Oh, what a great encouragement! But Jacob at that time could not see the hidden Jesus standing at the head of that ladder. Now he would see him later, but kindergartners aren't taught that advanced information. elementary principles. They usually aren't showing that solution in the beginning. Jacob had to go forth in faith. In faith, not by sight. And uncertainty was everywhere. Danger was everywhere. Problems everywhere. But what an encouragement his dream of angels was. And it would be 20 more years before Jacob saw these angels again. And at that time, he saw, he not only saw Jesus, but he wrestled with him through the night. But to return, now arriving at his uncle Laban, he immediately fell in love with Rachel. Laban was his boss and his father-in-law. Laban was a devilish man who worshipped physical idols. He was a profane man, so much like Esau. And Jacob had to bitterly learn that Laban could out-deceive him. He asked Laban was so And oh, what an incredible mixed up and bewildering mess of things became in Jacob's life, where each day he had to sort through and negotiate around complexities for the next 20 years, incredibly complex things. But God's hand was the hidden hand, teaching him in the school of Jesus Christ daily. It had to be, or if not, Jacob would certainly have failed. For Laban was the heathen of heathens, the devil's tool to try to shipwreck Now Jacob, since being regenerated, was trying, struggling, striving daily to change himself, to escape from his name of deceiver. It was very difficult. He was a deceiver, and because labor Lavin tricked Jacob constantly, even giving him a different wife, Leah, than Rachel, whom he thought. He changed Jacob's wages 10 times, and he tried in every way to take advantage of Jacob. But God watched. God prevented Satan and this evil every moment. Yes, now, twenty turbulent years have passed by. Incredibly, through those chaotic, turbulent times, Jacob has ended up married to four wives and had eleven sons and one daughter. All 20 years, crisis after crisis had clouded his way and made his life often so miserable. But now, after 20 years, God appears to Jacob again and told him to return to Canaan, return to Isaac at the altar of Abraham. And he gathered up his whole of the night. However, Laban soon found out, and now his evil father-in-law was angrily pursuing him. But in the night before, at the last moment, God appeared to Laban and warned him to do no harm to Jacob. But now we read, the angels appeared again to Jacob as they had at Bethel, and he took courage. But a far greater obstacle stood in his way of our text this morning, for he had to meet Esau and somehow be reconciled to him. Yes, Esau's anger had burned against him for 20 years. But amazingly, God also prevents Esau from killing or harming Jacob. Jacob doesn't know this, however, and now Jacob is again at his wit's end. For ahead appears death, certain death. An angry Esau with 400 armed men is coming to meet him. This alarms Jacob to his core, to his very soul, and he falls before Almighty God, pleading for mercy. He sees no way to escape Esau. He doesn't know it or feel it, but now in this new test of God, Jacob graduates from kindergarten and advances several grade levels upward. Now here at Peniel, Jacob is taught more about himself. He learns humility. He learns and acknowledges that he was born a deceiver, that he had lived as a deceiver before Esau, before Isaac, and Rebekah, and before Laban. He has a deceiver for a hundred years of his life already. But here at Peniel, under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, he is given to finally see himself fully. Christ. Yes, finally at this moment in Peniel, finally, Jacob, there is no escape, no avoiding reality. Jacob is forced to come face to face with all his ugliness, all his sin, and acknowledge that he is the chief of sinners, a deceiver, There he had to own that he sinned not only against all the Ten Commandments for a hundred years, but worse, he had sinned against grace, a much greater sin. Here he must own his guilt. It is all his fault, no one else's. Here he is brought to the right place of humiliation, at the crossroads of necessity and of impossibility, the place where God always brings all of his children and where he can and does meet Yes, everything has become hopeless for him in himself. His sin overwhelms him. Death looms in front of him. We read of him pleading with God, I have hopelessly sinned away any right to heaven. But is there yet a way whereby I can yet be saved and my family Oh, in this courtroom of justice, there we can read, Satan also is allowed to present himself as an accusing attorney, as a fierce witness against Jacob, and also, of course, against all sinners in the bar of justice in the court of conscience. Before God's throne of grace, against Jacob, pointing out all of his sinful behavior for a hundred years already. Deceiver, deceiver, deceiver. And Jacob cannot argue against Yes, basically, Satan was saying to God, in that courtroom of justice, just look at this wretched man, this sinful wretch, this despicable deceiver. He is such a great sinner that even his very name is into a sinless heaven how yes poor Jacob enter sinless heaven but listen yet Lord he may plead is there yet another way another way that I can be reconciled to thee death and destruction of himself and his whole family lay open and a reality before him Yes, what a dilemma! All that night long he tossed and turned, hopelessness, sin, mushrooming over him. But, but, pleading Jacob, pleaded on, he could not give up. Now in our third point, how and why Jacob's limp, this painful limp, came to pass. But now suddenly in his night struggle, now suddenly Jesus appears and shows himself in Jacob's soul's eyes. Oh, and how quickly Jesus personally? Jacob knew here, here was his last chance, here was Jacob's last hope, and he desperately grabbed it with both of his arms, both of his hands, determined to not let Jesus go. Oh, he would die before he And so in our scripture reading, we read they wrestled spiritually all night long. Sometimes Jacob seemed to be winning, but suddenly he would be pinned again. And never, never was there a wrestling match like this wrestling match. Now Jacob is winning. Jesus appears pinned. But But now comes the climax. It is near dawn and Jesus must go. His mission to Jacob was done, but he must do one more thing. Though pinned, now Jesus simply breaks Jacob's grip loose, gets up, and says he must go. But Jacob is still let thee go, Lord of heaven and of earth, until thou bless me." Oh, what a thing! Jacob shows the greatest spiritual audacity possible. A sinful man holding on to a righteous God. But amazingly, instead of destroying Jacob for his many sins, God now extends his grace and mercy, and as a blood-brought saint, allows him to ask him as God for whatever he wants. The storehouses of God are open for Jacob. Jacob knows he is not wrestling with another human, but with omnipotence, with God himself. He, the one who created the universe in one split second and could destroy it in one split second, that's who he's fighting here at Peniel. The man named Deceiver, a sinner who wrestles with God, the Most Holy One, and most of Oh, amazing grace. But first, the teacher of the school of Jesus Christ, Musk, has one final test question of Jacob. We read that question in our scripture reading, and that question is penetrating. Jesus asks, what is your name, Jacob? Jesus knows Jacob was a deceiver of deceivers, but Jesus insists that Jacob must personally confess this reality with his own mouth, his own mouth of his sinfulness. He must fully own it. Not only does his name mean deceiver, but from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, he is sin. He is a deceiver. But amazing grace, astonishing wonder, instead of casting Jacob into hell, which he richly deserved, as do each of us, God forgave all his sins instantly because of his shed blood. Righteousness was found in Jesus, none in Jacob. Listen to what Jesus says. Jacob, you were a deceiver. Now your name is no longer Jacob. but I have changed it and I have given you a new name. Your name is now Israel, Israel. Oh, what a momentous event took place here in this rustling event of Jacob at Peniel. It was a graduation where Jacob advanced with honors Christ. He had been taught incredible things. But to ensure that Jacob not be puffed up with pride in the future, and to show him Jesus' vastly superior power, Jesus now simply touches the hollow strike it, but he simply touched it and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was instantly thrown out of joint. Now that hollow in the socket into which the end of the thigh bone is inserted and that muscle Hiccup really did not have any power, any strength. And now Jacob's main wrestling muscle was ruined. He would limp, severely limp, painfully limp for the rest of his life. It was a new day. He had wrestled with God and been victorious. But he would still limp painfully all of his life. And now for a minute, we must talk about this muscle, this ruining of the hollow of Jacob's thigh. Medical experts tell us that it is nestled in the hollow of the top part of the pelvis bone. The analgesic muscle extends all the way down from your lower ribs to your thigh bone. When you bend, run, walk, sit, or wrestle, the analgesic muscle works together with the other muscles in your hip joint to allow you This muscle is often called the wrestling muscle, for it is so important to be able to thrust, and it is the strength of wrestling. Yes, it is a physical part of a complex muscular system in the hip area that functions in conjunction with all the other body muscles, and this flat triangular Without the iliacus muscle, your power to wrestle is ruined. And so it was with Jacob. And he lived painfully the rest of his life. He attained the victory because of God's grace. Oh, this divine trial is not the only such one in scripture. It is a battle similar to many saints, such as God describes against Joshua the high priest in Zechariah 3. That was the wrestling where Jacob could plead with God. Yes, Lord, acknowledging all my sins, all of Satan's accusations are true. There is no righteousness within me, but I plead on thy mercy, on thy blood, and that there may yet be another way that I can be saved outside of myself. Oh, this language of the saints is pleasing to God's ears. So basically, when Jesus, when Jacob wrestled with God condemning himself, even though Jesus was divine, omnipotent, and Jacob was obviously a weak, mere, frail human. Yes, that is salvation's way. Yes, by Jesus' blood, by his stripes, sinners are healed, not anything from man. Yes, this wrestling in our scripture reading this morning was the most unequal fight ever seen upon the face of the earth. For Jesus had created the whole universe instantly with all of its trillions of galaxies, within each galaxy trillions of stars. And Jesus had done that instantly with one word from his mouth. Oh, how then could puny, finite, human Jacob begin to stand for one moment before that almighty power, never but by grace? To imagine prevailing before omnipotent power, wrestle with it, and live for one second is insanity. It would be like banging on the trigger of a nuclear bomb with a hammer. But this was a different fight. It was a fight between Jacob's faith and God's sovereignty. All the time, all the while, while Jacob was wrestling desperately, unbeknown to him, to wrestle Jesus, continue to bring him to the proper point. Yes, basically, Jacob won simply because his name was written in God's book of life, and this wrestling was the means that God would use to bring and to advance him further in the school of Jesus Christ. What a painful lesson for Jacob limped painfully for the next 47 years. He never, never forgot that moment at Peniel. He had wrestled with God and God allowed him to win. amazing grace unfathomable love immeasurable grace now in our fourth point jacob with his new name and his new role as israel now named israel now many would say finally Finally, after a hundred years of Jacob living in sin as a deceiver, that sinful life is now behind him. Now it is done. The worst is over. Jacob, Israel, can now move on in life. Surely, surely now Israel's life will become much easier. all of his life disasters, the violent ups and downs and tumults will finally end. For who could possibly have more or a better assurance of his salvation than this Jacob, the newly named Israel? But does not understand the additional difficulty each new grade level brings in sanctification in the school of Jesus Christ. Yes, Israel's life became more difficult, far more difficult, as he painfully lived through it. Yes, what great blessings Israel had received but much, much still had to be cleansed within him. Sanctification is a lifelong, ongoing process, not completed until the moment of death. Strange language. form it as the Holy Spirit cleanses. O shall not the saints not mourn and grieve at the sin which the Holy Spirit uncovers daily and shows them? and his own righteousness. He had to become humble to obey God's will and to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. And that would take 47 more years. Sadly, Israel still had many And as with any saint, in sanctification, there is a line. of Jesus Christ, and they must be conformed perfectly to the image of Jesus Christ. Yes, only perfection, only innocence, only sinlessness can enter heaven. Now let us look back and look at the many idols which God now forces out of Israel for the next 47 years. Tragically, we must begin, we must start with physical idols, unimaginable, but sadly we Jacob's family. Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife, his great idol, obviously believed in these idols of her father and had stolen them from her father, supposing to bring them to Canaan, foolishly thinking these gods would help them there. Jacob did not know it. We see now Israel finds them and we read, he got rid of them once and for all. He buried them under an oak tree, gone forever out of his family, these physical idols. With these physical idols out of the way, now God removes another physical idol. Rachel, Jacob's wife, was an idol. Jacob had idolized Rachel and scorned Leah and his other two wives for 20 years because he vainly imagined that the Messiah blessing would come through Rachel, through Rachel's children. Therefore, Rachel was his great idol. But now God removes Rachel from Israel's life, for she dies in childbirth while giving birth to Israel's 12th son, Benjamin. So in one day, in this, his favorite idol is gone, taken away. But We sadly see that Israel continues to cling to another idol, her son Joseph, for many years. He wants Joseph to be the Messiah. Now he returns to Isaac, his father, to the church and to the altar of Abraham. Yes, how Isaac must rejoice for the last 15 years of his life as the 12 patriarchs gather around his deathbed, that which he had prayed for, for continually for 45 years. Oh, what slow slowness but another crisis now suddenly israel's only daughter diana is kidnapped and held by a neighboring tribe who wants to marry her through trickery and the sons deceiver, and they end up killing all of the neighboring tribe in revenge. Awful thing. Oh, how Jacob, how Israel laments these senseless murders, as his name is blackened by this treachery of his wicked sons. Another crisis, now two of his grandsons are slain by God as being devilish, Judah's sons. Another crisis, now starvation is spreading over the whole world. But now, amazingly, God sends a tamer in his house, and to hear him speak of the wonders of Jesus, of Shiloh, who is to come. And unbeknown to Father Israel, God uses this heathen girl, Tamar, who was regenerated under his preached word, to be the carrier of the Messiah promise And now during these 47 years, additionally, how contentions, strife, and quarreling erupts, especially within Israel's own family, among his own 11, his 12 sons. And sadly, Israel himself is largely to blame for this family Joseph, born from his trophy idol wife, sadly over the other children. Openly, he favored Joseph in many ways, even sewing him a beautiful coat of many colors. Yes, Israel wanted the Messiah blessing to come through Joseph. Desperately he wanted that. That was his idol that still had to be eliminated. And the hate and the jealousy this generated grew so great within his family. For his other sons noticed Israel's favoritism of Joseph and they Yes, Joseph himself made it even worse when he told them of his dream where he saw that all of his brothers would all bow down to him. Oh, how these brothers hated Joseph even more and planned to even kill him. And yes, yes, But still, it was still in God's plan because these brothers would certainly all bow down to Joseph in Egypt. Yes, everyone. When Israel sent Joseph out to feed his brothers, they saw him, we know, and they plotted to get rid of him. They threw him into a pit and then sold him to Egypt. which is exactly what his wicked sons wanted him to think. Oh, Israel grieved. The great grief of Israel was pitiful. He had wanted Joseph to be the Messiah there, and now he said he would weep He shut himself off from his whole family in such a sad way, not seeing God's hand. For while Israel was busy mourning, so full of self-pity day and night, so attached to his idol Joseph for 17 years, he was so distracted, so disoriented, so full of self-pity, that his idol Joseph had been taken away from him, that he did not notice around him something eternally amazing was happening to his other eleven wicked sons. Yes, Israel wrongly wanted Joseph to be the Messiah bearer, but God intended Judah Israel had to be broken from this idol. He had to learn this deep lesson that God's will will be done. Not man's will, not Israel's will. No, the Messiah will come through Judah. idols of men. But Jacob lived painfully on, learning bitter lessons. But nevertheless, God was using this specific event by the grace and mercy found in him alone in the blood of Jesus Christ to work out his great goodness and his amazing grace among Israel's 11 other rebellious and unbelieving sons. God is using their sin, their personal treachery, to bring each of these 11 sons into their guilt, deep guilt, guilt in their conscience, convicting them of sin, righteousness, and of judgment. Yes, Israel mourned and was miserable for 17 years, determined to go to his grave, shut off from his family, weeping for his idol, Joseph. And he didn't notice. Unbeknown to Israel, his 11 sons did not have a good night of sleep for the next 17 years either. As God made them to hear in their conscience Joseph's pleading voice inside of their troubled consciences, these 10 sons them. God made it so that they could never stop hearing Joseph's pleading voice, pleading with his brothers not to sell him to Egypt. Yes, we can know this because of Joseph's words, remembering his pleadings. And they did it, bowed before Joseph, the vice pharaoh of Egypt, not knowing he understood their language, understood their every word. And oh, how glad he was to see God had worked sin, righteousness, and judgment in his 10 brothers' hearts. Oh, looking from the outside, that 17 years seemed to be backwards of all good. How could anything good come from this for Israel? But in reality, it actually was the greatest advancement of sanctification in the school of Jesus Christ, not only for Israel, but for all 12 He was simply wrong. The Messiah would not come through his son Joseph. No, the Messiah would not come through Joseph, but through Judah, and through Tamar, through Phares, and through Ezra. That was the Messiah lineage. that poor Israel never saw as he mourned for Joseph. Oh, what seems backward to man is forward for God. Yes, God's ways are in the sea, but they are perfect, and he will perform his will. But Israel limps painfully on. He still has idols. And now at the end of 17 years, look at deeply grieving Israel, where he hears from his sons that Joseph is still alive, that he is the vice pharaoh in Egypt. Instead of rushing to him, he first goes to his church. and humbly asks the Lord what he should do. No, he does not punish his sons, but he sees God's hand has done all these things because God wanted all the idols out of his life. God had worked all these good. Jacob could say all these things are against me, but they were for him. And Christendom may say the same thing in bitter strife and great tribulations that come into every saint's life. Sanctification was actually taking place just exactly as God actually decreed it. even though all men and even Israel disagreed with that process. Oh, it is no different today. Are you disagreeing with the many tribulations of your life while you think you are striving to serve God? Oh no, for and Jacob, Israel, lived painfully on. Now look at Israel standing before Pharaoh and blessing Pharaoh. When Pharaoh asked him how old he was, Israel said 130 years. But he added this summary of them, He said of all those years, few and evil have been my days. How little I have been true. How little I have sincerely repented. Oh, Israel could look back on his turbulent up and down life, his great deceits, his many sins, his great unbelief, his refusal to obey God, his many idols, his great pride, and say in amazement, though I have done everything wrong, God has brought good out of all my All praise be to his holy name. For there is nothing of me or my life that merits even one thought from him, one word from him, one drop of blood from him. It is all grace and mercy, every single moment of my life. And now he sees why God gave him this great and painful limp for over 40 years. And yes, God strikes all the saints in the hollows of their thigh in a similar way, that they may learn that they are not emphasizing my way, but God's way be done. Oh, Jake, his experience was so similar to the apostle his flesh, imagining so that he could work even better for Jesus. But God said all saints need my afflictions, many afflictions, many thorns in the flesh, many painful lips, specifically to humble their awful pride and to let God do his work. in his own way through them. And now Israel's pilgrimage is ending. He's 147 years old. Now it is time for Israel to die. And yes, he is longing him away to heaven where there is no sin anymore. But from God he has two more tasks to do to grant the assignments and the locations and the blessings of each of the tribes of Israel of each of his 12 sons. But most importantly, he has to get rid of his last idol. Secretly, he is always imagining that Joseph will be the Messiah. Now he must give the Messiah lineage promise. Most important thing that he will do which of the sons, the 12 sons, will be the Messiah lineage, the Messiah who will come. Look at him from his deathbed delivering that incredible blessing. Each receives, of his 12 sons, receive a prominent place in the promised land. And now it is time for the last idol to fall away from Israel. The greatest blessing, the blessing of the Messiah lineage, would come through Jesus. Joseph would receive many blessings, but in reality, both of his son's tribes will apostatize with the ten lost tribes. who knew more about the Messiah promise than he did. And behind her, he sees her son, Phares. And behind Phares, her grandson, Ezra, his grandchildren. Yes, Shiloh will come, not through Joseph, but through Judah. And he proclaims this in verse 10. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, until him shall be Yeshailo, Jesus, whom he wrestled with at Peniel, the Son of God, will come, would come, through Judah's lineage, nearly 1,500 years in the future, to save sinners. Oh, it went in a far, far different way than Jacob, Israel, had thought. Yes, Israel and all 12 of his sons did have God's work, that repenting grace worked in their lives, and they did graduate from the school of Jesus Christ at the highest possible level in a strange and an incredible way. They were all Oh, amazing grace. Yes, indeed. Israel had to lose all of his idols. All things work for good to those who love the Lord. Oh, Jacob limped so many years of his life because he did not understand that. and we pray that each of us may