Stephen Whitehouse - From Jacob to Israel - Class 3 - Face To Face With God

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Well, good morning, brothers and sisters, young people, I think this is the halfway point. Hope you’re feeling good. Well, we explored Jacob’s journey yesterday, didn’t we? From deceit to a divine encounter at Bethel. He laid that foundation stone, the Lord Jesus Christ, in figure, the chief corner. And we reflected, didn’t we, how we too are stones being shaped by life’s challenges.

2. 0:31

   And we are poised to join at Bethel, the chief cornerstone being our Lord. But we’re going to change gears now. And I want you to imagine in your minds at the beginning of today, a moonlight jewel by the Jabbok. We have Jacob and a mysterious figure. We have a a battle of faith and destiny. And the lesson, the lesson for Jacob and the lesson for us all this morning is to hang on, to hang on in faith. Well, let’s open up our scriptures then. And we’re going to begin our story today in Genesis chapter 32.

3. 1:13

   So we’ve gone forward in time. It’s 20 years, 20 long years for Jacob since we last saw him at Bethel yesterday. And here he leaves Laban’s house with his two wives and his family. And a big showdown is looming. Jacob sends this lavish offering of 580 animals to Esau in Eden.

4. 1:46

   So Esau, 20 years later is still on Jacob’s mind. But here there’s a twist. Remember how Isaac told Esau that he would receive a land? Remember this from chapter 27 and verse 39, A land away from the fatness of the earth and away from the Jew of heaven. He was going to claim Edom and Seer, and it’s at this very moment that Esau now is engaging, embarking on claiming that place for himself.

5. 2:23

   And so then Jacob would be very much in Esau’s mind, the frustration that he didn’t take the land. He hadn’t received the blessing. And so the tension here is electric. And make no mistake, Jacob is terrified at the prospect of coming face to face with Esau, and he prays to God. Look at the words there in chapter 32 and verse 11. So we see here that he’s still concerned about Esau. Deliver me, he says, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him. And the mother with the children, that phrase there, the mother with the children should be in the Hebrew Mothers, mothers and the children.

6. 3:20

   He had his whole family with him. There was Rachel and Leah, there was Bilhar and Zilpah. There were eleven sons. Young Joseph was there with him and Dinah. We have to go on a few chapters to chapter 35 for him to have Benjamin. The whole family is with him. And he imagined in his mind the mighty hunter approaching him. It was an ominous picture.

7. 3:44

   His wives, his children slaughtered, bodies piled high in a grisly mound of blood soaked flesh. This was the mind, the imagination of Jacob. His thoughts were flooded with sheer terror.

8. 4:07

   Don’t you worry. Don’t you wrestle and have sleepless nights. Don’t you worry about husbands and wives, children, grandchildren, family. Here was Jacob. He was tormented. He was grappling with fear. He was in imagining a a worst case scenario. And aren’t we the same brothers and sisters? But the lesson that he had at Bethel. I am with you Jacob, and I’m never going to leave you. We must remember that, brothers and sisters, when we too are being tormented, when we too are fearful, our family, that our imaginations are running wild, we, we, we, we think about a worst case scenario.

9. 5:10

   We must always remember that even in our darkest hours, our Lord is there with us, at our side. But Jacob, he feels compelled to meet Esau. He’s haunted by two decades of guilt. Look at these words here. I want you to notice this. This, this Hebrew word is a particularly strong word. There in verse 20, he says, I will appease Esau with the present that goeth before me. I want you to notice that word appease. It’s a strong word.

10. 5:45

    If I said the word Kappa, you would know I’m sure what that word means. It means cover, purge, reconcile, to make atonement. Here Jacob is seeking Esau’s forgiveness. He’s fully aware of the depth of his wrong to his brother. So imagining the worst case scenario, the bleakest situation, he’s imagining that that that that disaster is about to strike.

11. 6:17

    Jacob now separates himself from his family. He’s imagining the worst, and here he is. I want you to picture this in your minds, with all these things going through his head. He’s alone, He’s restless. Esau’s confrontation looms. He’s consumed by guilt and past experiences with his brother, and the face of Esau that he had at Bethel the first time is still with him even after the long 20 years in Laban’s house. He fears the face of Esau.

12. 7:02

    So that’s the picture. And then suddenly, out of the blue, something totally unexpected happens. Verse 24 of chapter 32. And Jacob was left alone with all these pictures in his mind, and there wrestled 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, and he wrestled with him.

13. 7:35

    So without warning, Jacob finds himself in the middle of a wrestling match. So there’s lots of confusion as you read these two verses. It’s between night and day. There’s an unknown, unknown location. And, and we’re wondering as we read this with Jacob, who was it? Who is this unidentified person? Was it Esau? As Esau’s face burned in his mind, was it Esau first detail I want you to notice is that it takes place here at Jabok. Now that’s very significant.

14. 8:15

    I, I think this, this begins to, to reveal a narrative that’s going to unravel. Now, before us, Jabok was the the border where Israel first triumphed over the Kingdom east of Jordan as they made their way into the land. And that’s very significant. That was the first battle, That was the first victory for Israel under the leadership of Joshua as they took, as they, as they, as they went into the land of promise. So it’s telling us here that Jacob in chapter 32 is standing on the threshold of the promised land. This was where the first victory took place. He’s on the threshold.

15. 9:01

    He’s on the verge of the promised land. This is where Jacob is. It’s almost as if, as we begin this narrative now with Jacob and the wrestling, that Jacob needs a push, a push. He’s on the threshold. He needs a push to enter the land, to enter God’s Kingdom. And isn’t that the case for all of us brothers and sisters?

16. 9:24

    We’re very needful of pushes, aren’t we? From time to time it says there that they wrestled. I want you to notice that word. It’s the Hebrew word aback, and it means to grapple, to get dusty. So, so the image here is that they that the two of them fought so hard that they created a a cloud of dust.

17. 9:50

    It was hard if you were a a bystander, if you witnessed this moment, it would be very difficult to identify who was who. That’s the whole idea. It created a Dust Bowl as they fought. This was a a terrific battle, a terrific battle. And notice here that there’s a play on words. Jacob, Jabok, Abak to wrestle. They all share the same Hebrew root. Jacob, Jabok, Abak to wrestle.

18. 10:34

    It’s almost as if when we’re reading the scriptures now, that the whole scene is wrestling. The whole world was shaking, trembling violently from the unfolding drama. It’s as if we’re seeing a rebirth.

19. 10:52

    A rebirth. There was a tremendous shaking so under the dim moonlighter, a fierce struggle between two silhouettes. And it was an even match, an encounter between the terrestrial and the celestial, the human, the divine, the temporal and the eternal. And this wasn’t just a a physical battle, it was a spiritual battle too. And upon Jacob’s face would have been a face of intense concentration as he embarked upon this wrestling match with this unidentified man.

20. 11:27

    It tells us, doesn’t it, that he wrestled with a man not named. The identity’s not disclosed there. And we have to wait 1000 years. We have to wait one 1000 years to find out who this man was. Come with me now to the book of Hosea. I’d like you to put a marker in Hosea, Hosea chapter 12. If we are to interpret just as we’ve interpreted Esau through Hebrews 11:00 and 12:00, we have to use Hosea to interpret what’s taking place here in the battle between Jacob and this unidentified man, this wrestling match, and we have to wait 1000 years for the identity to be revealed. That’s incredible, isn’t it?

21. 12:29

    That’s absolutely amazing. So here then, Hosea, chapter 12, verse four, we read these words from this minor prophet with a major message. Yeah, Jacob noticed there had power over the Angel. That’s the disclosure. Now Jacob eventually knew he was wrestling with an Angel, but the Scriptures do not reveal the fact until 1000 years later.

22. 12:55

    Yeah, he had power of the Angel and prevailed. He wept and made supplication unto him. He found him in Bethel and there he spake with us. So it’s not confirmed until now. An Angel, remember at Bethel an Angel stood by him. Remember that when we were talking about the staircase and how the Angel stood by him, you can put in your margin. Genesis 28, verse 12, I believe it’s the same Angel, the same Angel that told him I am with you and I will not leave you in verse 15.

23. 13:35

    And that Angel had followed him into Laban’s house. He had followed him like a twin and still now, 20 years later, Jacob didn’t know that he was being divinely protected by his God. And so suddenly now that Angel appears to him and wrestles with him. I believe that Angel was Michael, the Angel in Daniel 12 verse one that standeth for the children of thy people.

24. 14:03

    And that journey and that adventure was going to begin with this man, Jacob. Perhaps Michael was the guardian Angel of Jacob who was made Israel. And there this man who carries the name of Yahweh himself stood there. Now it’s interesting, isn’t it, that there was there was Jacob 20 years early, and he’d seen the staircase and the angels descending and descending.

25. 14:32

    And there was perhaps Michael, the great Archangel of God, who told him, I’m with you, I’m with you, Jacob. And he goes into Laban’s house and all the affairs that transpired there. And now, 20 years later, he still doubts. As we reflect upon our own lives, the moment where God has has clearly intervened, intervened in our own lives. And we still doubt, don’t we, brothers and sisters? Of course we still doubt.

26. 14:58

    And now this Angel wants to make certain that Jacob understands and believes. And so then this Angel holds on to him and grips him and says, I’m with you, Jacob. Make no doubt about it. I am with you, Jacob.

27. 15:22

    Now, if this Angel had been with Jacob for 20 years, this Angel would know everything about Jacob, wouldn’t he? It’s in every day of Jacob, his ups and downs, his crests and his, his valleys, his tears and his triumphs. He would know everything about Jacob. He would know all his weaknesses. This Angel had an advantage over Jacob as they wrestled.

28. 15:55

    This Angel knew everything about Jacob, yet what does Hosea 12 tell us? Verse four? Yeah, Jacob had power over the Angel and prevailed. How is that so brothers and sisters? How does a man who is 100 years of age prevail perhaps over Michael, an Angel of God? And we read these words. You can just flip back to Genesis chapter 32.

29. 16:29

    We’ll come back to Hosea immediately, but just look at these words here in Genesis chapter 32 just to confirm this message that that Hosea here is accurately interpreting Genesis chapter 32. Of course he would. But just let’s just see the details in Genesis 32 here. Look at verse 25. It says there very clearly the Angel saw that he prevailed not against Jacob.

30. 16:59

    I want you to reflect upon that. Brothers and sisters, come back to Hosea 12. How was that possible? How does a mortal man who was fearful of Esau, who was 100 years of age, how does he overcome an Angel? Well, we’re told the answer in Hosea chapter 12. You see there he had power over the Angel and prevailed.

31. 17:30

    So you can put in your margin Genesis 32, verse 25. And then we see how He did it. He wept and made supplication unto him. He wept and made supplication. Jacob fought with prayers and tears. These were his big and powerful weapons. And so imagine picture as this man is wrestling. He’s he’s praying, he’s crying, he’s pleading, he’s in utter pain. This was a, a spiritual warfare that that that resulted in a, a physical battle.

32. 18:15

    But this was a a wrestling with his mind as he prayed, as he cried, as he pleaded with his God. Want us just to reflect upon our own battles, brothers and sisters? And is that the way that we approach our own battles, that we pray, that we cry, that we plead? If we ought to be a Jacob to be transformed to Israel, these are the steps that we need to take.

33. 18:56

    I want you to notice something else here. Notice it says there in verse 3, Hebrews, Hosea 12, verse three. He took his brother Jacob. He took his brother Esau by the heel in the womb. So that’s the meaning of the name Jacob, the heel catcher. And then we read. And by his strength he had power with God.

34. 19:20

    I want you to notice that now. Now look in your margin, please. By that phrase, by His strength, He had power with God. What do you see? This is a really important detail. What do you see? By that phrase, By his strength, He had power with God. If you look carefully in your margin, you should see in his manhood. Have you got that?

35. 19:40

    Yes, in his manhood. So the battle, the wrestling Jacob reaches adulthood. Something is now changing in Jacob. He has hit maturity as he wrestles with the Angel. And so as he grows, he becomes more and more powerful. He becomes stronger and stronger in God’s strength. Now this is really interesting, isn’t it? Because look at the contrast now. It says there at the beginning of verse three, he took his brother by the heel in the womb.

36. 20:16

    He’s an infant. He’s a child, and by his strength in his adulthood, can you see that We’ve got this progressive step of maturity here. He had power with God. So he starts off as a child, an infant, and as an infant he’s holding on to the heel of Jacob. And then something happens to him that he reaches adulthood.

37. 20:39

    And in this adulthood, he has power with God, and he applies that power with God against the Angel there in verse four. And he prevailed. Can you see that? So he starts off holding the heel. He hits this point of maturity. He has power with God, and he directs that power over the Angel.

38. 20:57

    And in that wrestling, he prevails against the Angel. So in his immaturity, he’s a heel catcher. And in this wrestling here in Hosea chapter 12, he becomes a man because he realizes the power, the power only comes from God. That’s an important lesson, brothers and sisters, in our own challenges in life, the strength only comes from God. So the question is then, why couldn’t the Angel overcome Jacob?

39. 21:45

    Well, think what we’re seeing here in Hosea chapter 12. Jacob was locked in prayer. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much James 5 verse 17. Faith and prayer has the power to move mountains. And you can imagine now as Jacob is wrestling with this Angel, Jacob is praying to Almighty God that he overcomes this Angel because he wants a blessing. And although the Angel is is strengthened and empowered by Almighty God himself, God was answering the prayer of Jacob. The Angel was powerless, helpless, incapable of defeating Jacob in this moment.

40. 22:27

    It is an extraordinary moment, brothers and sisters, an extraordinary moment in time. Come back to Genesis chapter 32. You might be thinking, well, perhaps the Angel allowed Jacob to prevail. Or look what Scripture says. Brothers and sisters, let’s not use our own imaginations. Let’s keep close to Scripture. It doesn’t say that, does it?

41. 23:01

    Genesis 32, verse 55. We’ll read it again and when the Angel you can put there instead of he the Angel, because sometimes we get confused there. And when the Angel saw that he prevailed not against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh. If you have a look at other translations, you’ve got the new living translation. When the Angel saw that all he would not win the match by when the Angel saw that he prevailed not the New Living Translation, he would not win the match the ESV, he did not prevail against him the net Bible.

42. 23:39

    He could not defeat Jacob. This was not the Angel letting Jacob win. So here we have after a close match, the Angel was forced to do something to make a move, to create an advantage for himself. We, we, we can see in a way that the Angel here needed some help as he wrestled against Jacob.

43. 24:10

    And so he touched Jacob’s thigh. It’s literally the socket of his hip. Now think about that. The, the hip is where you get your mobility and your strength. It’s in a wrestling match. It’s the it’s the joint where you exert pressure on the opponent.

44. 24:32

    And so by touching the hollow of his thigh, it would have been excruciating for Jacob. He would have been writhing in pain. And instantly for the Angel, the tables now are turned. Jacob was prevailing against the Angel. And so then the Angel needs to touch the hollow of his thigh to give an advantage to the Angel.

45. 24:55

    It’s what’s taking place, brothers and sisters. It’s amazing, it’s astonishing, it’s unbelievable, but it’s true. And Jacob now was no match. The fight was now over. But this is Jacob, and now Jacob shows on parallel to determination. Jacob now can’t overcome the Angel, but he’s going to hold on. He’s going to hold on until the Angel blesses him. Now, brothers and sisters, have you in your own life, when you’ve been going through life happily, comfortably, and then suddenly in your own personal circumstances, all your strength has been taken away, that you’ve been broken, that you’ve been literally reduced to nothing unexpectedly. Has that ever happened to you?

46. 25:56

    I’m sure it has. I’m sure it has. And, and when we reflect upon those moments in our own lives, it’s in those moments, isn’t it, that our true selves are revealed. It’s when our true character shines through. And the lesson in all of these brothers and sisters, Jacob couldn’t overcome the Angel. The the the battle, the wrestling match was over, naturally speaking, but not in Jacob’s mind.

47. 26:25

    He was in excruciating pain. Everything was stacked against this man. But he’s holding on now for dear life until he gets the blessing. That must be the lesson for you and for me. Brothers and sisters, we’re never going to overcome an Angel. But what we can do is hold on tight until we’re blessed by God. That surely must be the lesson for us all. And, and in all of this and in all our challenges in life and whatever life throws at us, we need to appreciate all times that we only have strength and power with God. We only have strength and power with God now. This is such a momentous moment that the psalmist now picks this up.

48. 27:25

    I just want you to notice a phrase before we go there. Verse 25, that Jacob’s thigh, I want you to remember was the little phrase out of joint, out of joint. Let’s have a look now at Psalm 22.

49. 27:49

    The psalmist here inspired, guided by the Spirit, picks up, I believe the wrestling match of Jacob with the Angel and now applies it to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at these words here. Psalm 22, the Messianic Psalm begin there in verse one. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The whole Psalm is is littered with with messianic references, but where I’d like to look at is verse 14 personal pronoun. Here I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint.

50. 28:34

    My heart is like wax. It is melted in the midst of my bowels. So we’ve got the same phrase here, out of joint. But there’s something incredibly significant about this because out of joint with the Angel and Jacob, the out of joint in the Hebrew simply means to be dislocated. So his thigh was dislocated, excruciating, painful, but it was dislocated.

51. 29:09

    But brothers and sisters, when the psalmist picks up, I believe the wrestling of Jacob, he applies now guided by the Spirit, a much stronger Hebrew word to describe the wrestling of our Lord. Because out of joint here in Psalm 22 is to separate and to divide. Not, not at all to be dislocated, but to separate, to break away. So for our Lord it wasn’t out of joint. It’s as if although we know that not a bone was broken to fulfil the Passover lamb, the pain for our Lord was if every single bone was broken.

52. 30:08

    That was the feeling of our Lord as he wrestled. He gave everything. The whole idea is that every bone was broken from another. Think of that, brothers and sisters. And there’s a real play here because it says there I am poured out, and the meaning of the name Jabok is to pour here in this moment in verse 14 was our Lord’s Jabok moment. Now look at this.

53. 30:45

    Come with me to Hebrews chapter 5 now. And suddenly these words that we know familiar, we can see how they are rooted in the life of Jacob. Hebrews 5 verse 7, concerning the Lord, who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears unto Him, that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that He feared.

54. 31:14

    And you can put right by there verse 7, Hosea 12, verse 4, where it says He prevailed Jacob, He prevailed, He wept and made supplication unto him. Can you see that the writers of the Hebrews now picks up the Jacob moment? And the way that Jacob contended with the Angel with prayers and supplication and tears is exactly the experience of our Lord throughout his life, throughout his life.

55. 31:42

    So that when he died, the feeling within him was that every bone had been broken, the sacrifice was complete. He had given all for you and for me. Isn’t that amazing, brothers and sisters? Isn’t that absolutely astonishing? And so the words then that we hear each Sunday, take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you.

56. 32:12

    Suddenly, I believe that makes sense, isn’t it? Which was broken for you? And we think the Lord’s body wasn’t broken, but it was. It was in terms of how the Lord felt that every bone he felt had been broken in that Jacob experience. Brothers and sisters, isn’t this so moving and so humbling that our Lord did this for you and for me? Come back then to Genesis chapter 32. So we left Jacob here, wrestling with an Angel, his hip, his outer joint.

57. 32:53

    He’s in excruciating pain, but he’s holding on his Jacob. He’s not letting go. Verse 26 So now the Angel, although the Angel has an advantage, he now can’t let go of Jacob. Verse 26 the Angel said, let me go. Can you see this, that there’s a feeling here, there’s a sense of anxiety with the Angel that the day was breaking. This battle was over as far as the Angel was concerned, but Jacob was holding on and the Angel couldn’t do anything about it.

58. 33:26

    That was the determination of this man. Let me go, says the Angel for the daybreaker. Can you see this? This is not this is not the words of an Angel that we would expect. But it was true. And Jacob said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. So even with a dislocated hip, Jacob wasn’t letting go. The Angel wasn’t getting his own way, was he? Brothers and sisters, the Angel wanted to stop. And why did the Angel want to stop? Because Hosea Chapter 12 tells us that when the Angel looked at Jacob, the wrestling had changed him. He’d gone from an an infant to an adult in the wrestling. During that night he had reached manhood and for the Angel his work was over, but for Jacob there was more to go. Now when you reflect upon that and you you see now that the Angel wanted to stop and and Jacob wanted to continue. You can see here that in one contest during a long night, there’s 2 battles that are going on. Have you ever reflected upon this? There’s actually 2 battles that are going on that the Angel is wrestling with Jacob so that the Angel can change the character of Jacob.

59. 34:59

    And when the Angel sees that he reaches adulthood, that he’s fully mature, that no longer is he holding onto the heel of Esau, the Angel wants to stop. His mission is complete. Can you see that? But there was another battle going on. Jacob was wrestling with an Angel. And why was Jacob wrestling?

60. 35:22

    Because he wanted to receive the blessing. Now, brothers and sisters, that’s a very important lesson for you and for me. God works with us in our lives, in our challenges and in our problems to change our character and we ought to hold on in that experience, hold on for dear life, however hard that experience is in order to receive the blessing. Can you see that?

61. 35:50

    It’s a two way thing. When our characters are being changed, it’s painful. And the lesson in all of this is to hold on, to look past the pain.

62. 36:08

    A little surprising. Then in verse 27 you read these words. And he said unto him, the Angel, what is thy name? And he said Jacob. Now just imagine that in in the mid middle of the the wrestling match, Jacob’s adversary here, the the Angel, this mighty Angel said something really odd. He asks a Jacob, what is your name now? Now the Angel knew Jacob, didn’t he? He’d been with Jacob for 20 years. It was most unconventional, wasn’t it? He’d fought all night.

63. 36:43

    And now Jacob, his hips out of out of joint, his heart is, is bursting, his legs are unbearable. He’s his arms are numb. He’s been wrestling with an Angel all night long. And then out of that moment, the Angel has the audacity to ask Jacob politely, Excuse me, what is your name? Why, brothers and sisters, this is where it happens. It’s not an unusual moment.

64. 37:19

    It’s a development of a storyboard. Can we have a look back to chapter 27? Chapter 27, as I, I mentioned yesterday, was going to cast a long shadow over Jacob’s life when he stole, he robbed Esau of the blessing. And remember, and I emphasized and I told you to take note of it yesterday, that Jacob lied twice, didn’t he? Verse 19 when when Isaac, when his curiosity was aroused, he was asked, Verse 18, Who art thou, my son? What is your name?

65. 38:00

    Verse 19 I am Esau. Verse 24 Art thou my very son Esau, what is your name? And he said I am. Can you see what’s happening? The very same question is being asked of Jacob in the middle of the wrestling match. What is your name? And when that question was asked before Jacob received the blessing of his father, and he deceived his father, and in order to receive the blessing of God, how is he going to answer now?

66. 38:58

    And he has to answer, he has to reveal his name in order to receive the blessing. And he says I am. I’m a heel catcher. I have held onto my brother’s heel all my life and now I’m a man.

67. 39:30

    I have maturity. I have power. With God I’m a cripple. I can no longer run from the face of Esau. I am Jacob. Can you see that in order for him to receive the blessing, he has to renounce Esau? Remember, he was the twin. He had Esau within him. And then when he he deceives his father, he says I am Esau. But now after the wrestling, I’m no longer Esau. I’ve let go of the heel.

68. 40:08

    I am Jacob. I am the heel catcher. I am the one who is not fully made like my brother. I am the one who is made in your strength.

69. 40:25

    Isn’t that wonderful, brothers and sisters? So moving. It caught me just a moment there. Just so incredibly moving. It was a, it was an open confession, wasn’t it? I’m Jacob. I’m a mast. I’ve always been Jacob. I’ve always been a heel catcher. I’ve always been running from the face of easel.

70. 40:48

    That’s who I am. I am nothing, he was saying. Now. It’s in that moment that everything happens to Jacob. Notice this as soon as he confesses who he is, what is your name? Verse 28 And he said, can you see that? Suddenly as soon as he confesses who he is, God now can work with him. Thy name shall be called no more, Jacob. I am a heel catcher.

71. 41:27

    He’s just acclaimed. No, no, no, no, says the Angel. Thy name now shall be called no more, Jacob. You’ve hit maturity, says Hosea, chapter 12. You now have power with God. The work of the wrestling Angel was complete. For as a Prince hast thou power with God and with men hast prevailed, so he now bears the name of Israel. So important, brothers and sisters, this is the first mention of the name Israel in Scripture. The first mention of the name Israel in Scripture. And it’s after this wrestling match with the Angel. Now given that we believe in the hope of Israel, I think sometimes we get confused with the meaning of the name Israel. And it’s not surprising, is it, that we’re a little confused with the meaning of the name Israel, because verse 20, 28 is not entirely clear, is it?

72. 42:32

    So just look at different translations on the screen here. So the new King James Version says your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. Why? For you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.

73. 42:48

    And then the the new living translation has these words. From now on you will be called Israel because you have fought with God and with men and have one. OK, just just think about those different renderings there.

74. 43:06

    Look in your margin in chapter 32 and verse 28 by the name Israel. As I mentioned, that’s the first time and you can see in your margin, and perhaps this is the reason why it triggers some confusion. You’ve got, you’ve got two meanings there, haven’t you? By the name Israel, you’ve got a Prince with God or a a striver with God. And they feel very different things, don’t they? A Prince with God and a striver with God. But perhaps we can think of this in a dual way, that the lesson in Jacob’s life was that if you strive with God in faith, then you will become a Prince with God. So if we in the present strive with God, then we will be a Prince with God.

75. 43:56

    So in fact, rather than two separate meanings, it’s a development, it’s a progression, it’s a narrative of our lives. If we strive, then we will become a Prince. But I think there’s something even more beautiful than that. As you, as I said, if you look in your margin there, Israel’s name means striver with God. Just just see that in your margin striver with God, and the explanation is given in the verse there. You have fought with God and with men and have prevailed. You have fought with God and with men and have prevailed. Think about what we’ve just seen in Jacob, and I believe this is the meaning of the name Israel.

76. 44:50

    If you wrestle with God in faith, you will prevail against worldly foes. I’m going to repeat that because I believe this is the meaning of the name Israel, something so fundamental to us as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you wrestle with God in faith, then you will prevail against the enemies and the foes of God.

77. 45:19

    Now, if that’s the case, and I believe that is the case, I believe that is at the heart the meaning of the name Israel. Think about that. What’s taking place if you wrestle with God and then you prevail against the enemies. But what’s going on? How can you wrestle with God and then prevail against the enemies?

78. 45:36

    What’s the picture, Brothers and sisters, have you ever thought about this? What’s the picture here of the meaning of the name Israel? It is a picture of a father and son. We’ve all seen how a father can toughen up a son or a daughter with a little bit of wrestling. That’s the whole picture here. It’s this really beautiful, intimate picture of a father wrestling not to, not to defeat the child, not to hurt the child, but to strengthen the child for the real battles against the enemies.

79. 46:15

    Can you see that? They’re lovely. That’s the meaning of the name Israel. Our experiences in life with God, our wrestling with the Angel, is to strengthen us in faith in order that we can really battle against the enemies of God. And so then Israel at the heart, at the center, is all about being a child of God, being a child of God, and how God wrestles with us in order that we will win, in order that we will win. We might not feel like that at the time, but God has got the true perspective of our lives.

80. 47:05

    And winning is all about being granted God’s coming Kingdom. Now the theme of this week is all about the faces, all about the faces. And so then verse 30, at the end of this wrestling and receiving this blessing, Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. For I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved. Now look again in your margin, please, by the name Peniel, you’ll see the face of God.

81. 47:37

    And that’s part of our theme, the face of God. And so in that wrestling, in that wrestling, Jacob saw the face of God. But it goes a step further because that’s not entirely accurate. Your margin hasn’t got it entirely right because Penny L is 2 root words. Pen is to turn and L God.

82. 48:13

    Pen is to turn and L is God. So the wrestling caused Jacob to turn his head. See that he went there seeing the face of Esau and the wrestling turned his head to face God. And so Peniel means the face of God because at the end of the process, when you turn your head to face God, that’s what you’re doing.

83. 48:47

    You’re facing God. Isn’t that lovely, brothers and sisters? That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? That’s what our wrestling is, so that we can see our Maker and we can see the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. That’s what it’s all about for you and for me, so that we too can find Peniel, that we can turn our faces from our adversaries and all the things that are causing us trouble, and we can see God working in our lives. That morning, Jacob found himself to be a cripple for life.

84. 49:28

    He was always going to limp. And brothers and sisters, our crises are real. Our suffering and the deep cuts, they hurt and they are painful, and when the sun rises it bears our scars. But for Jacob that morning they were honourable scars because Jacob that night had fought bravely, hadn’t he? He had fought bravely and won in God’s strength. And so, brothers and sisters, then at the end of this talk today, what is the big lesson for you and for me? It’s only when we admit to our God that we are heel catchers, that we are nothing, that we are in need of God’s salvation. It’s only then, brothers and sisters, when we are reduced to nothing, that we are broken, that we are on a state of despair and we are just hanging on for dear life. It’s then and then only, that God can work wonders and miracles in you and me.

85. 50:48

    When we confess to Him who we are and that we need His help, then God can change us. And so then I leave you with this question. Have you, brothers and sisters, as we sit here comfortably at our Bible school today, have you, have you taken your mask off?

86. 51:18

    Have you taken your mask off and confessed to God who you really are? And if not, why not?