Stephen Whitehouse - From Jacob to Israel - Class 4 - Unmasked Jacob’s Final Face

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. Good morning. Lovely to see you’re still here. Jacob was haunted by his past. Yesterday we saw that he locked horns with an Angel nearing victory. He was crippled, but he held on. He demanded a blessing, and he becomes Israel. Now what we want to do today is to really understand what was achieved during the wrestling and to see what was achieved. We’re going to see what changes the following morning and in today’s class we’re going to tie up some loose ends, all being well and reveal some big life changing lessons for you and for me.

2. 0:51

   So recall then 20 years after deceiving his father, after stealing away the blessing from Esau, he now Jacob is about to come face to face with his brother.

3. 1:08

   And so there is a build up when we come to chapter 33 of Genesis, there is a build up of this chilling showdown. Esau has vowed that he’s going to kill Jacob. And notice first of all, in chapter 32, before the wrestling takes place, notice that Jacob in fear sends a present. See that there in verse 13, Something important to note before the wrestling takes place there later at the Jabok, Jacob sends a present to Esau. See that word there, a present there at the end of verse 13. And we’ve already seen that that present represented 580 animals. And then we have the contest, the great wrestling between Jacob and Esau.

4. 2:06

   So when we come to chapter 33, we are anticipating, aren’t we, with that wrestling? We are anticipating an explosive clash between these two brass brothers, between Esau and Jacob. So chapter 33 then verse one. And Jacob lifted up his eyes following the night of the wrestling, and looked. And behold, Esau came, and with him 400 men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto 2 handmaids.

5. 2:42

   And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times until he came near to his brother. And Easel ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

6. 3:03

   I’m sure many of us have pictured this scene. There is Jacob, and he sees his brother with this assembly of men there in the distance. And as Easel gets closer and closer, Esau identifies Jacob. And suddenly Esau realizes that Jacob has a limp, that this man is injured. And then he runs and he embraces, and he picks up Jacob, and he embraces him and kisses him, and he weeps.

7. 3:38

   Time is a great healer. The fear of the unknown, the fear of the future can often be worse than the reality. As we mentioned yesterday, with our imaginations, we often create these worst case scenarios. And when we’re thinking about these worst case scenarios, it fuels us, doesn’t it, with stress and anxiety as we imagine that foreboding situation looming large.

8. 4:19

   But here, right away at the beginning of this chapter, we see here that how trusting in God protects us from the storms, how protecting, how protecting God is to those whom he loves. We must remember that this is in the life of Jacob, a person that we all identify with as he takes on this journey now to Israel.

9. 4:48

   Trusting in God protects us from the storms. But just glance down verses 6 and seven, as Esau watches Jacob’s family approaches, he sees that Jacob bows down seven times. Notice that there in verse 3, it’s very important. And then notice also and, and try and picture this. We’ve got Leah and Rachel, his sons and little Joseph. Benjamin’s not born yet, little Joseph all there watching. And you can imagine Joseph there just just nudging his mother, Rachel, and wondering why Father now is a cripple and why he’s behaving in such a way.

10. 5:35

    But we see this crippled Jacob as he approaches now, this looming Esau, the Jacob here humbles himself. This entire picture is one of someone who has been reduced to nothing. He is at his brother’s mercy. Yet the prophecy of chapter 25 and verse 23 was that the elder shall serve the younger. But now it looks like the tables have totally turned. But there’s more.

11. 6:12

    Notice the use of numbers. Here we have this three times repetition. We have the maidservants and Leah and her children and Rachel and Joseph. So these three categories here, the maidservants, Leah and her children, and Rachel and Joseph. So Jacob has assembled everything that is his every person whom he loves, every individual that he cherishes. He gathers together to acknowledge easel. Notice something else here.

12. 7:00

    Notice how the phrase my Lord is used, a Hebrew word that we’ll all be familiar with. It’s the word Adonai. Notice this there, my Lord, you see there in verse 8. Notice worth marking this up. Verse 8, verse 13, verse 14, twice, actually in verse 14. And then in verse 15, five times Jacob refers to Esau as my Lord Adonai.

13. 7:32

    And then it goes even further. Twice you notice that Jacob refers to himself as Esau’s servant. Is the Hebrew word eved. They’re found in verse 5 and verse 14. So, so note then we’ve got 7 bows from Jacob and a sevenfold use of my Lord or servant. This whole picture has been carefully choreographed.

14. 7:59

    It is a master class in humility. It has been meticulously staged. Now we know the framework of seven. It speaks of completeness and perfection. And think about what scene is unfolding here. This is total reconciliation. This is total submission. This is total forgiveness. And think about the importance of the number 7 in Jacob’s life.

15. 8:27

    2 portions of seven had he given in acquiring Rachel as his wife. And when we think about those seven years of Labor and that double that he did, it spoke of his dedication, his dedication to complete the work. And so this 7 is all about this dedication to complete the work. He is determined is Jacob.

16. 8:56

    He is determined to be reconciled. He is prepared to work, to commit himself completely to Esau. Remember the word we saw yesterday, Atonement before the wrestling. Just keep your fingers here and come to One Peter chapter 5. A useful cross reference here. One Peter chapter 5.

17. 9:26

    Look at these words. One Peter 5. Just going to pick out the words. You’ll see the connection. You can make the note and we’ll get back to the Genesis account. One Peter 5 verse 5. Likewise, think of the situation that we’re seeing here. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yeah, all of you, be subject 1 to another, and be clothed with humility. For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. What a lovely couple of verses here that just perfectly capture the moment here in Genesis chapter 33. So just come back to chapter 33 now. So think about these 7 bows.

18. 10:20

    And I believe these 7 bows not only spoke of this complete submission, desiring for forgiveness from Esau, but I believe in these 7 bows, Jacob was retracing his steps. I believe what we see here is an arc of redemption. Just notice on the overhead here, I believe there are seven major milestones in Jacob’s life that has brought him to this point of submission. Number one, look at these.

19. 10:57

    We call it the arc of redemption. These major milestones, these signposts in Jacob’s life. Number one, the purchase of the birthright #2 the stealing. Now, as we go through these, each one was a bow. Each one was a a subjection to Esau, the purchase of the birthright, the stealing of the blessing that the vision of the ladder bow #4 serving Laban for Rachel and Leah #5 the increase in wealth and the departure from labour number six, the wrestling with the Angel and #7 reconciliation with Esau.

20. 11:33

    Each bow marked a a massive moment of learning a lesson in Jacob’s life. Now you imagine that he’s now hip his outer joint. Each time this man bowed to his older brother, there would be a pain shooting through his hip and there’ll be a grimace on his face. Each bow was more painful from the last, but he would finish it off. He would complete it 7 and the 7th bow, I believe, was in recognition of this moment when he would be reconciled with his. Brother.

21. 12:11

    So if this is a picture of complete subjection to Esau, that’s a little surprising, isn’t it? Because the night before he has wrestled with an Angel all night, and his name’s been change. He’s been exalted, a Prince with God. Yet now he’s in complete subjection. Not only him, but all his wives and all his children are bowed to Esau. The whole family are servants of Esau. Why is that, brothers and sisters? Why the change?

22. 12:44

    What has caused this? Let’s have a look at this then. Let’s pick up verse 8, then of chapter 33. So this is Esau now beginning to speak and he’s Speaking of these 580 animals which were according to Jacob, a present for Esau, and he comments on this right away. The what meaneth thou by all this drove the 580 animals.

23. 13:11

    The present you can cross reference back to chapter 32, verse 13. You can put that in your margin there. That’s what he’s referring to.

24. 13:23

    What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And Jacob said, these are to find grace in the sight of my Adonai, my Lord. And Esau said, I have enough my brother, keep thou keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present.

25. 13:49

    So that’s a direct reference back to chapter 32. Receive my present at my hand. For therefore I have seen thy face as though I’ve seen the face of God, and thou was pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee, because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him and Esau took it. Now the first thing I’d like us to note a very simple piece of analysis here, but just notice how Esau says I have, which is the Hebrew.

26. 14:30

    Yes, enough is the Hebrew would wrap my brother there in verse 9. So in other words, he’s saying I have plenty and he had plenty. He had a Kingdom at this stage. But Jacob’s reply in verse 11 is take, I pray thee, my blessing, because I have enough. It’s a different word there.

27. 14:52

    I’d like you to notice that if you’ve not noted that before, it’s a Hebrew word. Come. It’s more than I have plenty. It literally means I have more than enough. I have all things. I have the whole, and then I have the total of all things. Now you imagine anyone being in a position to say that I have the total of all things. That’s an extraordinary statement, isn’t it? Brothers and sisters, have you ever been able to say that? We should be able to say that in faith, shouldn’t we? But Jacob did I have the total of all things. So Esau says, you keep your blessings, Jacob, I’ve got many, many things.

28. 15:37

    I don’t need it. And then Jacob says, I insist, Esau, you need it more than me because I have all things. OK. So there’s a little bit of a dynamic that’s going on. It looks like a polite tea party, doesn’t it? But you can, you can imagine here it was tense. It was tense.

29. 15:59

    So they’re exchanging. They know exactly what they’re doing is they’re exchanging these Hebrew words one with another. Now it’s interesting, isn’t it, that there’s something else there in verse 10, something that connects with yesterday and picks up our overall theme of this week. I have seen thy face there in verse 10, as though I’ve seen the face of God.

30. 16:22

    The face of God changed everything. When Jacob looked at Esau, he no longer saw Esau’s face. There’s a a radical shift now in perception. He’s awakened to a much deeper reality. He’s now looking at Esau in God’s eyes and not his own. Now we’ve already seen this idea of the phrase, the face of God earlier. Remember that it’s an echo, isn’t it? It’s, it’s an echo back to chapter 32 and verse 30. So it’s interesting, isn’t it, that that Jacob is picking up a phrase here that he used the previous day. So let’s make a connection there to the previous day, Genesis 32, verse 30.

31. 17:11

    Well, it’s that morning, isn’t it? I should say the wrestling has taken place, the morning breaks and then the significance of the face of God is seen. 32 verse 30. We read yesterday, didn’t we? And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. And you’ll see in your margin the face of God.

32. 17:31

    And the reason being, for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. You may know that the Hebrew word Panem is the word face, and it’s an interesting exercise. Find out for yourself how often you see the word Panem related to the life of Jacob. And This is why we’ve taken the theme The faces of Jacob. You see it sprinkle throughout his life. Panem, the face, he was surrounded by faces, but Jacob had to learn in all the faces that surrounded him, he had to see the face of God, which is an important lesson for you and for me.

33. 18:13

    And we, we mentioned yesterday that that word Peniel, there is Panah to turn and L is God. So Peniel means to turn to God by inference. It’s the face of God, because if you turn to God, you see the face of God doesn’t mean the face of God. It means to turn to God.

34. 18:32

    And so the wrestling then did something with him. Hosea chapter 12 says it brought about a maturity. He had power with God. And during this process of wrestling, his face was turned. No longer was he looking at the face of Esau, he was now looking at the face of God. So that when Esau turned up that morning, his face had been turned. Although he was looking face to face, in the eyes of Esau he saw God.

35. 18:58

    See that because the wrestling had taken place the night before. I want to highlight to you this little play on the word face. I want to show you a before and after situation. The fulcrum is the wrestling. Jacob is different after. He is now Israel. And I want to show you now the use of the word face before the wrestling, before his name was changed.

36. 19:30

    So you’re already in chapter 32. You may not have noticed the use of that word panim, the face. It’s there, in fact found in verse 20. Let’s have a look at chapter 32 and verse 20. So you might not have noticed the use of the word panning face here. It’s a little obscured in the King James Version.

37. 19:50

    So we’re going to just highlight it for you now. And it’s really interesting. So the context of this is that he’s sending the present, the gift, the 580 animals to Esau and he’s instructing them, the servant of the message that he needs to convey to Esau with these animals. So let’s just see what what we read there, Chapter 32.

38. 20:13

    You can follow it on the screen as well. So the message then that Esau sends his messenger with are these words, and say to Esau, Ye moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him. That’s the word face. I will appease him, Hanim, with the present that goeth before me, that’s the Hebrew word face, and afterward I will see his face, Panim peradventure he will accept of me the Hebrew word face.

39. 20:57

    So in other words, Jacob was thinking, I will wipe anger from his face with the gift that goes ahead of my face. After, when I see his face, he will lift up my face. Now. Now, the point of all of this is that before the wrestling, the day before he meets Esau, when he sees all Esau, he sees the face of God.

40. 21:21

    The day before he was absolutely preoccupied. You can see that in that short verse. He is utterly preoccupied with the face of Esau. Remember that and remember the commentary that God gives when he first goes to Bethel. He goes there because he was fearful of the face of Esau. 20 years now have transpired and he’s still fearful of the face of Esau.

41. 21:54

    Yet everything changes after the wrestling. Isn’t that lovely, brothers and sisters? Now, when Jacob finally comes face to face with Esau, this face which was the symbol of his deepest fears, this face now the day after, has faded into obscurity, having wrestled with the divine and stared into for a whole night the very eyes of God. He sees the face of God as he wrestled, and in the face of God that night, he sees the face a symbol of Divine Mercy, omnipotent protection, and boundless love. And having seen that for an entire night, when he comes now face to face with his sworn enemy, he sees the grace of God. Isn’t that amazing, brothers and sisters? And what’s the lesson for you and for me? We need to see God in every aspect of our lives. As we’re going through life with all the challenges that come upon us, we need to shift gear and change our perspective. We need something called transformation reframing. We’re all on this journey of transformation, and we need to see those moments in our lives that are difficult and hard and painful as transformational reframing. We need to see them through God’s eyes and not our own. As we’re on this spiritual journey, as we’re on this difficult and painful process of transformation, we need to recognize that God, El Shadiai is behind every situation, every moment of our lives, and He’s there working with us to transform us.

42. 23:52

    And when we recognize that God is in every moment, however broken hearted we may be feeling in that moment, it brings meaning, doesn’t it? It brings meaning to the most challenging of circumstances. It brings meaning to the most challenging of circumstances. Think of Jacob, I sincerely believe he was given Esau for a reason to propel him on this journey of transformation. And without Esau, it wouldn’t have happened. Brothers and sisters, there was this journey of self discovery for for Jacob and we’re going to see see in a moment. It brings him to a point in time that God needed him to get to. And then God did wonderful things in his life, most wonderful.

43. 24:56

    And so then brothers and sisters, when we’re having difficulty, when we’re having problems, think about our trajectory, think about our past, think about our our journey in life. And these should be catalysts because that’s what God intends them to be catalysts. They are like they’re Dynamos to get us to the Kingdom. Now, what’s also really interesting in all of this, brothers and sisters, and this is really powerful, isn’t it?

44. 25:22

    When, when, when? Think about it, when Jacob looked into the eyes of easel, he saw the face of God. When he looked into the face of Esau, he saw something of the divine. He saw that even Esau, with all his wickedness, was a child of God.

45. 25:52

    And because he was a child of God, he deserved Jacobs love and respect. Brothers and sisters, if we could take that attitude and that approach in life, in ecclesial life, when we are coming up against the esauls, individuals that are causing us difficulty, hardship and pain. But we look at them and we don’t see them as the face of Esau, but we see them as the face of God, sons and daughters of the divine, all on their own respected individual journeys.

46. 26:30

    That we’ll let go, won’t we? We’ll let go of the hurt, we’ll let go of the grievances and the grudges. And that I can assure you, brothers and sisters, will be the only way that you and I will find peace this side of the Kingdom. Important lessons, aren’t they important lessons for you and for me.

47. 26:55

    We’ll come back to chapter 33. So there’s this discourse then between Esau and Jacob and Jacob says I have everything. I have all things very, very strong Hebrew word here. And, and I want you to just notice now that everything that Jacob has given to Esau, he categorizes it as something here, this whole set of 580 animals, he refers to it as this thing. Notice verse 11.

48. 27:26

    Take, I pray thee, my blessing. That’s important. So my blessing verse 11 relates to the present in verse 10, which relates to the gift of the previous chapter and the 580 animals. I want you to all to notice that little sequence there. The blessing relates to the present which relates the gift, which relates the 580 animals.

49. 27:54

    So that which Jacob sent symbolizes something, and it symbolizes something referred to as Jacob’s blessing. Want us all to note that? That’s very important. Take, I pray thee, verse 11 might think of the power of this language. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee. Say it again. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee.

50. 28:29

    So take then what is mine, and I want to give it to you. Take my blessing, it is yours. And as I said, if you look in your margin there by blessing you’ve got the word gift. You should have the word gift there in your margin or present and that should take you to verse 10 of chapter 33 and then verses 13 to 15 of chapter 32. So just noticing that little set of details there is important really to to kind of decipher what’s going on here all with me.

51. 29:02

    I know you are. So it’s my blessing. Well, when Jacob uses the word blessing, this is a word that hasn’t been used for 20 years. This is where it all began. This is where the the long shadow was cast that fateful day when Jacob deceived his father. So this is very important language here that Jacob is purposely using.

52. 29:35

    Shall we just go back there? Let’s have a look at Genesis chapter 27. So that word blessing takes Jacob and Esau. They’re now projected back in time. Soon as Jacob uses that word, those minds of these two men, now they’re brought back back in time. So then let’s think of the blessing. Remember this, We made some lovely connections because of this blessing.

53. 30:12

    Isaac gets into Hebrews 11. It’s a blessing of things to come, and he blesses, doesn’t he, Esau, and he blesses Jacob. But let’s just think about the blessing first of all that Jacob received as he deceived his father. Verse 28 then of chapter 27. Therefore God give thee so. Imagine now blind Isaac uttering these words to Jacob disguised as Esau. Therefore God give thee of the Jew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. We’ve considered these words.

54. 30:54

    Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee. Be Lord over thy brethren and let thy mother sons bow down to thee. Cursed be everyone that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. Now we looked at that, didn’t we? And we, we saw that this symbolized wealth and power. And we, we came up with this expression of, of political power and agricultural prosperity.

55. 31:20

    That was the, the blessing here that Jacob took from his brother Esau. But we saw that there was another blessing, another blessing there that God now through Jacob gives through Isaac, gives to Jacob. And it’s there in verse 3 of chapter 28. So here then we, we’ve got Jacob. He’s got 2 blessings, hasn’t he? He’s got 2 blessings.

56. 31:46

    He’s, he’s got the blessing that he he stole from Esau. And now he’s gets this blessing here in chapter 28. And God Almighty El Shadi eye. Remember that Genesis 17 the El Shadi eye of Abraham and El Shadi I bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people. The ecclesia, the ecclesia of God. First use of the the Hebrew word there and and give thee the blessing of Abraham to thee and to thy seed with thee that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger which God gave unto Abraham.

57. 32:26

    So we mentioned, didn’t we in in chapter 28 when we were were referring to this that this blessing is altogether different. This is an Abrahamic blessing, isn’t it? It’s got land, it’s got a name, it’s got a seed and it’s got a nation, all the things that we would expect of an Abrahamic promise patterned off Genesis chapter 12. So it’s fascinating, isn’t it?

58. 32:54

    Before Jacob leaves his father’s house, Isaac gives the blessing, the Abrahamic blessing to him. And in this Abrahamic blessing, Isaac was declaring that this is the son, this is the chosen son that would continue the covenant. It would be through this lad’s line that Messiah would come. That’s what the statement was making.

59. 33:36

    And as we made that comparison between those two blessings, and now Jacob’s got these two blessings, one that he’s stolen from his brother, and the other one which was the Abrahamic blessing, it is clear that Isaac never ever intended to give the Abraham blessing to easel. He never ever intended to give that blessing to easel. Now remember that Isaac was almost blind. Jacob pretends to be the the face of easel. Remember how he lies there in verse 19 of chapter 27. I am Esau, thy first born.

60. 34:23

    It wasn’t the blessing that Jacob was supposed to receive. This blessing was for Esau and the Abrahamic blessing was for Jacob. Now suddenly everything now makes sense. Remember I mentioned that it was an unusual thing that Jacob, that Isaac doesn’t mention the covenant name of God, that, that Isaac tells Esau to go out and get venison, Not a lamb, not a bull, not an ox, not a goat, not a sacrificial animal. And we’ve already seen in Leviticus 17 that there was a careful stipulation regarding the, the, the, the, the sacrifice of game meat, that the blood had to be poured upon the altar and then covered in dust.

61. 35:17

    All these details are emitted not because Isaac was spiritually blind, because he never ever intended to give the Abrahamic covenant to Esau. You see that brothers and sisters and so otherwise in, in, in other, in other words, although his eyes were dim, he was he was seeing brightly spiritually. It was Rebecca. It was Rebecca that didn’t understand the situation.

62. 35:49

    It was Rebecca that went to Jacob, said go and get the goat. It was Rebecca who got the garment of the high priest, the responsibility of the first born within the home. It was the brekka that three times said to Jacob, obey my voice. And it was all motivated genuinely because she’d had that vision.

63. 36:09

    The elder just served the younger. She’d taken things into her own hands. It was a complete misunderstanding in family life. How often does that happen, brothers and sisters? But Isaac, he knew exactly what he was doing. This was a son who he loved, Esau, But he was never, ever going to give the blessing of Abraham and Isaac to this lad.

64. 36:40

    Isaac knew that Esau, although he loved him, was undeserving. And so the situation for Isaac was by Jacob having the two one that he shouldn’t have had. He had one son with zero and another with two, and suddenly you have a predator and a prey. You have Esau the cunning hunter, and Jacob now is off as a prey and Isaac knew how good Esau was as a hunter and unless God intervened in Jacob’s life, Jacob was dead.

65. 37:33

    And that’s why Isaac is in Hebrews 11. He places like Abraham finds himself in Hebrews 11. He hands his son over Jacob into the loving arms of his God and he trusts his son with him because he knows that Esau will kill him. And the reason why, brothers and sisters, Isaac shook from head to toe, because in that decision that he made, placing his trust in God, if Jacob died, the promised seed would be wiped. Out.

66. 38:21

    But why was Abraham placed in Hebrews 11 when he offered his son? It tells us because he believed that Isaac would be raised again. And that became a pattern for all believers. Now that’s a very important detail. Abraham believed that Isaac would be raised and that became a pattern for all believers. And now Isaac takes the belief of his father and he now looks to Jacob and that becomes a pattern for him. He believes that something, if something happens to Jacob, then God would raise him again.

67. 39:05

    Really beautiful brothers and sisters. So then. What was Isaac intending to? Do he was intending to give Esau. The natural double. Portion the natural status of the first born. The good things, but the spiritual blessing. Was always going to Jacob. Now now just thinking about. That, for a moment, is that an unusual thing of splitting the blessing and the double portion?

68. 39:45

    Well, it was going to happen later in Jacob’s life, wasn’t it? Think about the end of his days. He gives Judah, he gives Judah the Abrahamic blessing, and he gives Joseph the double portion. The splitting of the two learning from this. Experience of his father.

69. 40:13

    And so, brothers and sisters. Then let’s just think, just for a moment, 20 years later, I believe Jacob had two blessings, and I believe what? We’re going to see. Now is that he gives 1 back. He understands. I have all things and he gives. One back look at this. Then you can see that the references on the screen, or you can just keep a hand in Genesis Chapter 27 and Chapter 32, but just look at the correlation of what’s going on.

70. 40:53

    Remember, I’ve already said that this was carefully choreographed. This was a a master class in humility. Look look at this if you’ve not noticed this before. So think about the two. Parts of the blessing here that that Jacob wrongly took from Esau. So the first thing then. He sends back herds and flock as a present to Esau the the 580 animals there in chapter 32, verses 14 and 16.

71. 41:23

    And the first part of the blessing that he wrongly took went with the words The Jew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine. I believe then the 580 animals symbolize this. It was giving back of the first born natural status. This is what I believe Jacob was doing.

72. 41:44

    He’d learned something from the wrestling with the Angel. Look at the the second thing. Remember how he bows down 7 times and he calls himself Esau’s servant and he refers to Esau as my Lord. And you see there in verse in, in verse 29 of chapter 27 that the second part of the blessing was this, Let people serve thee and nations bow down to thee.

73. 42:11

    Be Lord over thy brethren. Notice and let thy mother sons bow down to thee. Jacob had amassed wealth in Laban’s house. And he gazes at everything that he has, and he commits everything to Esau. And he says, it’s yours. I’ve been blessed by an Angel. And Jacob for the 1st. Time in his life he felt complete. He was able to say I have everything. He no longer crave riches or might I have seen God’s face and suddenly everything makes sense.

74. 42:50

    Everything now has fallen into place. We can think of these words of the. Apostle Poor set your affection on things above, not on things on earth. And this is the destination. Now that Jacob has arrived at this is what he understood. The penny had dropped. He had. Learnt there’s a lovely reversal. Here, if we reflect for a moment on the name Jacob, a heel catcher, it does give the idea of striving, struggling, wrestling, and if. We think about the name.

75. 43:34

    Israel we looked at yesterday means striving with God again. It’s the idea of struggling and striving. So in many ways, although they are different names and we see a a spiritual progression, they’re also similar in a way. At the heart of it, it is about struggling. But struggling with who struggling. With you, who is the? Question so so that first name, then Jacob. What Jacob had to learn.

76. 44:04

    And what he had learned. Is that what he? Needed to do was to. Struggle. With God, not with easel and by. Struggling and. Wrestling with God, he could be strengthened and prevail against his enemies like Esau. Remember what we. Talked about that father and son relationship that’s the meaning of the name Israel our father strengthens his son or his daughter so that thus son and daughter is is ready to take on the big challenges in life and we saw.

77. 44:49

    Also that. The Jacob was all about seeing the face of Esau. And now? We see in chapter. 33 that everywhere he looks he sees the face of God. In the past Jacob was holding on the heel of Esau, and in the future now he was to learn to hold on to God. And to hold on to.

78. 45:20

    God. You have to let. Go of the heel, don’t you? A simple statement. Think about your. Own life. To hold on to God you. Have to let go of the heel. But the wonderful thing is, when we hold on to God, He is never going to let go. And so, brothers and sisters.

79. 45:51

    Jacob emerge complete. He had the face. Of God on his mind, and he sees the hand of Providence and. There’s going to come a. Point in time when the Lord Jesus Christ is returned, and by God’s good grace we’re in the Kingdom. We’re in the Kingdom by God’s good grace, and we’re going to look back upon our lives and suddenly in that moment of clarity, everything will be understood. We will comprehend every single moment that we have gone through in this journey of life and.

80. 46:34

    In that moment, brothers, and. Sisters, our perfect clarity with the Lord Jesus Christ. As we look back upon our lives, we’re going to see the moments in our lives when we were broken, when we were at the lowest point of our lives, when we felt we couldn’t go any further at all.

81. 46:51

    When we felt we couldn’t go. Any further at all? And we’re going to see in that moment. Of clarity that that was the moment we wrestled with God.

82. 47:07

    That was the moment that we wrestled with God, and that was the moment that we held on. We held on for our dear lives. And it was in that moment of endurance that we were transformed. And brothers and sisters. The only weapons that we have in this life, as we’ve seen in the life of Jacob, are tears and prayers.

83. 47:37

    That’s. All. We’ve got all we’ve got as we go. Through this life as we. Make our way to the Kingdom tears and prayers. But through these trials, through these moments of despair, through these moments of brokenness, a new identity will emerge, a person holding a new name, the name of Israel. And it is then.

84. 48:19

    Brothers and sisters, that we will receive that gift from God through the Lord Jesus Christ, which will complete our true transformation. As we sit here and. We marvel at the life of Jacob. Think about your own life. And how your life is following in the footsteps of that man we. Have our peaks and our. Valleys.

85. 48:55

    We have our feasts. And our famines, just like Jacob and. Let’s just do one thing. That he did. Let’s just do one. Thing that he did. Let’s hold on to our. Lord, with all our might and say within our hearts, Lord bless me.