INTRODUCTION:

1. After spending twenty years in Padan-aram working for his father-in-law Laban, Jacob returned to the land of Canaan.
2. As Jacob went on his way, it was evident that he still had not grasped what it meant to really live by faith in God, so the LORD graciously sent angels out to meet him and encourage him (32:1).
3. Jacob needed the LORD S encouragement because he was afraid to meet his brother Esau (cf. 32:11).
4. So God sent His angels His ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14) to watch over Jacob, and to remind Him that God was near.
5. Psalm 91:11 says, For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
6. When Jacob saw the angels, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim (Genesis 32:2).
7. This name means "two hosts." There was the visible hosts Jacob and his group; and the invisible hosts the angels of God.
8. In his commentary on the book of Genesis, John Phillips tells a fascinating story about the evangelist John Wesley, who traveled extensively by horseback. It has been estimated that Wesley traveled more than 250,000 miles on horseback in England, Wales, and Ireland. He preached more than 40,000 sermons.
9. In Wesley s day, the roads were very dangerous, with robbers frequently lurking behind trees, killing travelers and robbing stagecoaches and anyone who was caught unawares.
10. One day, Wesley was riding through a wooded area alone when he saw some bandits up ahead. When the bandits realized that they were spotted, they went and hid behind some hedges.
11. Wesley knew he was in danger and so he prayed. Almost immediately he heard hoof beats coming up behind him, and he turned to see a stranger riding alongside of him.
12. Wesley greeted the stranger, and together they rode along. The robbers saw there were now two men instead of one, and so they decided to let them pass.
13. After he realized he was no longer in danger, Wesley turned to thank his new friend, but the man had quietly disappeared. The mysterious rider had vanished into thin air, and Wesley was convinced he was an angel sent by God to protect him.
14. In his sermon, Of Good Angels, John Wesley said, How often does God deliver us from evil men by the ministry of his angels! overturning whatever their rage, or malice, or subtlety had plotted against us.

I. JACOB WAS BROKEN BY GOD

1. As Jacob got close to home, his conscience was bothering him. Jacob had wronged his brother Esau long ago, and he knew that he would not enjoy true peace and quiet until he made things right with him.
2. This a great principle of the spiritual life. We need to put right what we know to be wrong before we can enjoy settled peace.
3. Unconfessed sin, unforgiven wrong, must be dealt with and put right. Righteousness must precede peace (W.H. Griffith Thomas, Genesis).
4. But Jacob was still very stubborn and self-willed and carnal, and God had to beak him. And when Jacob thought about his brother Esau, he was afraid, and he was not trusting in God to protect him.
5. David said in Psalm 56:3, What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
6. But Jacob was not trusting in God. He was still planning and scheming. And so he sent messengers to talk to Esau, and he told them precisely what to say, "Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau" (32:3, 4).
7. It is interesting that Jacob used the word "lord" in referring to Esau, instead of saying my brother Esau.
8. Before he had fled from his home, Jacob had lorded it over Esau, but now Jacob was afraid and so he refers to Esau as lord (32:4, 5).
9. Even though the LORD had sent Jacob a band of angels, Jacob was deathly afraid of Esau. He had forgotten all about the presence of God, and proceeded to act for himself as though his own initiative and natural powers were everything (Thomas, Genesis).
10. The messengers came back with their report, and their report made Jacob even more afraid. Esau did not send Jacob a friendly greeting. There were no kind words and no indication of reconciliation. Esau said he was coming with 400 (evidently armed) men (32:6).
11. Apparently time had only intensified Esau s hatred. He had been beaten by Jacob's trickery, and now Jacob feared he was in real trouble.
12. The Bible says, Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you (I Peter 5:7).
13. The Bible says, Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee (Psalm 55:22).
14. But instead of casting himself on God, Jacob began his characteristic work of planning and scheming (32:7, 8).
15. Jacob did not completely forget about God. In spite of all his clever planning, Jacob did remember to pray (32:9-12). And his prayer was marked by true humility I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies (32:10).
16. But like worldly-minded believers often do, Jacob made his plans first before he prayed and then he asked God for protection. This is why God had to break Jacob!
17. One preacher said, Because of Jacob's imperfect faith, he offered a prayer of panic and then resorted to his carnal planning (Theodore Epp).
18. Jacob asked God to help him after he had already divided up the people and the animals into two bands, instead of reversing the order and first asking God what should be done.
19. In his prayer, Jacob said he feared Esau for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children (32:11).
20. Yet right after expressing this fear of losing his children, Jacob refers to God's promise about those very children being "as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude (32:12).
21. If God promised to make Jacob s seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude, then it stands to reason that his children could not be killed by Esau!
22. Jacob really had no need to fear because God had already promised to bring him back to the land and told him He would make his descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude (32:12). And God sent His angels to meet Jacob (32:1).
23. So God still had much work to do on Jacob. After praying, Jacob went back to his usual planning and scheming. Jacob asked God for protection, but at the same time he seemed to feel that he had to depend entirely on his own resources.
24. Jacob proceeded to arrange his possessions into droves of cattle, with distances separating them. His plan was to appease Esau with generous presents, and he piled present upon present hoping to break down opposition from Esau (32:13-23).
25. You could say Jacob had gone from deceiving to appeasing. Perhaps this was an improvement, but his motives were still carnal and worldly.
26. When Jacob first sent messengers to Esau (32:3), there were no presents offered, for he thought perhaps none would be needed. But now Jacob is terrified, and his great fear compelled him to take these steps.
27. Jacob hoped to appease Esau (32:20), rather than trusting God, and letting Him work things out.
28. The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe" (Proverbs 29:25). God had to break Jacob s stubborn will to teach him this important lesson.
29. God had to bring Jacob to an utter end of himself.
30. W.H. Griffith Thomas said, The one absorbing thought with Jacob was his meeting with Esau. It never seems to have occurred to him that there was a far greater need a meeting with God (Genesis).
31. And Jacob was left alone (Gen. 32:24). Jacob's greatest trouble did not come from Esau or Laban or Rachel or Leah. Most of Jacob s trouble came from Jacob himself his self-will and his self-reliance. Jacob's self-life had to be dealt with, and God chose to do this while Jacob was alone.
32. And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day (Gen. 32:24).
33. The man was the pre-incarnate Christ, often referred to in the Old Testament as the angel of the LORD (cf. 22:11, 12). Theologians refer to this as a theophany, or, specifically a Christophany.
34. People have wondered Why did God have to wrestle with Jacob? Was Jacob that self-willed and stubborn?
35. Here is a good explanation from Theodore Epp: God had been dealing with him spiritually for more than twenty years, but Jacob had failed to learn. God now struggled with Jacob physically because it was something Jacob could comprehend. Jacob's spiritual level of discernment was not mature enough for God to deal with him on a spiritual basis alone. Sometimes God also has to deal with us on a physical level because this is the only thing that some of us really understand. It may involve the loss of wealth, health or family, but whatever it is, the loss is intended to draw us closer to the Lord. If we cannot be led spiritually, the Lord will communicate with us in a language we can understand. Let us become so sensitive to the Lord's leading that He will be able to deal with us purely on a spiritual basis.
36. In other words, if you have no spiritual sense, and you are so spiritually dull and obtuse, God may have to use drastic means to get your attention.
37. In the case of Jacob, the LORD had to literally wrestle him to the ground, to bring him to an end of himself, to take from him all his self-reliance, and all confidence in his own cleverness and resourcefulness.
38. God wanted Jacob to know that Esau was to be overcome not by presents or by craftiness or by flattery, but only by God s grace and God s power.
39. W.H. Griffith Thomas said, The self-life in Jacob is to be overcome, the old nature is to be conquered, the planning is to be rendered futile, and the resourcefulness made impotent. Only then would Jacob realize what a poor, worthless, helpless man he really was (Genesis).
40. God touched the hollow of Jacob s thigh (32:25), and left him utterly weak and powerless. Jacob could now no longer fight in his own strength because his thigh was dislocated.
41. Now Jacob had to depend only on God. And this was the one lesson that the self-willed Jacob needed most to learn.
42. W.H. Griffith Thomas said, God must bring us to Himself, and He can only do this by bringing us to an end of ourselves. And because of our senseless resistance and dull inability to see His fatherly hand in discipline, he has to touch our natural powers and resources, and reduce us to impotence before He can teach us the needed lesson (Genesis).
43. Jacob said to the LORD, I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me (32:26). Jacob finally realized the futility of all his efforts to appease Esau, and so he cleaved to God and asked for His blessing.
44. Jacob should have learned this lesson at Bethel, and then through his trials and troubles at Padan-aram, but now the lesson was finally learned.

II. JACOB WAS BLESSED BY GOD (32:29b).

1. The man (the pre-incarnate Christ) wrestling with Jacob said to him, Let me go (32:26). Interestingly, Jacob s name means, literally means, that which grabs, or that which holds.
2. Jacob was still grabbing and holding, but now, for the first time in his life, he got a hold of the LORD.
3. Prior to this encounter, Jacob grabbed his brother Esau s birthright. And later he grabbed Esau s blessing. And then later we see Jacob grabbing on to Rachel and Leah, and several handmaids as well.
4. Genesis 30:43 says Jacob increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
5. But now, Jacob is face to face wrestling with God. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me (Gen. 32:26b).
6. God had been waiting to hear those words from Jacob. Perhaps He is waiting to hear them from you.
7. The LORD then asked Jacob for his name (32:27).
8. God wanted Jacob to tell him his name, which meant supplanter or heel-grabber. Then, God graciously gave him a new name, Israel, which means, a prince of God (32:28).
9. Jacob became a prince with God because he finally came to the end of himself. God wanted to bless Jacob, not hurt him. God crippled him in order that he might use him. God had to break him before He could bless him.
10. The prophet Hosea refers to this wrestling match in Hosea 12:3, 4.
11. Hosea 12:4 says, Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept Jacob wept. God had to break him.
12. The LORD started this wrestling match, and it could have been over very quickly, but the Lord wanted Jacob to prevail. This is important for us to understand.
13. The LORD wanted the Syrophenician woman to prevail. He wanted Moses to prevail. And he wants you and me to prevail.
14. Jacob was never the same after that wrestling match. He was broken. He halted and limped for the rest of his life (Gen. 32:31). His bodily weakness was symbolic of his great spiritual need.
15. Hebrews 11:21 says, By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
16. Jacob had to lean upon his staff for the rest of his life. And notice, the Scripture says, and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. Jacob was broken, and he thanked God for it.
17. The key to victory is brokenness, but many Christians do not want to be broken. They prefer taking a short cut.
18. We must look at brokenness from God s perspective, not man s.
19. Brokenness comes first. Then comes the blessing (32:29b).
20. At Bethel, Jacob became a believing man, and here by the bank of the Jabbok river, Jacob became a broken man.
21. Jacob came away from Bethel with a new spring in his step. Genesis 29:1 says, Jacob went on his journey, which literally means, Jacob lifted up his feet."
22. But when Jacob passed over Penuel (located on the north bank of the Jabbok River), he halted (limped) upon his thigh (32:31).

III. JACOB WAS NOW DEPENDENT UPON GOD

1. One of the great lessons in the Bible is that we are to be totally dependent upon God. Jesus said in John 15:5, without me ye can do nothing.
2. Humanly speaking, Jacob had done pretty well for himself. He was shrewd and crafty. If Jacob were alive today he would probably be a very successful businessman.
3. He would probably own big buildings all over the world, and a splendid one on Fifth Avenue emblazoned with the sign, JACOB S TOWER.
4. Up to this point, Jacob was an example of a man operating in the flesh he was going to try and appease Esau with generous gifts (32:13-15).
5. Now it is true that Jacob did pray. Many carnal people pray. But they pray only after they devise their schemes and plans. They want God to bless their plans, rather than ask God what His plan is.
6. We should never ask God to bless our plans, without first asking God what His plans are.
7. It is natural for a self-confident, carnal man like Jacob to plan and scheme, and to try and do everything in his own strength.
8. Carnal men like to plan everything, and then afterwards they pray and ask God to bless their worldly schemes.
9. Jacob s prayer was answered, but not in the way he anticipated.
10. Thankfully, God in His grace and love intervened on his behalf (cf. Gen. 32:24).
11. God has His ways of dealing with our self-confidence and our self-sufficiency, but to do this He must first bring us to the end of ourselves. Sometimes God has to break us.
12. The LORD had to make Jacob aware of his utter helplessness. Once Jacob understood that, he became dependent upon God.

CONCLUSION:

1. Evan Roberts (1878-1951) was the recognized leader of the Welsh Revival, though he himself did not want to be recognized as the leader. He repeatedly said, This movement is not of me, it is of God. I would not dare direct it...It is the Holy Spirit alone which is leading us.
2. One time, Evan Roberts was at a meeting, and he heard an evangelist named Seth Joshua close the meeting in prayer. Seth Joshua prayed, Lord...Bend us.
3. Evan Roberts went to the front of the church, knelt down, and with great anguish cried, Lord, bend me.
4. Looking back to that prayer, Evan Roberts later said that the impact of his commitment had this effect, I felt ablaze with a desire to go through the length and breadth of Wales to tell of my Savior; and had that been possible, I was willing to pay God for doing so.
5. Seth Joshua prayed, Lord...Bend us. Evan Roberts prayed, Lord, bend me. God did bend them, and over 100,000 souls were saved in the little country of Wales (a tenth of the population).
6. The bending and breaking must come first. God had to bend Jacob.
7. God had to bring Jacob to the place of complete brokenness and dependence. Then the blessing came (Gen. 32:29b).
8. By the way, Evan Roberts emphasized personal revival, known as the Four Points:

1. You must put away any unconfessed sin.
2. You must put away any doubtful habit.
3. You must obey the Holy Spirit promptly.
4. You must confess Christ publicly.