SUBJECT:
GOD BLESSES JACOB (ISRAEL)
KEY VERSE:
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. >In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Prov. 3:5-6 KJV).
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CENTRAL TRUTH
God draws sinners to repentance and submission by His patience.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, everyone participant will be able to:
Explore the Christian life lessons in Jacob's story, such as: persistence, restoration, and appreciation for God's promises.
Examine his/her life to see if such have submitted all to God, trusting Him to reveal any other area needs to be submitted.
Appreciate God for His blessings, mostly the gift of salvation.
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INTRODUCTION:
Last week's lesson, Jacob fled from Esau to live with his uncle Laban in Paddan Aram, Northern of Mesopotamia (Genesis 24:4,10; 25:20).
Twenty years after Jacob was in exile, God had established a large family out from Jacob, Jacob made his way back to Canaan, and sought reconciliation with Esau.
God's covenant promise to Abraham was marching forward.
In this story, we see Jacob turn from his ungodly past and become the person of persistent faith which God called him and us to be.
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COMMENTARY AND APPLICATION
:
1. JACOB WRESTLES WITH GOD (GEN. 32:21 -32)
A. Jacob Persists (vv. 21 - 26)
Jacob is one of the most complicated figures in the Old Testament.
He was deceptive even manipulative in his relationship
his trust in God seemed to waver.
However, as he fled from Esau, he vowed: "If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father's home, then the Lord will certainly be my God" (Genesis 28:20-21, NLT).
Jacob expressed a level of confidence here.
Yet Jacob did not know when the promise would be fulfilled, he had an eye toward that day. * Jacob was growing and learning.
Genesis 32:21-26 picks the story of Jacob 20 years after the last incident.
He married both Leah and Rachel.
Fled from Laban in Mesopotamia, and set out with his family to return to Canaan (chapt. 31).
On his return, he sent a message to his estranged brother, Esau, and received a reply that Esau (and four hundred of his men) would soon be heading to meet him.
Then Jacob attempted to appease Esau by sending ahead a collection of gifts.
Jacob could not sleep as he anticipated the meeting with Esau, so he took his family and crossed the Jabbok River.
He sent all his possessions over the river as well (Gen. 32 :22-23).
Alone in the darkness, Jacob was suddenly grabbed by a man who wrestled with him until daybreak.
Hosea 12:3-4 calls this 'being an angel, though the Old Testament often uses the phrase "angel of the Lord" in reference to God himself (Gen.16:7-14; 22:11-15).
The wrestling continued, the angel could not win, so he dislocated Jacob's hip. This left Jacob unable to wrestle; he could only keep the angel from escaping (32:24-25). Jacob then recognized this being was more than a mere man, and he continued to hold on until a blessing came (verse 26). The Angel pleaded that Jacob allow him to go, but Jacob insisted that he receive a blessing first. So he knelt down and demanded with tears that the angel bless him.
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Questions For Application
What can we learn from Jacob's persistent wrestling with God?
Have you ever felt the need to be persístent in seeking God's blessing? Explain.
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B. God Empowers Jacob (Gen. 32:27-32).
When Jacob was asked, "What is your name?" (32:27, NLT), it wasn't just a matter of a passing introduction. The name Jacob means "supplanter" or "replacer" and is linked with deception (Gen. 27:36). Asking Jacob his name forced him to come face-to-face with his deviousness. Jacob's answer was an admission of guilt.
Then God did a Wonderful, transformed his life, and said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob.... From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won" (verse 28, NLT).
The name Israel might be defined as "he struggled with God." Hosea expands on this: "He wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him" (12:4, NLT). Such is the name of a victor, one who has matured spiritually.
It is also fitting that the name Israel became the name of the nation comprised of God's chosen people.
They would contending for the faith, and victory over their enemies would come as they trusted God.
In Genesis 32:29, Jacob asked the man his own name. The refused to say his name.
But Jacob ought to have known it already, because, verse 30 shows that he did. Jacob named the place Peniel. which means "face of God."
Jacob had encountered God face-to-face in the darkness, and he lived to tell about it and even received God's blessing.
That blessing was both simple and indescribably profound. God changed Jacob's name, reaffirming that his descendants- God's people, the seed of Abraham would be blessed by God, and through them the entire human race would be blessed. God's covenant plan and promise continued to unfold and move forward.
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Questions For Application
Jacob's encounter left him both humbled and exalted by God. According to James 4:10 and 1 Peter 5:6, what is the relationship between being humbled and being exalted by God?
Jacob's story reminds us that God's people share a personal, interactive relationship with Him.
How can this help when our faith is challenged?
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2. JACOB SUBMITS TO GOD (GEN. 35:1-7)
A. "Get Rid of Your ldols!" (vv. 2-3)
Genesis 35, talks about how Jacob reconciled with Esau, as God was directing him back to Bethel, where He had affirmed the covenant two decades earlier (Gen. 28:10-22).
There, Jacob had made a vow that the Lord would be his God. He had sealed that vow with a memorial pillar, which would become a place of worship to the Lord by directing Jacob to return to Bethel God was acting to renew the covenant promise. Upon his arrival,
Jacob was to build an altar "to the God who appeared to him when he fled from his brother, Esau' (35:1, NLT)
This was a reminder of how God had protected and provided for Jacob, and it also served as a rebuke Genesis 33:18-19 records that, despite God's instructions, Jacob had originally settled in Shechem after his reconciliation with Esau. Shechem was a Canaanite city about twenty miles north of Bethel. Chapter 34 records the tragedies that occurred during the family's time in Shechem, including the raping of Jacob and Leah's daughter Dinah. By returning to Bethel, Jacob would finally be where God had originally commanded him to go.
Jacob commanded every pagan idol should be destroyed and every household member should go through ritual cleansing.
Genesis 35:2-3 provides a useful description of repentance and renewal, even for us today.
- First, the members of the household were to get rid of the idols they carried with them. This included the idols Rachel had taken from her father's household (see
31:34-35) and the pagan religious items other members of the clan had undoubtedly collected from Shechem
After purging the false gods,
they were to purify themselves and change their clothes (v. 2).
This is an interesting instruction, because this mention of ceremonial purification comes before the Law was given. Purity before God is always necessary,. even beyond the
Law.
In the case of Jacob's family, this cleansing would enable them fo move from idolatrous influences-which are detestable to the Lord into a right standing before Him (Deut. 7:25). We also must be pure before the Lord.
Our purity is imparted through Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 9:14), although it does involve a personal response (James 4:8).
For Jacob's household to rid themselves of impurity, they would also need to change their garments (Genesis 35:2), symbolising a new way of life that included trusting in God alone. Then Jacob would build an altar to the one true God, who had been so faithful to him and his family (verse 3).
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Questions For Application
Why do you think God is so insistent that Christians separate themselves from the sinful influences of the world around them?
How would you explain what it means to be pure before God?
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B. God Protects Jacob (vv 4-7)
Jacob–Genesis 35:4-7
Jacob dealt straightforwardly with the problem of his household's idols and pagan religious items. He buried them "under the great tree near Shechem" (v. 4, NLT). The word translated "buried" (NLT) or "hid" (KJV) is a rare Hebrew word, different from the word translated "buried" in verse 8. lt conveys the sense of hiding, implying that they would leave the gods they worshipped in the past and worship only the Lord.
A new season was awaiting Jacob's family in Bethel. As Jacob and his clan made their way south, God miraculously prepared the way (verse 5). He caused a sense of panic to grip the population around Bethel, squelching any desire the Canaanites and Perizzites might have had to attack and slay Jacob's household (Gen. 34:30).
Jacob's arrival in Bethel (known as Luz in Canaan) illuminated the fact God had been with him each step of the way, faithful through every high and low. So Jacob turned his attention to worshipping God. He built an altar and named the place El-bethel, meaning "God of Bethel."
This was the very place God had profoundly blessed Jacob by giving him the name lsrael. His physical travels and his spiritual journey had come full circle.
We may be able to relate to Jacob. Our Creator has a plan for each of our lives-that we would walk with Him and live in His presence. Sometimes we stray far from that purpose, but God can restore us, redeem us, and give us new life.
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Questions For Application
How can we identify and
symbolically bury the idols we worshipped in the past or are worshipping now?
Describe a time you realized God had protected you.
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3. ABRAHAMIC COVENANT REAFFIRMED (Gen. 35:1-15)
Jehovah Introduced, "I Am El-Shaddai: God Almighty (8-13)
After the death of Rebekah's nursemaid (35:8), God again affirmed His covenant with Jacob's family. Verse 9 states that God appeared to him again. The wording alerts us to the unique importance of this moment. God is mentioned as actually "appearing" to Jacob! This was a key moment for Jacob. God restated his name change, a firm reminder of God's blessings upon this man who was once a deceiver. Then God declared, "I am El- Shaddai–God Almighty" (verse 11, NLT). He would later explain to Moses, "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai -God Almighty' -but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. And I reaffirmed my covenant with them" (Exodus 6:3-4, NLT).
God's next words might seem odd: "Be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 35:11, NLT). This was the same instruction God had given Adam and Eve (1:28), and God was still concerned with bestowing His blessings upon all people.
He was building one natíon -but for a purpose as wide-reaching as the world He had created. The purpose of this promise itself related back to creation and the Fall. God was moving to restore and redeem what had been lost.
Not surprisingly, then, this command was followed by a recap of what God told Abraham in 12:1-3 and again in 17:4-6, plus one further point of clarity. Jacob would become "many nations. Your descendance will produce kings (35:11, NLT). This (along with Gen. 17:6) likely foreshadows Abraham's role as a spiritual as well as a biological father. Both Galatians 3:6-9 and Romans 9:8 clarify that God's promise encompasses both Jews and Gentiles. Every nation--that is, every people group- is invited to become heirs of the promise.
This promise found its physical reality in the land God would give Abraham and Jacob's descendants.
In Genesis 35, Jacob was still a resident alien in the land of Canaan. Yet it was, in fact, his Promised Land (verse 12).
It would become the possession of his descendants. Despite many unfortunate circumstances and unwise choices, Jacob found himself in the place Almighty God had intended, and he received the Lord's promise.
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Questions For Application
What does the name E-Shaddai (Genesis 35:11) tell you about God's nature and character? Why do you think He called himself by this name when speaking with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Why is it important to recognise God always had the Gentiles in view as part of His covenant promise, even as He worked through the patriarchs in the Old Testament?
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B. Jacob erects a Stone of Remembrance (vv. 14-15)
Jacob knew this incredible covenant moment had to be remembered for generations, so he once again set up a stone memorial in Bethel, just as he had done years earlier (Genesis 35:14; 28:18).
He then poured wine over it and anointed it with olive oil as an offering to God. The place would fittingly be called Bethel, or "House of God" for God had met Jacob there and affirmed His enduring promises. Bethel would continue to be a significant location throughout Old Testament times and is mentioned fifty-nine times after the events of Genesis 35.
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Questions For Application
What special memories do you have of the things God has done?
How can you effectively share those stories as a testimony to His faithfulness?
What tools could you use to better remember the blessings of God
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Call to Discipleship
Jacob's journey toward the Promised Land in Genesis 32-35 brings the larger story of God's covenant promise full circle, adding physical reality to the promise of Genesis 12.
There are times in our own lives when God's promises seem far away, and we might struggle to believe they will come to pass.
But we can be assured that God will continually guide and bless us according to His unfailing promises.
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Ministry in Action
Pray and study God's Word to prepare yourself to reach people who struggle with feelings of regret and guilt over past sins. Ask God to help you know what to say in those situations.
This week, tell someone about a miracle God has done for you.
- Pray for fellow believers who are struggling in their faith.
- Believe God to draw them back to himself.
DISCLAIMER
This post is an extract from the exclusive production and publication of the Sunday School Department, General Council Assemblies of God Nigeria, July to December 2024. The only claim I have here is the compilation of the extract which I teach to my own local class, but the entire work exclusively belongs to the mentioned department.
