I think one of the most puzzling passages in the
Old Testament to many people has to be
Genesis 32:24-32.
It is the record of Jacob's wrestling with God.
I believe this passage teaches us about grace.
Grace is a subject that is
misunderstood by so many.
Romans
3:24
says that we "are justified by grace as a gift."
At the Jerusalem conference Peter said, "We
believe that we will be saved through the grace
of the Lord Jesus, just as they [the Gentiles]
will" (Acts
15:11).
In Christ "we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of his grace" (Ephesians
1:7).
The passages go on and on. Grace is not an easy
cover-up for the person who chooses to live his
or her life in rebellion against God. The Bible
says that grace is "training us to renounce
ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the
present age" (Titus
2:12).
The Bible teaches that grace can be taken for
granted (Romans
2:4)
and fallen from (Galatians
5:4;
Hebrews
3:12).
But I think there are others that miss the truth
about grace as well. These people may see
themselves and God as partners in a three-legged
race. Grace is not God saying, "You do the best
you can and I'll make up what you lack." Grace
is the beginning, the middle and the end. Grace
is God picking us up and taking us where we need
to be. Without grace there is no life, no
Christ, no cross, no gospel, no salvation, no
heaven for you or for me. The meaning of the
word "grace" is a "gift" and all that we have,
are or can ever be is a gift from God.
Now back to
Genesis 32.
It is the eve of Jacob's encounter with his
brother Esau, his estranged brother whom he
cheated out of his birthright. He's worried sick
that Esau is going to kill him and his fears are
well founded. Esau's coming his way with 400
men. Hardly an outing for a Sunday picnic. After
making preparations to appease his brother,
Jacob is left alone on the other side of the
river. The text tells us that "a man wrestled
with him until daybreak" and apparently this
"man" was God Himself or at the very least an
angel of God. This goes on the rest of the night
until finally the "man" tells Jacob to let him
go. Jacob refuses until he is blessed. Jacob's
name is changed to Israel because, and here's
the curious part, "you have striven with God and
with men and have prevailed." What? A mamma's
boy who's scared to death of his brother winning
a wrestlin' match with Jehovah? If he so chose,
God could have left a greasy spot that once was
Jacob. But God doesn't always do what he can do;
he does what he wants to do. And what he wants
to do is preserve Jacob, not destroy him. Jacob
prevails because God is merciful, not because
God is a 98-pound weakling. God is impressing
upon Jacob's mind that, regardless of the odds,
the strength of your foe or the bleakness of the
outlook, God is going to accomplish his ends
through you and he doesn't leave you to fight
your battles alone.
The next thing Jacob sees is his
brother and an army of 400 men coming over the
horizon. What had Esau's intentions been during
the march? To hang his brother from the highest
tree and leave him for buzzard food? He had
vowed before that he would kill him. But if
that's so, a strange thing happened on the way
to Jacob's date with death: Esau's heart was
changed. Where there was bitterness there was
now brotherly love. And Jacob prevailed over man
like he had prevailed over God. Not because he
was bigger, tougher or stronger. But because of
God's tender mercy. God doesn't want to destroy
us. He wants to save us. That’s grace.
God bless you,
Brad Fry
