RTW January 12

Seeing The Past On The Horizon

Then Jacob look up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men.
Genesis 33:1a

 

My Takeaways

Something Old

A few truths in today’s reading:

  • If we allow God to work in our lives, time can heal anger and hatred. Esau wanted to kill Jacob, but after 20 years Esau greeted him with a kiss rather than a sword.
  • Making peace and mending the fences doesn’t mean you have be in the other person’s life again. (Esau returned to Seir and Jacob went to Succoth. 33:16) Scripture tells us to live at peace with each other as much as it is up to us. Sometimes space = peace. (Romans 12:16)
  • Forgiveness opens the door to trust again and gives us the wisdom to keep our distance.

Something New

Desperation can be death of me. Shechem desperately wanted Dinah.

Something to Do

 

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9 Comments

  1. Thank you, Wendy, for a timeless lesson and the confirmation that forgiveness is necessary, but it can mean keeping our distance. Often what has kept me from being able to approach the place that hurts so much is the enemy’s lie that if I forgive I will have to be victimized again. God says this is not so. If I forgive, in His strength, I will be free….to move on!

    Something Old

    Although Jacob has learned much and grown much he has further to go. In his desperation, waiting for Esau, we see that he first strategized, (Genesis 32:7, “He divided his household…..”) then he prayed, (Genesis 32:9, “O God…..”). Soon we will see that he will learn to go to God first.

    Something New

    Wrestling with God. “I will not let you go until you bless me”…..I have always wanted so much for it to mean that if I strive in prayer enough He will give me exactly what I am asking for. It clearly means something very different. If I struggle in prayer, with God, persistently, He will bless me with a closer connection with Him. The fears and pride and anxiety that keep me apart from Him will become a clinging dependence upon Him for my everything and a clear recognition that nothing I do……no maneuvering or bargaining or deceit or trickery will protect me. ……only He can do that for me. He does not want us to “let Him go” until He blesses us. Obviously God could have escaped from the clutches of Jacob if He had wanted to. He could have easily overpowered him. But He wanted Jacob to want Him so much that he would not let Him go…..He wants us to want Him that much. If we do He will stay and bless us in a whole new way.

    Something To Do

    Help me to want you, Lord, as much as You want me to.

      1. You did it again jreed, you knocked it out of the ballpark! Thank you again for such great takeaways!

    2. Wow – thanks Jreed for that explanation. I really did not understand that wrestling passage at all – this cleared it up nicely.

    3. Thank you so much for your insight on the wrestling, I never quite got that for I too was thinking: it would have been something small for God to escape from a human wrestling with Him. This is my something new for today!! I always love your insights, they really speak to me and help me understand things better!!

  2. My Takeaways: Up to this point Jacob did not have the the correct motivation, heart, and attitude toward God. Maybe this Wrestling match is a lesson in humility, and Jacob responded by a show of faith and longing for God.

    Something Old: Jacob had an issue with running away from his mistakes instead of confronting them head on. He ran from Esau. He ran from Laban.

    Something New: Jacob needs to learn to depend and trust in God instead of doing things his way.
     

    Something To Do: I too need to remember to depend and trust God in everything. God is greater than me.  Proverbs 3:5-6  “Trust in God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

  3. So another thing that really confuses me…. we are reading in chronological order, so why do the same stories repeat – within the same books. Not like it is from a different author. For example, Gen 32:28 “…your name will no longer be Jacob….you will be called Israel”, then again in Gen35:10 “….your name is Jacob, but ……from now on your name will be Israel..” Just wondering the purpose of this…….

    1. There are different explanations.

      One suggests that the first renaming was simply telling Jacob ahead of time what was going to happen in the future.

      Another opinion is that due to the different layers from which the scriptures were complied there are what they call doublets. Double versions from different sources.

      A third possibility (and the one that I favor) is that God did indeed rename him during the struggle. Then later he reminded Jacob of his new name, (and new identity) after he had acted more like the “old man”. Jacob had shown a sinful lack of leadership in his family by allowing them to keep foreign idols. He also delayed in obeying God’s instruction to go to Bethel and went to Shechem instead. God wanted him to remember who he was in God and to act accordingly.

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