The Transformation of Jacob

Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and humans, and have prevailed." Genesis 32:26-28

The story of Jacob wrestling with the angel (God) is a story of transformation. The name Jacob means "heel grabber" in Hebrew and was given to him because he grabbed his twin brother Esau's heel when he was born (cf. Genesis 25:26). Jacob the heel grabber not only describes his birth but like many Hebrew names, is also an apt description of his character. Jacob's life was defined by trickery and deceit mostly at the expense of his brother. He tricked Esau into selling his birthright for some stew and bread (Genesis 25:29-34) and he conspired with his mother to steal his dying father's blessing from Esau as well (Genesis 27). All of these actions lead to Jacob fleeing from his brother's wrath and spending decades estranged from Esau.

As time went by, Jacob started his own family and having subsequently become the victim of deceit at the hands of his father-in-law Laban (Genesis 29-31), he again finds himself fleeing potential danger. At this point Jacob seeks reconciliation with his brother Esau. While it may be that he only went back to his brother because he had no where else to go, he does seek genuine reconciliation with and sends a peace offering to begin the process (Genesis 32:3-21). Jacob does not know what kind of reception he will receive from his brother (whether he will be killed or forgiven), so he sends his family safely away and prepares to face Esau alone (Genesis 32:22-23). Jacob the heel grabber is now ready to face the consequences of his life, rather than weasel his way out as he had so many time before.

All of this leads to Jacob wrestling with an unknown man all night at the river Jabbok. The story implies that Jacob is wrestling directly with God and after a long struggle he emerges with a new name and new identity. Jacob demands a blessing from the man, a blessing he has earned through wrestling (rather than stolen like before). The change of his name from Jacob to Israel signifies a change in identity. Israel means "one who wrestles God" and connotes a person of integrity who faces conflict directly. This is a marked change for Jacob who previously lied, cheated, and ran from conflicts.

Jacob wrestles with God but in sense he is wrestling with himself. He is becoming the person that God created him to be and the one through whom the blessing of Abraham would continue. Jacob does not leave this scuffle with God unscathed however, as he will now walk with a limp (Gen. 32:31). After wrestling with God, Jacob goes on to reconcile with Esau. He could not reconcile with Esau until he reconciled with God. By receiving a blessing from God and undergoing and identity change, he is prepared to make things right with his brother. Put another way, when we are able to love God we can finally love one another. Jacob needed to deal with himself and his relationship with God before he could seek reconciliation with his brother.

And so it is with us. We all must wrestle with God in our own way. We must face the truth about ourselves and submit our lives to God. Having done so, we can seek renewed relationships with those in our lives, no longer defined by our human nature but defined by who God created us to be.

The Faith of Abraham

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ²I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” ⁴So Abram went, as the Lord had told him. Genesis 12:1-4

Abraham is held up as a pillar of faith in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. God chose Abraham because of his faith and trust in God to be a blessing for future generations. His story is powerful and inspiring and reminds us that God is faithful and fulfills God’s promises in God’s time.

When Abram (his name changes later) first encounters God he is 75 years old. God tells the wealthy Abram to leave his home, land, family, and community to go to “the land I will show you.” He is told to leave everything behind but isn’t told where he will end up or how long it will take. He is simply told that God will make him a great nation and a blessing to all the families of the earth. Without the details spelled and without the need of convincing, Abram went. He trusted God without hesitation. This was only the first of many steps of faith that Abraham took, and at each step his faith and trust grew.

Later in the story (Genesis 15) the promise of children and descendants for Abram remains unfulfilled. God comes to Abram and once again challenges him to believe:

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ²But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” ⁴But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” ⁵He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” ⁶And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:1-6

Abram still believes the promise of God but is beginning to become impatient. God reiterates the promises of numerous descendants and being a great blessing. Abram, despite being childless and very old and despite the previous promise being unfulfilled, believed and trusted God. How easy it would have been for him to dismiss God at this point. No one would blame Abram for walking away from God at this point. But Abram believes and God “reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Abram is righteous (in right relationship with God) because he continues to believe and trust despite a lack of worldly evidence or validation.

Abram’s faith is amazing and worth pondering for our own lives. But this story continues from there in an even more amazing way. While earlier in his encounters with God Abram is given few details, now that he has demonstrated even more faith God begins to reveal the nature of his blessings entail:

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; ¹⁴but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Genesis 15:13-16

Basically, God promises that the immediate descendants of Abram will have no homeland, be slaves, experience oppression and only after generations have passed will they inherit the land God promised. And by the way, Abram will die of an old age and not see any of this happen. This is a raw deal! And yet Abram continued to believe and trust in God knowing that there would be no tangible benefit to him in his own life. Abram trusted God and was obedient not because there was something in it for him, but because he had learned God’s nature and character over time. Abram knew God and trusted that through God all things are possible. (This becomes even more evident in the story of Isaac in Genesis 22) While Abram was by no means perfect (the whole Hagar and Ishmael episode was not his shining moment) he continued to trust God and submit to God leading and guiding him throughout his life.

Abram trusted God not because of what he got out of it, but because God had a claim on his life. Once we decide that God is truly present and guiding our lives why wouldn’t we follow no matter how rational or irrational the path seems to be? The faith question isn’t a calculation of whether a particular path or choice makes sense. Rather it is a question of whether we trust God and if we do whether we have the courage to follow where God has called us to go. This kind of faith is cultivated over a life time and involves a journey of discovery, growth, and deep discipleship. Abraham shows great faith and became a great blessing. I pray the same for us all.

 

 

 

Noah and the Flood

 

The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” Genesis 6:5-8

In Genesis 1 God creates the heavens and the earth and at each stage declares that the creation is “good.” By Genesis 6 God is so fed up with the wickedness of humanity that God is resolved to wipe them from the face of the earth. Talk about a fall from grace! In some respects we could point to the creator and argue that there was a design flaw in humanity. After all, God gave us free will and made us what could God expect? But Noah complicates this picture: “But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord.” (Genesis 6:8) Not all of humanity was wicked, not all of creation had chosen to rebel against God.

God searched for anyone who was righteous and Noah was. And because Noah was righteous he and his family would be spared from the devastating flood as God started over. The story of Noah is anything but a feel-good children’s story centered on an ark, animals, and a rainbow. Instead, it is a story of God’s anger, natural disasters, and faith. Despite the faith and righteousness of Noah, God’s anger and disappointment about humanity’s rebellion and wickedness is complete. God cares deeply about how we live our lives and is greatly angered when we rebel and reject God. The story of the flood demonstrates God’s judgment as it wipes out creation and all that is in it (see Genesis 7). God uses a natural disaster to punish humanity.

This raises several important questions. Does God continue to punish us for our sin with natural disasters? Did God send a tornado or earthquake or tsunami to punish us? Some TV preachers still hold to this type of thinking. After the Katrina hurricane some said God was punishing New Orleans because of its acceptance of homosexuality. But if we take the story of Noah seriously, we see that God promises to never again use a natural disaster as a punishment for sin.

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. Genesis 8:20-21

God makes a promise to never again punish creation in this way. But it was not because of Noah’s great faithfulness that God resolves not to punish again, but because God sees clearly that the human heart is filled with sin. God had expected humans to live up to their God-given potential and to live righteously in partnership with God. The conclusion of the flood story is in part a capitulation by God that humans are not capable of living up to God’s expectations. It isn’t that God doesn’t care about sin and wickedness, rather God will respond with resignation not destruction.

The story of Noah is also the story of one person’s faith and devotion to God. While humanity as a whole might be an utter disappointment to God, Noah was righteous. While we all might sin and fall short of who God created us to be God has not and will not give up on us. Similarly, the righteousness of one man (Jesus) becomes the basis of saving all. For that we give thanks and ask for God to strengthen us for the journey of faith that we might righteous lives that are God-pleasing while also knowing that we have the ultimate gift of grace and mercy.