I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant (Genesis 32:10).

When Jacob first encountered the Lord on his way to Haran, he made a deal with the Lord, telling God that if he simply returned home safely, he would make the LORD his God, build an altar to God there, and give him a tithe (tenth) of whatever bounty he brought back (Genesis 28:20-22).

Now it has been twenty years later, and God has enriched him with a large family and great wealth. Yet, he is at risk of losing it all to his brother, who comes to him with four hundred men. So, he prays to the LORD.

But his prayer has changed. He is not trying to make a deal with the LORD. Instead, he declares himself unworthy of all the favor God has given him. He prays for deliverance, not on the basis of a deal, but on the basis of God's covenant promise to Abraham that was reiterated to him (Genesis 32:12; cf. Genesis 28:14). 

I observe that Jacob matured spiritually over his twenty years in Haran. What did he learn? He learned that he prospered not because of his hard work but because of God's favor. He learned that even though Laban's cunning was greater than his own, God protected him from being cheated by his uncle. He learned that even after everything God gave him, all of it could be taken away in one instant. He almost lost it all after secretly running away from Laban, but God helped him. Now, he risked losing it all again to his brother, who may still have had a lingering grudge against him.

His original works-based faith was transformed into a grace-based faith. When he first encountered God, he made a deal with God. When he encounters God now, he acknowledges God's grace and appeals to His promise.

Later, when Jacob wrestles with the incarnate God (Genesis 32:22-30), even being injured and risking death, he still clings to God and prevails. Is this not similar to God's testing Abraham's faith with the command to sacrifice Isaac? Jacob's faith was tested. Would he hope in God against all hope, even though he was crippled and might be killed? If so, then Jacob could trust God with respect to his brother Esau and the four hundred men he was bringing against him. 

Friends, these examples in Scripture are given to us to confirm and strengthen our trust in the Lord. They are not cute stories for kids' coloring books. They are historical affirmations of God's faithfulness to keep His covenant promises. So Paul writes, "If God is for us, who can be against us?!" (Romans 8:31). 

Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth. Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field; and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses (Genesis 34:25-29).

Consider what just happened here. Simeon and Levi kill every male in the city, along with the offender, Shechem, and his father. They also loot the bodies of the slain, along with everything in the city. They even take, presumably as slaves, the women and children of the city. Why do they do this? It was not in obedience to God's command, but simply as an angry response to the rape of their sister, Dinah. Is this not truly an example of those that say, "If they hit me with their fists, I will blow them away with a bazooka"?

How are we to digest this account? It is a terrible tragedy that nearly rises to Hitler-esque proportions. Yet, God does not immediately judge and destroy these sons of Jacob for their folly. God does not even provide a moral commentary on their massacre of Shechem. Levi would even later become the tribe of God's priesthood. What is more, Jacob does not rebuke his sons so much for their murderous thievery but rather for their thoughtlessness with respect to endangering the family with possible reprisals from neighboring Canaanites. Something feels wrong here.

The only redeeming thing to take from this account is to acknowledge the sovereignty of God, who can use even murderers and thieves like Simeon and Levi to accomplish His purposes. Jacob does not show himself to be a paragon of morality either. He hardly disciplines his sons and gives only a shallow and somewhat misguided rebuke. This is more evidence that God did not choose the Jews for their righteousness, and they only remain "His people" because of God's eternal and unconditional covenant promises. 

Friends, this too is our hope. We are chosen by God's grace, and we are kept secure by God's grace. Let us, therefore, daily humble ourselves, confess our unceasing sinfulness and our absolute dependence upon Him. To God alone be all the glory!

Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male (Genesis 34:25).

Dinah is raped by Shechem, the son of Hamor. In response Simeon and Levi deceive and then slaughter every male in the entire city of Shechem. Then, they loot the goods of those they massacred. Talk about overreaction! It was only one man's offense, albeit the leader of the city, but still the offense of just one man. 

When I was younger, I did not know how to read the Bible. I used to just let it fall open to any page and start reading from that point. Context meant nothing to me at the time. And what I read I applied. Can you imagine what would have happened if I opened the Bible to the story of Dinah and Shechem? Without any moral compass, I could have justified mass murder on the basis of a single personal offense.

Friends, this is why I always emphasize the importance of context. Oftentimes, the Bible presents simple facts and history without providing any moral judgment. The expectation is that you will apply the relevant laws and principles from other passages. Now, if you've never read these other passages, you are out of luck. You will not have the biblical moral compass to properly evaluate the account.

Now, some people will argue that it doesn't matter. You should just try your best to apply it any way.

Should you apply what you have not understood? If you find out later that what you applied was wrong, will you be without guilt because of your zeal? Then, why does the Bible rebuke the Jews for their zeal without knowledge. Their failure to understand the way of God's righteouness kept them from faith in Jesus by which they would be saved:

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness (Romans 10:1-3).

Understand, then, that it is better that you know and understand the truth first before you begin to apply anything. Otherwise, you may be found to be starting a cult. You may be like those at the end of the Book of Judges, who while promoting idolatry thought they were serving God. Jesus prophesied that the Jews who would kill His disciples would do so thinking that they were offering a service to God (cf. John 16:2). This is why Paul writes to Timothy,

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Friends, consider carefully what I'm about to say here. If you are seeking a home church, it is vastly more important that you find a church with right teaching than a church with good fellowship and dynamic ministries. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). It is the truth you must seek, not a comfortable fellowship, not a vibrant kids ministry, and not ethnic homogeneity.

Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at Seir... Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth... Now Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city. (Genesis 33:14,17,18).

Some people have tried to argue that Jacob's encounter with God at Peniel totally transformed him, so that he became a completely new man, no longer fearful of his brother, no longer a deceiver, but a servant of God. However, the above passage suggests otherwise.

Jacob tells his brother that he will slowly make his way to him in Seir (i.e. Edom, in the South), but he instead goes the opposite way to Succoth, and then to Shechem. Now, even though this is where God wanted him to go, and ultimately to Bethel (cf. Genesis 35:1), this does not take away from the fact that he again deceived his brother. In Israel's ongoing history, Edom would be a perpetual thorn in its side. Perhaps one reason for this is the series of deceptions upon which the two brothers forged their strained relationship. And the reason for Israel's continual progress through biblical history is not because of the  righteousness of the patriarchs, nor of the generations of people that would come by them, but simply and completely because of the sovereign choice, grace and power of God.

Unmi, in a previous comment on this reading, suggested that God had Jacob wrestle with him all night because He may have been trying to build into him perseverance and character. I would add to this that God would continue to build Jacob's character even beyond this encounter. One encounter with God, even a dramatic one, did not a new man make.

Perhaps this is a lesson for us as well. Certain people seem so eager for the next great experience. They think that by it they will grow closer to God. So they go to IHOP, they go to a Lakeland Revival, or they seek a Toronto-like blessing. It's almost like a drug addict seeking their next fix. But is this how we are called to mature in the Lord?

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:12-14).

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We mature by learning and applying God's Word, not by seeking out "spiritual" experiences. If God supernaturally visits us, that is one thing, but we are never encouraged to seek out retreats, revivals, or similar type experiences. Even in Jacob's case, there is no indication that Jacob sought this "man" out. The visitation was spontaneous. 

Instead, we are constantly encouraged to seek Him in His Word:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).

Is there anyone else that felt a bit uncomfortable while reading today's passage? In these chapters it appears that the event of Jacob's wrestling with God has completely eclipsed the matter of the rape, deception and mass murder that also occurred. This is kind of like how the news is sometimes received by viewers today. News of the latest Kardashian escapade could completely eclipse the sufferings of tens of thousands in Haiti, the hundreds, approaching thousands, being murdered in Syria, not to mention significant crises occurring just within the United States.

Perhaps it is not the same. Why? While the contemporary example is truly frivolous and reflects the popular addiction to the latest tidbit of gossip press, in the example of our reading, it is not simply a bizarre wrestling match but rather one orchestrated by God to prepare Jacob to lead his family into the next phase of God's grand plan to bless the whole world.

That means that as horrible as the rape, deception and especially the mass murder were, we are reminded that Jacob is God's chosen, and Jacob's twelve sons are also God's elect. Jacob would become Israel and the twelve sons would become the twelve tribes of Israel. Even at the very end, God's elect will not be forgotten, for their names will be recorded on the gates leading into the heavenly Jerusalem at the end of ages (Revelation 21:12).

We are only in the book of Genesis, and I wonder if there are still people who doubt the profundity of God's election? In considering it we must remember that God's election does not so much speak of the goodness of the elect - quite the contrary - it speaks of the power of God's grace and inviolability of His purposes in spite of the depravity and sometimes harrowing deeds of His elect. If there is any goodness in the elect, it is by virtue of their relationship to God. Jacob's strange wrestling event would be a trivial non-event except that God was at the center of it. 

Our lives would be a trivial non-event except that God has saved us. And because of this relationship to God, we are of greater worth than the greatest king, genius, tycoon, or famous person this world has ever known or will ever know. Recently, some antiquated components and manuals went on sale for $150,000:

Why in the world would anyone pay $150,000 for old "junk"? Simply put, it is related to the most influential company in the world today: Apple. In an infinitely greater way, we are "junk," or "dust" or "worms" or "as wind," but because we are related to God, we have infinite worth. Therefore, the Scripture says, "Let those who boast, boast in the Lord!" (1 Corinthians 1:31).

One of our members asked this question: (1) Who is this man? Jacob says it was "God" that he faced, Hosea 12:4 says Jacob struggled with "The angel", and (2) Was this a spiritual fight or physical fight, if physical..is this the pre-incarnate Jesus?

My response: Both the immediate context and the reference in Hosea 12:3-4 point to this being God incarnate, even the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, God appeared to Abraham as a man along with two angels earlier in Genesis. And there are numerous texts in the OT that describe God as the Angel of the LORD. There are a lot of good discussions that persuasively make the case that every reference to this Angel of the LORD, even physical appearances of God on earth, is a reference to the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ.

In Hosea 12:3-4, note two parallel verses. We read, "(3) And in his strength he struggled with God. (4) Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed." Jacob's experience with God is said to be an experience with "the Angel." This is synonymous parallelism, where the second verse restates the meaning of the first in different words. Furthermore, Hosea 12:4-5 reinforces our understanding that the One Jacob wrestled with was indeed God:

The Angel is God, who is the Man in Genesis 32:24. When God tells Jacob that he has wrestled with God and man, the immediate reference points to the one Man with whom he wrestled, which I understand to be the God-man Jesus Christ. Jacob also recognizes that he has wrestled with God. Furthermore, Jacob's name change signifies that it was God he wrestled with because "Israel" means "one who struggles with God." There is, therefore, plenty of evidence to suggest that the One Jacob wrestled with was indeed God.

Perhaps the more telling question is what was the significance of this struggle? Why was this event important in the life of Jacob? Why did Moses include this account in his history of Israel for the generation entering the Promised Land?...