Genesis chapter 32 will be our
text this morning. I'm entitling the message, No
More Jacob But Israel. No More Jacob But Israel. Look at verse 27 and verse 28. And he said unto him, that is
the Lord of glory, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And the Lord said, Thy name shall
be called no more Jacob, but Israel, a prince of God. For as a prince hast thou power
with God and with men, and you have prevailed because of God's
blessing. No more Jacob, but Israel. Israel. Now we see in this true
story how the Lord graciously deals and treats with those,
how He treats those whom He loves. God's love toward Jacob was sovereign
love. We read that in Romans 9. Jacob
have I loved, Esau have I hated. The Lord sovereignly passed by
his older twin brother Esau and God set his love on Jacob. Now that's evident, isn't it?
Not because Jacob was better than Esau. They were both sinners
as they were born of Rebekah. The difference was made by the
Lord's sovereign and distinguishing grace. Who makes you to differ
from another? What do you have that you didn't
receive? It's by the grace of God that we are what we are by
His grace. Be sure you understand this point. Jacob did not merit. Jacob did
not deserve blessings. And he knows it. He knows it. That's why he prays, look back
in Genesis 32 verse 9 and 10, that's why he prays the way he
prays. Jacob said, O God of my father,
Abraham, the God of my father, Isaac, the Lord, which said unto
me, Return unto thy country to thy kindred, and I will deal
well with thee. He knows he's not deserving of
God's favor, for he says, I'm not worthy of the least of thy
mercies, and of all thy truth which thou hast showed unto thy
servant. For with my staff I've passed
over this Jordan. Now I've been blessed with substance,
family, children, livestock. Can't you say that in your heart?
I'm not worthy of the least of God's mercies." You see, salvation
is by the sovereign mercy of God. It's not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy. God saves us. It is of the Lord's mercies.
that we are not consumed. What we see in this story of
Jacob is the true story of everyone who was brought to bow and submit
to the Almighty Lord and His sovereign rule and His sovereign
authority. God will meet you and unhorse
you and put you in the dust and make you to confess what you
are before Him. My name is Jacob. Is that your
name? That's my name. What's your name? Jacob. Jacob had met the Lord
in salvation at Bethel. Now he's on the run from his
brother Esau. You know why? Because he deceived
him not once but twice. Turn back to Genesis chapter
27, look at verse 41. Here's the reason he left his
father's house and went to live with his uncle Laban. Genesis
27, 41, Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his
father blessed him. And Esau said in his heart this,
the days of mourning for my father are at hand, then I'll slay my
brother. You see that hatred coming out?
Verse 42, in these words of Esau, her elder son, were told Rebekah,
the mother, And she sent and called Jacob her younger son,
and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau hath touching concerning
thee doth comfort himself in purposing to kill thee. Now therefore,
my son, obey my voice. Arise thou to Laban my brother. Get out of town as quick as you
can. Esau is going to kill you." You can see why he left and why
he's on the run because Esau hated him. While he left town,
look at Genesis 28, God also met him and blessed him at a
place that's known as Bethel. At Bethel, you remember? In Genesis
28, verse 11, and he lighted upon a certain place and tarried
there all night because the sun was set. He took stones of that
place and put them under for a pillow and lay down in that
place to sleep. And he dreamed. Behold, a ladder
was set upon the earth, and top of it reached to the heaven.
And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God
of Abraham, thy father, the God of Isaac, the land wherein thou
goest lies. To thee will I give it, and to
thy seed, and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth.
Thou shalt spread abroad to the west, to the east, to the north,
to the south, and in these shall thy seed and shall all the families
of the earth be blessed." He's talking about the blessings of
salvation in Christ. "'Behold, I am with thee, and
will give thee in all places whither thou goest, and will
bring thee again into this land. I will not leave thee until I
have done that which I have spoken unto you.' And Jacob awaked out
of that place and said, Surely the Lord is in this place. And
he was afraid, and how dreadful is this place, this is none other
than the house of God, this is the gate of heaven. Jacob arose
up early in the morning, took stones that he had put for his
pillow, and set up a pillar, poured oil upon, and he called
the name of that place Bethel. God met Jacob there, and revealed
himself unto him, and he called the name of that place Bethel,
that is the house of God. So the Lord had met Jacob in
salvation and promised him great blessing, and when the 20 years
that he was in the country with Laban, God did bless him abundantly. Now the Lord has told him to
go back home, and as he goes back home, he knows he has to
deal with Esau. He has to face Esau, his older
brother, and Jacob is terrified. I mean, he's terrified of his
older brother. Jacob had cheated Esau not once
but twice in the birthright and in the blessing from his father
Isaac. And as we read earlier in Genesis
27, Esau has purposed in his heart not just to whip up on
Jacob, he wants him dead. You can understand why he is
so fearful. Now the Lord meets with him again, not to save him,
the Lord has already done that, but to strengthen him. for the
trial of his faith, that's why he prays. He prays, O Lord God,
verse 9, God of my father, Abraham Isaac, he knew who God was. The Lord Jesus Christ meets with
Jacob now to abundantly bless him, as it says in verse 29. Jacob answered and said, Tell
me, I pray thee thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it
that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there, that
is the Lord blessed him with strength, increased his faith,
gave him a greater realization of God's comfort and peace and
mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now Jacob no longer fears to
meet Esau after this story because he'd met the Lord and the Lord
had blessed him. Now, look at chapter 33. The
reason I say that, if you read over chapter 33, look at verse
3. When he finally meets Esau, remember
God said, you'll have power with God and with men, and that prevailed. When he meets Esau, look what
happens. Verse 3, Genesis 33, And he passed
over before them, and he bowed himself to the ground seven times,
until he came near to his brother, and Esau ran to meet him, embraced
him, fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept." What a sweet
reunion. The Lord took the hate even out
of Esau, and he blessed Jacob. Isn't that amazing? Now this
passage of Scripture says before us a picture of the Lord subduing
our proud sinful flesh by his almighty grace, and forcing every
son of Jacob to acknowledge who and what we are, fallen sons
of Adam, sinful, lost, ruined, helpless, without his grace,
which causes us to own ourselves, own our sinfulness, own our weakness,
and look to the Lord alone for strength. That's why he sends
these trials just like he did to Jacob. To teach Jacob he's
nothing. to teach Jacob that his strength,
his hope, his salvation relies totally upon the Lord. As David
said, the Lord is my salvation, the Lord is the strength of my
life, in whom shall I fear. Now, look at verse 24. Jacob, as he comes to meet Esau,
separates himself from his family, his servants, verse 24, and Jacob
was left alone. And there wrestled a man with
him until the breaking of the day. Jacob was left alone. Isolation is the forerunner of
revelation and blessing. When God deals with you, you
know what He'll do? He'll isolate you. It's a good
place to be, isn't it? Jacob was left alone with nothing
but Jacob, and the Lord met him. That's a good place to be, isn't
it? Alone with God, shut up to God. Jacob was left with nothing
but Jacob. Afraid, helpless, confused. He seemed to be in a miserable
condition, helpless and alone, waiting to meet the 400 men and
his angry brother. waiting for death, and he's fearful. And he cries out unto the Lord
for mercy, doesn't he? Jacob was truly in a most blessed
condition. He's exactly where God brought
him to in God's sovereign providence. It's no mistake Jacob is where
he's at at this time. God told him to go back home.
Here comes Esau. and he's shut up to God's sovereign
mercy. He's exactly where God brought
him to. Jacob is shut up to the sovereign
power and will of God, like Israel, the nation, when they came out
of Egyptian bondage, facing the Red Sea, Pharaoh behind them,
the Red Sea in front of them, mountains on each side, they're
stuck. What did the Lord say through
Moses? Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. And the sea parted, like Israel at the Red Sea, shut
up to the sovereign will and power of God. That's a good place
to be. Like Jonah down in the whale's
belly, crying unto the Lord and saying that salvation is of the
Lord. Jacob was totally dependent upon God to deliver him and he
knew it. He knew he could not deal with
Esau. God had to deal with him in mercy. This is exactly the place the
Lord brings us unto to teach us that we're nothing and He's
everything in salvation. The Lord brings us to this place
to totally teach us that we're dependent creatures upon His
grace, upon His mercy, and upon His love. You see, without the
Lord, we can do, well, most things. No, without the Lord, we can
do nothing. Have you ever been shut up to
God alone, knowing and realizing that you're totally dependent
upon Him for all things? Not only physical things, but
all things, especially spiritual. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
redemption. Shut up to Him in sovereign grace
and sovereign mercy. Oh, may God be pleased to teach
us this vital lesson, this vital lesson of faith, total dependence
upon Christ. Now, Jacob was left alone, but
was he ever really alone? You remember what God said, I'll
be with you, I will not forsake you. And here we see, and there
wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day, all
night long. They wrestled a man with him.
Now who is this man that suddenly appears and initiates a wrestling
match with Jacob? Why didn't he just come and touch
him in the hollow of his thigh and put him in the dust immediately? Wrestled with him a while. Well,
it was the Lord's purpose. Who is this man that suddenly
appears and initiates this wrestling match? The answer is found in
verse 30. Jacob confesses, called the name
of the place Peniel, for I've seen God face to face." Who is
this man? It's the Lord Jesus Christ, the
very Son of God, the one who is God the Son, the God-man mediator. What this is here is what the
old timers called a pre-incarnate visit of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Read over in Judges chapter 13 when the Lord appeared to Manoah
and his wife concerning the birth of Samuel. And his name there
was called Wonderful, that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Another
pre-incarnate visit. Someone said the Son of God frequently
appeared to the saints of old in human form. Those pre-incarnate
appearances were tokens and pledges of His coming incarnation when
God was manifest in the flesh. and we beheld his glory." Think
of it, God who inhabits eternity, how can you explain this? You
can't. God who inhabits eternity inhabited a body of a man. We
read in Hebrews 10, the Lord said, a body hath thou prepared
me. The God man. Here he appears to Jacob of old. The Lord himself planned this
attack on Jacob The Lord did so on purpose to attack Jacob
while leaving Esau to perish in his sin. Sovereign mercy,
isn't it? Remember what we read in Romans
9? He said, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, upon
whom I will all harden. In our salvation experience,
it is the Lord who initiates to meet us and to deal with us
in grace and to finish the work He has begun. That's the message
you missed on the radio this morning. Being confident of this
very thing that God who has begun a good work in you will perform
it, will perfect it, will finish it. Listen to the radio program. I know some of you do, but I
put them up on the internet too. You can listen to them later.
Philippians 1 verse 6, God being confident of this very thing,
God who begins a good work in you, He will finish it. And I've
often said over the years, what God begins in grace will end
certainly in glory, being predestinated to be conformed to the image
of Christ. The Lord wrestles with Jacob to reduce him to a
sense of his nothingness, to make him see what he is, a poor,
helpless, worthless creature. We see that here, don't we? The
Lord touched him. God's purpose in our trials is
to make us strong in grace, strong in faith, and the way he makes
us strong is to make us know and recognize that we are weak. You remember what the Apostle
Paul said concerning God's sufficient grace? He said, when I'm weak,
that's when I'm strong. When we're whittled down to know
our nothingness, We totally rely upon the Lord's faithfulness. That's why the trial of our faith
is called precious. It's sent from the hand of our
loving Father, our gracious Father, to teach us. Trials are not sent
to harm us, they're sent to teach us. Matter of fact, they're called
light afflictions, which is but for a moment worketh for us a
far more and exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Trials are for
our good. Look at verse 25. And he saw
that it prevailed not against him, and the Lord touched the
hollow of Jacob's thigh. I mean he reached right down
and jerked his leg and popped his hip out of joint. That must
have hurt. I know it hurt. I probably would,
I know, I would have passed out. The hollow of Jacob's thigh was
out of joint as he wrestled with him. Jacob appears to be fighting
back and resisting. Jacob was broken by the Lord's
touch of his power and his grace. Now without question, the Lord
Jesus could have easily and quickly subdued and overcome Jacob rather
than wrestling with him all night long. But this conflict was ordered
and instigated by God and this wrestling lasted all night until
the breaking of the day to teach Jacob a vital lesson that he
needed to learn. Now the outcome of this match
was never in doubt, was it? We know who's going to win. God
always wins. He always overcomes his people. We must be made to see and feel,
and this is what the Lord and how he deals with us, we must
be made to see and feel and experience the frailty of our flesh, the
emptiness of this world, and the glory of God in Christ, so
that we desire His presence, His salvation above all things.
You see, He must make us willing in the day of God's power, and
that's what He does. Jacob for a time resisted until
the Lord in sovereign almighty power touched Jacob and gave
him a crippling blow, disarmed him, and took his hip out of
joint and put him in the dust like Saul of Tarsus. Many times
in our experience of faith, the Lord deals with us sharply. and painfully to teach us the
lesson of the trial that he sends. Trials hurt. They're not to harm
us, but they do hurt, don't they? Thank God for the sharp and painful
blows of God's providence and His grace that brings us down
before Him to make us totally dependent upon Him and make us
to cry out in our heart, and we know We can say with Jacob,
and we know that all things work together for good to them who
love God, to them who are the called according to God's purpose. You see, whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receives, every one. The trials that we go through
come from the hand of our loving Father. And they're not meant
for our destruction, they're meant for our help. Next we see the fourth thing
in verse 26, the determination of faith. The Lord said, let
me go, for the day breaketh. Here's the determination of faith.
And Jacob said, I will not let you go until you bless me. That's the determination of saving
faith. You see, saving faith perseveres.
I will not let you go until you bless me. God in Christ laid
hold of Jacob, didn't he? But Jacob also laid hold of Christ
and would not let go until he received the blessing. Jacob
knew there was a blessing to receive and he knew it was in
Christ. And he insisted, he insisted
that it be given to him. You see, wisdom that's sent of
God, wisdom that's sent of God seeks mercy where mercy is found. in Christ. The Lord our Great
Shepherd does seek out and find His sheep. He pursues His sheep. And the result of that is that
the sheep also seek Him. If you ever find a seeking sinner
truly seeking the Lord, it's because the Lord has first sought
him out. You see, when the Lord begins
that work of grace and causes that spiritual thirst in our
heart, He brings us to the place that we must have Him above all
else. He brings us to the place where
He is altogether lovely. As David said, as a heart panteth
after the water brook, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My
soul thirsteth for Thee, the true and living God. That's the
determination of faith. Lord, I must have You. I must
have those blessings in You. I will not let You go till You
bless me. Look at verse 27. Here's the
fifth thing. We see the confession of sin. And the Lord said unto
him, What's your name? And he said, Jacob. Jacob's my
name. Now the Lord knew who Jacob was,
for he had dealt with him on more than one occasion. And the
Lord never asks questions for information, does he? When the
Lord said, Adam, where are you? Adam knew exactly where... God
knew exactly where Adam was, rather. The Lord asked this question,
not for information, but for Jacob's humiliation. He wanted
to hear this out of his own mouth. Jacob, what's your name? Sinner. My name's Jacob. He confesses,
I'm a sinner by birth, by practice, by swindling, by deceiving, swindled
his brother, deceived his father. Jacob's saying I'm a cheat, that's
what his name means. Soprano, a deceiver. I hold the birthright by my own
efforts. You remember he stole it from
his older brother Esau. All of my efforts are sin. I'm Jacob the sinner. Hold your
place there and find back over here, we read this last week,
Isaiah 41. Have you ever noticed how many
times in Scripture, Jacob, we read the name of Jacob and often
times, the God of Jacob, the God of Jacob, the God of Jacob. Isaiah 41 verse 14, Fear not
thou worm, Jacob. Worm. And ye men of Israel, I
will help thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One. Fear
not thou worm." God knows our frame. He knows that we are but
dust. What's your name? Sinner. That's my name. That's
my name. Born in sin, shapen in iniquity. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner saved
by God's grace. Read through the record of Scripture.
Those men that God had dealt with in mercy, Isaiah saw the
Lord high and lifted up, and he said, Woe is me! I am a man
of unclean lips. I dwell in the midst of a people
full of iniquity. Job, Job said, I have heard of
thee by the hearing of the ear. Now my eye seeth thee, wherefore
I abhor myself. I repent in dust and ashes. The
Apostle Paul, O wretched man that I am, Paul? That I am! Who shall deliver
me from this body of death? Oh, I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. And then later on he said, I'm
the chief of sinners. The Apostle Paul. This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. What's your name? I'm a sinner saved by God's grace. My name's Jacob. You didn't know
my name was Jacob, did you? That's your name too, if the
Lord's taught you who you are. All whom God wisely saves by
His grace, He teaches them what they are by nature, born in sin,
shapen in iniquity. Man in his best state is altogether
vanity. If we say we have no sin, remember
what John said? If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves and the truth's not in us. If we say we have
not sinned, we've called God a liar because He said we have
all sinned and come short of the glory of God. What's your
name? I'm a sinner. Jacob owns it. He knows it. He's lived it. He's
practiced it. His only hope is in God's mercy. Look at verse 28. And the Lord
said, Thy name shall shall be called no more Jacob,
but Israel. For as a prince hast thou power
with God and with men, and you have prevailed." The Lord changed
his name. This is not a name. This is not
something Jacob did. This is something the Lord did.
The Lord changed his name from Jacob to Israel, Prince of God. One who has power and favor,
one who has favor or power with God. How can that be? How can
a sinner have favor and power with God? How can that be? Only in Christ. Only by union with the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord gave old sorry Jacob
a new name to declare and remind him what the Lord Jesus Christ
had done for him and in him by his grace. In him and through
him by his grace, through his redeeming blood. Not our merit
or our works, but God's grace. We only have power with God Through
Christ we only prevail over our sin, death, hell and the grave,
because the Lord Jesus Christ has prevailed for us, has won
the victory for us, thanks being to God who has given us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. God even blessed Jacob before
Esau. If God be for us, who can be
against us? When Jacob finally does meet
up with his brother Esau, the reunion is sweet and the bitterness
is gone because God took it away. You see, the Lord deals with
His people in mercy, because He's made us sons of God. Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called sons of God. You remember in the book of Revelation,
we read, unto Him who loved us, and washed us from our sin in
His own blood, and has made us kings and priests unto our God.
To Him be all the honor and glory through Christ. You see, my name
is Jacob, But it's also Israel. That's right, I'm Jacob Israel.
It's like Simon Peter. I'm old Simon, but I'm Peter
too. My name is Jacob by birth, by
practice and choice, but God has made me in Israel. He's made
me a new creature in the Lord Jesus Christ. And He's done this
by His will and by His grace alone. Here's the seventh thing,
look at verse 29. Jacob still had remnants of Jacob. Verse 29, And Jacob asked him,
Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, the Lord said, Wherefore
is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. Now, Jacob was still a sinner,
revealed by asking a needless question, maybe full of pride,
maybe full of ambition, maybe full of unholy curiosity. What
is your name? Jacob knew, and yet he questioned
the Lord. You remember Moses before, whom shall I say sent me to deliver
my people? You remember the Lord said to
Moses when Moses asked the Lord's name, I am that I am? When Saul of Tarsus asked the
Lord Jesus, who are you? I'm Jesus of Nazareth whom you
crucified. The one that was crucified. Jacob
here, and here's what I see. Jacob was a subdued man, but
his flesh wasn't completely destroyed. Though saved by grace, Jacob
was still a sinner. Pride got the best of him. Pride dared to seek familiarity
with Almighty God. God refused to tell him his name.
Jacob must believe God within the scope of his revelation.
Faith demands no more than God reveals through the Word. You
see, the secret things belong to God. Jacob didn't need to
ask the Lord's name, for he knew this was God, for he later confesses,
I've seen God face to face. Verse 29, the last part, "...and
the Lord blessed him there." Who but the Lord can bless poor
sinners? He has, He will bless His people
with all spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Even though Jacob asked a needless
question, the Lord still yet blessed him. Isn't that amazing?
It didn't cut him off. Jacob used to dumb How many times
the Lord dealt with His apostles when they asked so many stupid,
stupid questions, didn't they? Who's going to be greatest? Peter
or John in the kingdom? And the Lord so kindly and tenderly
dealt with them. Oh, you little faith. Aren't
you glad the Lord is long-suffering and merciful to yet our own ignorance? And He blessed them there. Jacob's confession, Jacob declares
verse 30, I've seen God face to face. Jacob called the name
of the place Peniel, which means the face of God. I've seen God. And my life is saved. You know,
every believer can say that. I've seen God face to face. Preacher, what are you talking
about? The glory of God's mercy, and the light of God's love,
and the light of God's salvation shines in the face of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And by faith, through the Word,
we look to the Lord Jesus Christ. In that book revealed, we sing
that song. In that book revealed, I see
the Lord. Don't you? Face to face. Face to face. Jacob declared,
I've seen the Lord. and my life is preserved." You
see, God, apart from Christ, is unapproachable. He's too holy
and we're too sinful. He dwells in a light to which
no man can approach. But through the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, that the power of God unto salvation, the Lord
says, Come unto Me, all ye that labor heavy laden, I'll give
you rest." The Lord said, I'm the way, the truth, the life,
no man come to the Father but by and through Me. We see the
glory of God shines in the face and revealed in the face of the
Lord Jesus Christ, His person. Believers are persuaded and believers
persevere in Christ, because they're kept by the power of
God. This is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth
on Him, may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at
the last day." I've seen God face to face, and I live to tell
about it. My life is saved. Now look at
verse 31, I'll let you go. And He passed over, Pinell, the
sun rose upon him, and you know what? He halted. He limped. He limped. He had a limp. I think he limped the rest of
his life. You see, our flesh is still sinful flesh. That which
is born of flesh is flesh. That which is born of spirit
is spirit. As we walk through this life, we walk by faith.
The just shall live by faith, resting upon the exceeding great
and precious promises of God. But we are keenly aware of the
weakness and frailties of our flesh, aren't we? Not totally. Not totally. As we grow in grace
and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, you know what else
we grow in? We grow not only to see our total
dependence upon Christ, but we also see more of our sin and
depravity before God. Growing in grace is like a cow's
tail. Did you know that? What Donnie
Bell used to say. I guess he still does. Growing
in grace is like a cow's tail. The more it grows and the longer
it grows, and the more it grows, the closer it gets to the ground.
And that's us, growing in grace. We see more of His holiness.
We see more of our need of Christ. Christ is all and in all. And
we see more of our sinfulness, don't we? Our depravity, don't
we? Not totally. I don't know if
I could stand to totally see how wicked I am. But I am. We are keenly aware
of our weakness and sinfulness and the frailties of the flesh,
that we might learn to lean and rest upon the rock, the foundation
that God has provided for us. For he says in Malachi 3.6, I
am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. You see, God is a God of Jacob. We read that all the way through
the scriptures. The God of Jacob, the God of
Jacob, the God of Jacob. You know why? Because the Lord
didn't come to call the righteous, He came to call sinners to repentance. He came to call sinners to repentance.
He didn't come to call the righteous. The righteous don't need a Savior.
He came to cause sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ commended
His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. The Lord Jesus Christ died for
the ungodly. No more Jacob, but Israel. I still have this flesh to deal
with. But by His grace, any man being Christ, he's a new creature.
Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become
new.