WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS GONE, WHAT IS LEFT?...Write & Rest Wednesday+ WORD word+9.20.23
HAVEN TOGETHER GUEST POST
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When everything else is gone, what is left?
We enter life with nothing and we leave with nothing.
Yet during our lives now, we have attachments, possessions, responsibilities, relationships… things to do, places to be.
It’s good to get away from all these things occasionally to remind ourselves of our… humanness. To realise again, that all we really have is us and God. Jacob came to his uncle Laban with nothing, but leaves a wealthy man.
Let’s read what happens when he finds himself alone again...
“During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said. “Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip.”
Genesis 32:22-31
On Jacob’s journey away from his home, 20 years prior, he met God and saw a stairway to heaven. God promised Jacob then, that He would bless him, be with him and bring him back home one day.
That promised day was now coming and Jacob meets God again. He is blessed again.
+Why do you think this holy encounter took the form of a wrestle this time?
God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, the name also given to the nation that would come from his twelve sons. From Jacob, meaning to follow behind, to Israel- to wrestle with God.
+What’s the significance of this change?
Think about Jacob’s life (perhaps look at the chapters around this one), and consider the history of the Israelite nation. God has greatly blessed Jacob, but on this night, it is just himself and God again. Jacob wrestles God, refusing to let go even through the pain of having his hip removed from its socket! The amazing thing is that God says that Jacob won his wrestle- not only with others during his life, but also with God! It reminds me of Jesus allowed himself to be put on a cross.
Jacob was born the second son, yet fought to gain the inheritance reserved for the first son. He worked 14 years for his wives. He worked shrewdly for his wealth. He fought God for His blessing. +Was Jacob’s wrestle one for meaning? Was it ultimately to know God?
Observe how he asks for his opponent’s name.
+What does it say about God that He chose and blessed someone like Jacob? It reminds me of Jesus’s words:
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
+What are you seeking?
+How strong is your desire to know God?
SHARE YOUR ANSWERS IN CHAT
#WORD word #Write & Rest Wednesday
Many thanks to Thomas & Elise Anderson @ haventogether.com for contributing this post to ‘A Precious Pearl Aspect’ “WRITE & REST WEDNESDAY”
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