Blessing: Part 2 (Genesis 32 and 33)
The idea of blessing takes center stage again. It has been a major theme of all of Genesis, and particularly of Jacob’s story. We find a full quarter of all uses in the Old Testament of the word bless/blessing/blessed in Genesis. It is largely a story about how God works to bless people, and through certain people, how He plans to bless and restore the fallen creation.
In Jacob’s case, we have already seen how God had promised to bless him. It was God’s plan all along. And, even as Jacob schemes and steals and grasps at blessing, God does bless him in spite of his underserving character. Now—after God has astoundingly blessed, protected, and prospered Jacob—and as Jacob is returning home following God’s command, we see Jacob still full of fear. He thinks Esau is still out to kill him. He is still trying to figure out how he can orchestrate circumstances in his favor. How he can save his own life.
And, as the final night falls before his encounter with Esau, Jacob encounters God. The story of this wrestling match is renowned. There are many mysterious elements for which we have no answer. But the clear elements are important. One: Jacob is still fighting for God’s blessing—the thing which God has promised him and already frequently delivered. Jacob, like many of us, feels the need to secure blessing for himself. And, Two: God injures Jacob. Jacob likely walked with a limp for the rest of his life. How interesting is it, that this ultimate blessing from God, the very thing that seems to finally change Jacob for good, the thing that earns him a new name, is an injury from God?
From this moment on, we see a new man. Israel no longer grasps at blessing. He rests in God’s blessing. In fact, when he meets his brother the next day, he gives him a blessing. (The word for gift in 33:11 is “blessing.”) It is almost as though Jacob returns the blessing that he conned and stole from him.
Do we trust God and His plans for our good? Or do we need to be broken by Him to become the people He wants us to be?
In Jacob’s case, we have already seen how God had promised to bless him. It was God’s plan all along. And, even as Jacob schemes and steals and grasps at blessing, God does bless him in spite of his underserving character. Now—after God has astoundingly blessed, protected, and prospered Jacob—and as Jacob is returning home following God’s command, we see Jacob still full of fear. He thinks Esau is still out to kill him. He is still trying to figure out how he can orchestrate circumstances in his favor. How he can save his own life.
And, as the final night falls before his encounter with Esau, Jacob encounters God. The story of this wrestling match is renowned. There are many mysterious elements for which we have no answer. But the clear elements are important. One: Jacob is still fighting for God’s blessing—the thing which God has promised him and already frequently delivered. Jacob, like many of us, feels the need to secure blessing for himself. And, Two: God injures Jacob. Jacob likely walked with a limp for the rest of his life. How interesting is it, that this ultimate blessing from God, the very thing that seems to finally change Jacob for good, the thing that earns him a new name, is an injury from God?
From this moment on, we see a new man. Israel no longer grasps at blessing. He rests in God’s blessing. In fact, when he meets his brother the next day, he gives him a blessing. (The word for gift in 33:11 is “blessing.”) It is almost as though Jacob returns the blessing that he conned and stole from him.
Do we trust God and His plans for our good? Or do we need to be broken by Him to become the people He wants us to be?
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