July 14, 2007

Surrender All
Gen 32:1-21

Several times  now as the great battle approached the commander had lost men. Silently they had slipped into the night and escaped rather than face almost certain death in the bloody war ahead. But his superiors had said “No retreat” and that meant he must win or die trying. Now only one obstacle lay ahead, the crossing of the ravine that was all  that divided him from the barbarians. How to keep those men intact, how to give them the highest motivation to win this battle. Then it came to him. In the night he silently moved his armies to the only crossing of the ravine and crossed them on the narrow vine bridge which spanned the deep gorge. Now, only a few miles separated the two forces and he sat and waited to see if his plan worked. As dawn approached, he had two warriors douse the end of the bridge in oil and set it on fire. Now they had no choice, now they would win or die, for there was no going back.

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. Here was Jacob forced now, by circumstance to press forward from the frying pan perhaps into the fire.

He had just made a pact of non aggression with Laban, a deal to never cross into the land again or face military action, and now he stops and looks ahead and finds a new fear, a new situation that demands he trust God. he had in effect, just burned his bridges behind him so there could be no going back.

You might recall how Jacob, after sneaking off into the night, had boldly faced Laban when he was confronted? Yet now he adopts a very seemingly cowardly attitude as he prepares to face his brother Esau. Esau was the reason he had left home you may recall, and now he was forced into pushing ahead into the territory of Esau whom he had cheated out of his birthright 20 years earlier. Remember that his mom had said she’d send for him when Esau stopped being mad?

 Well guess what? He never seems to have gotten that word and as far as he knew Esau still wanted to kill him. He also had probably heard of Esau’s growing power and prosperity because he knew to send messages ahead to the land of Seir, or Edom where Esau was living. So if he had boldly faced Laban, there was a reason, just as there was a reason he now quaked in front of Esau.

What is it that causes Jacob to boldly accuse Laban of 20 years of wrong and yet causes him to grovel in front of Esau? One word. Conscience.

One of my favorite books in childhood was not the Hardy boys, though I liked them, it was Johann Spyri’s Heidi. I recently reread it and probably will again before long because it evokes many good thoughts and recollections. If you have read it you will recall that the goat herd Peter, was very possessive of Heidi and was in distress when she was taken away.

You may recall that when she went up the mountain with he and the goats he had more food to eat than ever in his life and that was one thing he missed. But also he was becoming rather fond of this girl and felt somehow as if she was his.

Now Heidi , after a series of illnesses was able to return to the Grandfather’s home high in the Swiss Alps and Peter was glad. But something began to change; she didn’t go on the mountain as often and Peter had his nose out of joint.

Then you may recall the indignity of indignities, Clara, the wheelchair bound daughter of Herr Seesemann of Frankfurt made a visit. You may also remember that Peter, coming up the alps to get the goats saw the girl’s chair being made ready for her to go up to pasture with the goats and Heidi.

He wanted time with Heidi, and he pushed it down the alpine slopes and it careened down, down down to destruction. Every day after that Peter he goat herd was in fear. It seemed as if everyone knew (though no one did) who had damaged the expensive chair.

He was imagining constables coming at every turn to take him away. Finally, mistaking Herr Sesemann for a constable he blurted out a confession.

The Bible states in:.Pr 28:1 :The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Did you ever notice that if you have done something wrong it seems to you as if everyone is out to get you? I mean the majority of people haven’t a clue you did wrong but in your mind everyone knows and you feel as if they are all talking about you.

This causes you to be furtive and worried and not bold and forthright. That is Jacob’s problem here. When he had to face Uncle Laban he was facing a man in front of whom he had lived a good example for 20 years. He was addressing Laban from a position of strength and honor.

But as it came time to go head to head with Esau, it was a different story. He had cheated Esau, lied and stolen his birthright and blessing and now in a sense, Esau had stolen Jacob’s boldness as well. When Jacob had started from Haran, Esau was probably a little puff of cloud in his mind’s sky because he was dealing with more immediate concerns. But as the days went by that little cloud became larger and larger and by the time he reached Gilead it was filling a dark and ominous sky. By the time he was ready to cross into Esau’s territory the thunder was ringing in his ears.

   That’s the problem with unresolved conflict really. It allows you to be controlled by the other person by remote control. That is why the Bible says “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” deal with it swiftly or it will deal with you slowly and torturously. So Jacob heads on his way to meet Esau and God sends angels to meet him. A host of angels or group of angels meets him as a reminder perhaps that he was under God’s protection. Hear what Jacob might say about all this:

It would have been good If I’d been able to believe God at that point and turn and face Esau as God’s agent of blessing. But I was still  fearful .

I forgot Bethel and its glorious ladder from heaven to earth where I’d seen the first angels. I forgot the protection and blessings of the past 20 years when God had watched over me in Haran. At that point I even forgot the angels God sent me to strengthen my mind. All that I could think of was my OWN SIN and MY OWN inadequacy.

Now you saints of God may look down your nose at Jacob and ask: what was his problem? I think that you probably know it all too well. There are many saints of God  that are immobilized because of the major sins of their past. Who say they feel weak and inadequate well guess what; you are. You should be doing what Jacob was supposed to do, marching forward  as a servant of the Most High God.

As children of the most high destined to rule and reign with him you need to remember the sacrifice. Remember that God has forgiven you for your sins and has sent his angels as ministering spirits to serve the heirs of salvation.  But you  have succumbed to the adversary’s wiles and begun to listen to his accusations

So Conscience made a coward of Jacob but he still had to go forward.

The appearance of the angelic army did little to strengthen him but it at lest gave him courage to send messengers ahead to Esau with the message “Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: And I have oxen, and donkeys, flocks, and men servants, and women servants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.    

Earlier when we were first told of the birth of the two boys it was noted that the elder should serve the younger(25:23) that is that Esau should serve Jacob. And when Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob rather than Esau he said “Be Lord over thy brother and may the sons of thy mother bow to you.”(27:29). Jacob was to become Esau Lord, but here  Jacob presents himself as servant and Esau as Lord.

It seems as if Esau had news that his brother was coming back to Canaan because when the messengers reached him he was on the way to meet Jacob. He was coming with 400 men. Since he later showed himself to be friendly, his anger having cooled, why the army?

 Well look at it from His point of view. Jacob had stolen his blessing and Esau may have surmised that he was now coming to claim the promised boundaries and subjugate Esau himself. He wasn’t angry, but he was prepared for anything.

400 Men. If Jacob was afraid before how must he feel now?He was terrified now. How could he escape the anger of such a great army? He desperately divides his household into to groups to preserve some remnant if they are attacked. Jacob forgets God’s strength (wouldn’t you?) and weakens himself by splitting into two. Trusting his own feeble devices more than God’s might.

Whenever we look away from God we see ourselves as weak and weaken ourselves even further.

Jacob had done all he knew to do and as a last resort he tries prayer. My, my how like the people of God that is? If we were to pray first then we could avoid many of the problems of life. But we, like him, wait ‘til our resources have run dry than we pray. So now Jacob consults the God he has been professing to serve for a long time.

Did you know that this is the first recorded prayer of Jacob in the Bible? Not that he never prayed but in the 7 chapters we have read he isn’t seen doing it. Jacob was good at religious talk but it was not accompanied by prayer. He had received great visions designed to show that God was with him in his wanderings but we are not told that he prayed in response to them. Even when he makes a vow at Bethel he isn’t offering a prayer. Maybe that is a source of his weakness at this time.

I am convinced that many times our own spiritual weakness come from just that. . . .prayerlessness. We talk a religious talk,set up pillars and make religious vows, but spend little time communing with the Father in Heaven.

God may have to do with us what he did with Jacob. Perhaps he will have to put us between a rock and a hard place and reduce us to sheer desperation before we seek his face and call on Him.

But I will say this, once he decided to pray he prayed sincerely and well. Note 5 parts to his prayer “ (1)He Acknowledged God as the true God and he cites the command that this God had given him( he uses the general name(elohim) and the covenant name (Jehovah).

(2)He confesses his own unworthiness “Its like the publican Lord have mercy on me a sinner. That is the only way any of us may approach God.

(3) He acknowledges God’s past faithfulness and blessings(10) Remember God had taken him with only a staff in his hand and made him prosperous.

(4) He presents his petition “save me from my brother".

Fifth, he presents the basis for his request, naming God’s promises to prosper him and preserve his descendants.

If God was to fulfill that he’d have to deliver him from Esau.

Only one thing Jacob might have done here to make it better; when he acknowledged God as “Of Father Abe and Isaac, he could have said “and my God too.” Also it would have been good if instead of merely acknowledging the promise he'd have boldly stood up and moved forward standing on that promise.

Jacob , however did not ask God what to do. He asked for help but didn’t seek God’s will. Jacob had made his own plans before he knelt to pray.  As soon as he finished praying he picked up his plans and moved forward with them.

Typical of the offspring of this man ...always having to take another lap around Mount Sinai to learn to ask God WHAT DO YOU WANT.

Jacob decides that surrender here is the best attack. He surrenders his goats first 200 females. Then, because he fears that's too small, he sends another lot of 20 male goats then 200 ewes and then 20 rams; then 30 female camels with young; then in case that wasn’t enough 40 cows followed by 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, 10 male donkeys...he thought I will pacify him with these gifts then maybe he will receive me. (20). Jacob sent the gifts then spent the night in camp.

When morning came he carried out more of his strategy-this time with his family, since the flocks were gone. He sent his 2 wives and their children and the closest family servant ahead of him over the Jabbok. He sent the servants first since he valued them least, then Leah the least favored wife with her children, then Rachel with Joseph. Everything was stretched out in bands across the desert toward Esau. Last of all old Jake himself all alone and trembling. He had surrendered everything, possessions and family but he was the same old Jacob He had not surrendered himself.

That is like us, you know? We sing “all to Jesus etc” But what we mean is I surrender my goats and sheep and camels and cows and donkeys, money, time, family...but we hold back the thing that God wants most. Then like Jacob, God had to come and wrestle hard with us to get us to personal submission.

Why wait for that extreme? Why not surrender your all to Jesus, surrender your plans, join forces with the heavenly legions? If you do that you will find that God has forgiven the past, blotted out your sin and will now boldly enable you to serve him.  

Who is Lord?  

Amen