Genesis 32:1-21
One thing unique about Almaty was the Market place. With row after row of cargo containers on both side of the road. Each container was full of clothes and other merchandise for sale. The place was packed with people, it was where one could find the highest concentration of Chinese at any one time in Almaty. Some of them become Christians via the ministry of Elder and Mrs. Chiu. One thing common among the Chinese in this market place is that they constantly live under fear. You see, from time to time, maybe once every two weeks, the police would randomly stop the Chinese to harass them. The way to get out of trouble is bribery. You never know when will be your turn, and the extent of the harassment. It certainly makes us appreciate the country we now live in.
Seldom do we face such fear on a daily basis. But isn't it also true that from time to time we find ourselves in situations that we have no control. There are fear and anxiety. What shall we do then?
In today's passage, Jacob found himself facing a situation beyond his control. He had great fear. For 20 years Jacob had lived with his uncle, Laban. Life was unfair, but at least predictable. Now, God had called him to return to the land of his father. He took his family and belongings and started his return journey. But wait a minute, how about Esau? You remember Jacob literally stole the birthright from Esau. Esau's anger was beyond description, and he vowed to kill Jacob. This caused him to leave home thus becoming a refuge in his uncle's home. Now 20 years later, did Esau have a change of heart? Jacob could have taken a different route to go home. Yet he knew that he could not ignore what he did 20 years ago. He had to see Esau face to face. He was ready to reconcile, but Esau?
In order to understand the passage before us, we need to understand the nature of the bible. The Bible is God's word to us about himself and men. It also tells us how God's divine plan is carried out through the imperfect and often corrupt human beings. It is truthful in its description of men. No hiding or touching up. It describes humanity as it is, which will be evident in the story before us.
Now let us take a closer look at how Jacob handles the situation before him.
After Jacob resolved his conflict with his uncle, Laban, he continued his trip. The narration in verses 3-7 provides us with a glimpse of what was in Jacob's mind. He sent messengers to Esau in the land of Seir, country of Edom. The word Seir means hairy, reminding us of the first description of Esau in 25:25,30. Edom means red, again it was first used in 25:25. Then finally 'country', this was used to describe Esau as a man of the open field in 25:27. The story teller is trying to impress us that Esau is the source of this sibling conflict. Jacob knew that if he were to obey God and go back to the land of his father, he had to face Esau head on. The conflict that led to his run away from home had to be resolved.
Let's also take a look at the content of the message Jacob sent to his brother. He addressed Esau as 'my master, my lord', himself as 'your servant' to 'find favor before you'. You noticed in the blessing he so desperately sought 20 years ago, he was to be the lord and master, to be served by his brother. Now he was willing to minimize the blessing, willing to let go what was so important to him before. And then when the word came back that Esau was coming with 400 men, Jacob was in great fear and distress.
What we see is a description of fear and anxiety. You see, when Jacob was obedient to God and return to his home land, he began to face uncertainties and situations beyond his control. Fear and anxiety set in.
Isn't it also true with us? When in obedience to God, , we step out of our comfort zone: we change a job, move to a new location, we begin to take risk and enter into situations beyond our control. Or when we find ourselves no longer in control of our health, our job and a relationship we deeply care for, there is fear and anxiety. There are also times when we feel God wants us to make things right with another person, taking the initiative to apologize, there will be fear.
So, what happens in such times of fear and anxiety?
In vs.1 we read that as Jacob continued on with his journey, he ran into God's messengers. The other time this word, "God's messenger" was mentioned was at Bethel, when he just left home. In both situations, God took the initiative to meet him. Once again, the invisible was opened to the visible. In both situations, when Jacob stepped out of his comfort zone, God's presence was made known to him. Seeing God's messengers, Jacob named that place: two camps. Referring to God's camp and his own camp. Meaning that his camp has met God's camp. God was there. The presence of God was an assurance to Jacob as he was about to encounter a situation beyond his control.
The same with us. There are certain moments in life, when we venture out into the unknown territory, either physically or relationally, into areas that are beyond our control, we too have the assurance of God's presence with us. We may not see God as Jacob did, but his Holy Spirit and spoken words are constantly with us. He tells us that, "Lo, I will be with you till the end of the world." " do not be afraid, you believe in God, also believe in me......that where I am, you will also be...." "john 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever." "Heb 13:5-6,Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" In those moments of fear and anxiety, many of the familiar words take on a special meaning. We are assured of God's presence. This is not an assurance that things will happen the way we want, but the understanding and security that he knows the best and he always has our best interest in mind. We may not be in control, but he has never lost control of the situation. This is our assurance and comfort.
What did Jacob do in times of uncertainty and great fear? He prayed. This prayer was often called the model prayer of deliverance. Let's take a look at its content.
First, its addressed to God the father of Abraham, God of my father Isaac. He was appealing to the God who had an objective existence. Its not that if you believe then he is there. Its all in your head type of mentality. Rather, even before Jacob existed, God was already there. In fact, he has been there all the time. And this God is also his God. In later years, his descendents would say, "God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob."
In vs.9, "who said to me 'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,...". He was reaffirming that he had been obedient to what God told him to do. In fact, it was this God who had brought him to where he was.
Secondly, Jacob expressed his unworthiness before God, vs.10, ".........." Previously, he was known as the grabber. The one who wanted to grab the blessings from God. Now we see his humility. He recognized all that he had was from God. It was God's grace to him from the beginning to the end. He was totally unworthy of all this.
Thirdly, vs. 11, his petition, "please deliver me from my brother Esau's hand......" vs.12, "for you have said,......." In his petition for God's deliverance, he closed it by claiming God's promise to him. In other words, Jacob recognized that it was God's goodness to him. His plea for deliverance was based not on his own merit, but on God's faithfulness to him.
What do we learn from this prayer? When we find ourselves in situations beyond our control, we too are to come to this God who has always been there. His existence is not dependent on how we feel. Whether or not we recognize him, he is always there. He has an objective and true existence beyond our perception and circumstances. Its not that he is there if you believe, and if you don't then he is not there. No, he is always there. His existence is completely beyond ourselves.
We come to him to seek help not because of our merit, for there is nothing good within us. Its all because of his mercy and faithfulness towards us. We do not try to manipulate him to do things our ways. Instead, he has always been good to us. We come in response to his goodness to us. And we trust that he will continue to show his goodness to us. As the psalmist said, "surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life."
Therefore the prayer of deliverance is an expression of our fear, our trust in this faithful and merciful God. The reason that we don't have to be afraid in situations that are beyond our control is because he is good.
If I were writing the bible, I probably would have ended this story at this point. Jacob prayed this prayer of deliverance and he trusted God from that point on. However, what went before and after the prayer is quite disturbing. It once again clearly reveals the brutal honesty of the story teller. He was honest in portraying human beings as who we are rather then what we should be. In fear, our human frailty is exposed.
Knowing that Esau was coming with 400 men, he swung into a defense plan. This was his expertise. He had always been a calculated hunter. Its not that we only pray and without any planning. No, nothing like that. But something about Jacob's plan was very disturbing.
Jacob divided what he had into two camps. The basic thinking was this, if Esau attacked one group, the other could escape. But fast forward to 33:2, it was painfully clear that he was willing to sacrifice Leah.
He also gave 550 of his animals as a gift to Esau. And again, through his servants, he acknowledged himself as Esau's servant, and Esau his lord. Motivated by fear, he was willing to give up his role as the master and lord of the family. In this passage, the word 'face' is used 5 times. Jacob wants to appeal to Esau's face, so that Esau will lift up his face, meaning forgiving Jacob.
You see what is happening here? In order to reconcile with his brother, Jacob was willing to reverse the stolen blessing. Even though he had stolen this blessing, God's divine plan was for Jacob to be the lord and master over his brother. Now, facing a situation beyond his control, Jacob was willing to give up what God had promised him. It was total appeasement. Facing fear and anxiety, he took things into his own hand. He wanted to appease his brother via his own efforts.
We may want to ask, how could Jacob do something like this? What about the model prayer of petition he uttered just a while ago?
However, before we point our fingers at Jacob, isn't this also something very familiar to us? I don't know about you. There are many times, when I find myself facing situations beyond my control, there is the familiar fear and anxiety. I also know that I need to pray and commit my ways to God. I know he knows the best. He always has my best interest in mind.
The problem I often face is that right after praying (or to be more honest, even before the prayer), I begin to take things into my own hands. I want to do it my way. Instead of waiting patiently for God to work, in a very subtle way, I was telling God that he needs some of my help, or asking him to help my action plan.
So, facing situations beyond our control, what shall we do then? Proverb 3:5-6, "Trust in the lord with all your heart and don't lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." What is our role? Trust in the faithful lord, don't lean on our own understanding......and he will make our paths straight. Straight, not according to our plans and design, but according to the divine plan. Trust in him, and not on our own understanding. Yes, even with such a conviction, we still face the fear and anxiety of the unknown. There is still risk. But we also remember, we are in the good hands of the lord almighty, the one who loves and cares for us.
At this point, Jacob was preoccupied with Esau's face. He wanted so much for Esau to lift his, to forgive him. But you know what, in the following verses that we'll study next time, God was quietly preparing Jacob to meet His face! Before Jacob was to meet Esau's face, he had to meet God's face first!
The past two weeks in Almaty have been a good learning experience for me. Almaty is a city trying to catch up with the western world. One sees the mixture of modern technology and old ways of living. There are plenty of monetary temptations. Very often the law enforcement officers, i.e. the police will abuse their power to achieve financial gain. They can stop you for whatever reason, just to extort some money from you. It could happen at the airport inspection, while you are driving, or just walking in the market place. There is the constant presence of fear and anxiety.
So what do we do? Whenever we leave the apartment, I was asked, "do you have your passport?" Here at home, you never appreciate the power of this little booklet. But over there in Almaty and in some other parts of world, this little blue book can do wonders. Whenever we are stopped by the police, we always make sure we had the passport. If you had the passport, you were OK. It gave us security.
We too face fear and anxiety in our lives. Especially when we step out of our comfort zone in obedience to God. He may be leading us to a different place, a different job, a different ministry. He may also lead us to mend a strained or broken relationship with a fellow believer. These are all risky situations. What do we do? Don't forget, we have God with us all the time. He speaks to us via his words, comforting, encouraging and strengthening us. He wants us to trust in his goodness and mercy toward us, and not on our understanding. Trust and know that he will make our paths straight according to his own divine plan.
Sunday March 28th, 1999, Rev. William Hsueh, Houston Chinese Church, Houston, Texas.