Title: Jacob's Prayer! / Genesis 32
Content Title: Jacob's Prayer!
Bible: Genesis 32
Date: 1998. 1. 25 (Sunday) Sunday afternoon at Mission Church
<Looking back...>
Sending someone to Esau (3-5)
Jacob puts the utmost humility, hospitality, and excuses in his mouth so that he can meet his brother before Esau comes. Sending the messenger first is also to relieve his brother, but he is like a spy to decide what to do by looking at his brother's attitude.
1. In My Lord, Your Servant Jacob / This is an idiomatic expression that expresses the greatest possible humility, and contains the earnest desire for mercy that all sovereignty belongs to the older brother.
2. I have been attached to Laban so far / In other words, this delay in spite of the fact that I should have visited my brother earlier contains the excuse that it did not happen because I wanted it.
3. Since I have oxen and donkeys... / Jacob said these words apparently to imply that he already had property and had no interest in claiming the right to inherit Isaac's property.
Esau with 400 men (verse 6)
Contrary to Jacob's hope, Esau's appearance leading the army is not at all friendly, but the anger of his older brother Esau who is trying to arrest Jacob is contained. That is why the Bible says that it is harder to be reconciled to a brother who has offended you than to take a city.
Jacob's Prayer and Conflict (vv. 7-12)
Look at Jacob's face when he hears that his brother is coming with 400 men!
1. I was afraid and frustrated (verse 7)... / What were you afraid of? I was afraid because my brother came with 400 people. My brother came with 400 people, so why are you afraid? It is because of the sins committed 20 years ago. In this way, sin eventually finds him and follows him. never going through it Sin brings fear. The wicked flee when no one pursues them, and the righteous are as bold as a lion. If there is fear in us, see if there is any unrepentant sin! Like the psalmist's prayer, there should be a prayer saying, "See if I have any secret sin!"
Why are you bored? It's frustrating because there's no other way. Previously, it was solved by avoidance, but now it cannot be avoided. God allows Him to untie what He has bound up in this way. It is a decision-making process. Therefore, the believer should always avoid forming a life on his own. The relationship he made 20 years ago has forced him to lead a twisted life. How long is it? Until the experience of breaking the hip bone in the Yabbok River. After that, the problem was solved. What was formed by greed is resolved through the pain of breaking the hip bone like this.
2. Divide the party into two groups. (Verses 7-8) / When Jacob heard this news, the first thing he did was to divide his party into two groups. The intention was that if Esau came and attacked one group, in the meantime, he and the other were trying to avoid him. Before he prays, Jacob makes a prescription for himself. It is not only wise, but it is also the image of Jacob's life. This is a reflex behavior that has become like an instinct for Jacob, who had to make decisions on his own for the past 20 years and overcome all difficulties by himself.
3. Now Jacob's prayer continues (9-12) / If you look at the contents of Jacob's prayer, there is a Jacob-like aspect. But it is not a complete prayer. Let's take a look at Jacob's prayers and actions!
Verse 9 / The first thing you do when you return to this earth is to obey what God has told you to do. He is referring to God's promises. It is God's responsibility to protect me. There is such a thing as a strong chung in this word.
Verse 10 / And thanksgiving follows. You cannot bear the grace and truth (promise) that you have given to yourself. The proof is that I crossed the Jordan empty-handed with only a staff, and now I have made two groups.
Verse 11 / You are very honest about the problem you are facing. What I fear is that my brother will come and attack me and my wife and children. This is Jacob who looks just like us. We certainly believe in God's promises, but when things get worse, we also have a fear of being wronged by them.
Verse 12 / Again mentions God's promise. It refers again to God's promise to make your descendants as the sand of the sea. Perhaps it was a great comfort to Jacob to pray by mentioning God's promises once again. But that fear has not completely gone away.
Now let's think about it. Jacob's prayer is a good prayer, but is there any problem?
1) He had to pray before dividing the flock. / The prayer that I first make a prescription and a hole to escape from has no meaning or history. Therefore, it is important for those who pray first to pray. It's too late for me to plan everything and pray my way. First, we must seek God's guidance through prayer.
As a result, it can be said that this prayer is not a prayer that completely relied on God. For this very reason, we must remember that this prayer of Jacob could not change the situation.
Let us remember Proverbs 3:5-6.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all things acknowledge him, and he will direct your ways.
2) And in fact, Jacob should have given thanks first in his appearance. Because true gratitude brings faith. Failure to appreciate what has been accomplished reduces faith.
3) He confesses that he believes in the promise, but at the same time confesses that he is afraid and intimidated. This is Jacob's dilemma. Of course, as human beings, there cannot be no fear. But a person of faith must always have the courage to die when he dies. Then the belief becomes clearer and more certain. Confessing a promise to God is not necessary to inspire God to keep the promise by doing so, but to walk in faith according to the word.
Now let's turn to our prayers!
And let's become a person of perfect prayer!
Jacob's second act / Gift for his brother (13-20)
32:13 And Jacob stayed awake there, and he took an offering for his brother Esau from among his possessions.
32:14 Two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams.
32:15 Thirty milking camels and their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten donkeys.
32:16 He divided them into herds, and gave them into the hands of the servants, and said to the servants, "Go ahead of me, and let each herd have a mermaid.
32:17 And he entreated the preceding one, saying, When my brother Esau met you and asked, Who are you and where are you going? Whose is that which is before you?
32:18 Say, "This is your servant Jacob's, a gift to Esau his lord, and Jacob is after us."
32:19 And he asked the second and the third, and those who followed each of them, saying, "When you also meet Esau, tell him the same as soon as you do.
32:20 And ye shall say, 'Jacob, the servant of the Lord, is behind us.' This was because Jacob thought that he would receive me if I met him with the gift that I sent before me, after I had relieved him of his feelings.
1. There are overwhelmingly more females than males. / God created a woman more mysteriously. The males simply hunted, ate, sacrificed, and sold them, but the females continued to raise them because they could make a fortune. Bitch is much cheaper
2. It was not sent all at once, but was sent in groups of four. / This is Jacob's wise or deceitful act. Jacob is very well aware of people's changing hearts. It is well known that sending the same thing over and over is more effective. A gift is something that can sometimes calm the heart of a person who angered him.
Proverbs 18:16 A gift makes a man's way open, and leads him before the noble.
Proverbs 21:14 A secret gift calms anger, and a bribe in the bosom puts an end to wrath.
3. The amount of the offering is considerable. / Jacob had a quarrel with his maternal uncle over one sheep, but now he knows how to use the gift. What is really important requires a decision not to spare material. Substances are meant to be used when needed, and there is no meaning in just doing them.
Example) The rich young man lost his way to eternal life because his wealth was wasted, but Zacchaeus was recognized as a descendant of Abraham by giving half of his wealth to the poor. Judas Iscariot sold the Savior greedy for riches, but Nicodemus was responsible for all costs of Jesus' burial. It is recorded that he brought his own rock tomb, linen cloth, and incense with him about a hundred pounds. This is a substantial material.
So is our service to God. Of course, in normal life, we donate material according to the size, but sometimes we have to consecrate all our assets. Then his life changes and his relationship with God changes. Matter seems to have nothing to do with God's relationship, but it is in fact very closely related. Those who give in moderation love in moderation, those who give with all their might, love with all their might, and those who give their all love with all their heart.
Let's see what the Lord is saying! (Matthew 6:21)
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Ex) Grandmother Ramen donated 200 million won to Yonsei University because that heart was there.