Your Name Will No Longer Be Jacob But Israel (Genesis 32:22-32)

Jacob is the man who is known as a man of relentless will and scheme. He was born as the younger brother of Esau, his twin brother. One day Jacob bought the birthright from his hungry brother and later deceived his father Isaac to receive the blessings as the firstborn. He had to flee from the danger of Esau who later knew that he was betrayed and stolen of his blessings. In the mother’s land, he was deceived by his uncle Laban and forced to labor for over two decades under the oppression and harshness. He had to flee from Laban who was heavy on his material increase. Finally, he had to face his brother Esau again and was very much afraid of meeting with him because of the unpleasant and bothering memory in the past. He had prepared whatever he could do in an attempt to minimize the possible hostility and attacks by his brother Esau. All he wanted at this overwhelming circumstance was to get over it as soon as he could and as minimally damaged as he could. This is the moment no one likes to confront but to avoid whatever possible. There is no way around except going through. Jacob is standing on the ground where he must step on. But through this he has discovered a new life principle how to not to be afraid of anything in any circumstance and how to not to scheme any longer to prevail or overcome people. That is to completely rely on the Lord Almighty God, denying himself because he has nothing to depend upon.

“That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ The man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered. Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.’ Jacob said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.’ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.” (Genesis 32:22-32)

Finally, Jacob has been freed from Laban and just needs to cruise a little bit more to a land where he could settle down, probably Shechem in his mind. But he knows he has to go through the land of Edomites where his brother Esau lives. So, he is sending for some servants to his brother to be prepared for meeting with him. The servants are saying that they saw Esau alive and is coming with four hundred men. Jacob is seriously afraid of his brother who might attack him as a revenge for the dubious incidents happened over two decades ago. This tells a greatly significant truth about any wrongdoings and trespasses done against others. Jacob has achieved everything he really wanted to do by any means including cheating, deceiving, and manipulating others. He is not the person who simply forgets and yields his rights to others at all. Rather, he always strives and contends for prevailing and overcoming other people and odd circumstances. He has earned and accumulated a great amount of wealth and established a huge family including two wives and two concubines and eleven children and a lot of servants. However, nothing could save him from the immediate threat of meeting with his brother. Nothing could relieve him from the inner fear and trembling, pumping from within and striking the core. He is deeply in trouble and distress. The good amount of possessions and wealth completely fail to soothe him. The wives and faithful servants cannot save him from the agony of imminent encounter with his brother. It is not just Jacob’s story but is written for our examples and warnings to teach us to understand our humanity. It applies to all humanity that nothing can save themselves from the inner fear and terror within. It teaches who the real enemy of our humanity is. God is our Friend and Advocate. But there is the devil, the prince of the world. He is cunning and crafty among all the wild animals and keeps planting and escalating fear and anxiety in our humanity.

Jacob is trying to do the best he could by inventing a desperate effort to pacify the most likely revengeful and hostile brother, sending a great number of animals as gifts. He has sent the barrage of gifts ahead of him. He has sent his wives and children and all of his possessions across the ford of the Jabbok. He is left alone the other side of Jabbok while his whole household and all of his possessions has crossed the stream. He cannot go any further. He alone must take the time with the man sent by God the Lord of heavens and the earth. That night, he has started wresting and striving with the man and continued till daybreak. Eventually, the man from God has touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip is wrenched as he wrestles with the man. Jacob is critically wounded and injured that he cannot wrestle with the man any more. It is over. How can a man prevail God? What is the point the Scripture speaks? This is how God is helping man as the loving Father to open the eyes of the heart and mind that has been blinded by the power principle of evil. This is the place to where God is driving every person in order to deliver them from darkness and confusion. It is called the total bankruptcy of man and the true discovery of knowing what he is before the Lord God. Man is not made to be independently handling the lives without God. Man is never meant to live in their own. Man is made to live selflessly, taking everything from God in this age and ages to come. Until we come to learn this new life principle in Christ, we never quench our thirst and hunger in body, heart, mind, and spirit. Jesus says so in the Sermon on the Mount.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12)

So, the choice of Jacob is logically obvious which is just asking God’s blessing. He cannot let the man go unless he blesses him. What blessing does he want so desperately? Why does he have to wrestle with the man all night till daybreak? What is it to bother him so much so that he must get the blessing from the man? It is the freedom and deliberation from the ignorance and misunderstanding of life. In fact, this unsatisfactory heart has been haunting and lingering in him all along the long years of life at home and abroad, especially in exile. He has been yearning for a stable and settled life. However, everything turns out like chasing after the rainbow. In the past, he faced and challenged any circumstances and overcame. But this moment is entirely different. Simply he cannot move just one step forward. There is already the sound of defeat and failure deep within. But while wrestling with man all night, he has gradually been learning and discovering that he is nothing without the blessing from the man. He has found himself what he has been needed the most is the blessing of God.

How does God bless Jacob? God changes his name from Jacob to Israel, saying “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:28) It’s a paradoxical expression. He doesn’t overcome God. It is impossible for man to overcome the Almighty God. The man who wrestled with Jacob wrenched his hip. Although Jacob is completely disabled to wrestle any longer, the man has said that he has struggled with God and with humans and has overcome. It reveals the mystery of Christ that through the death on a cross he has opened the door of salvation for the race by faith. Christ became like a criminal who hung on a tree, being cursed and humiliated and shamed in public. To the eyes of the world locked in darkness it seemed a total failure and loss. But it was exactly the opposite for the great victory and glory of God, the resurrection from the dead followed. Jesus Christ sacrificed his life and shed his blood in order to redeem the fallen lost race from the bondage and iron shackle of the devil. Christ died in our place so anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. This is the way, the truth, and the life because through Christ all men may come to the Father. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Prophet Isaiah cried out long ago that we may be healed through the Messiah’s wounds.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:3-6)

Finally, through the painful wrestling with God and with humans for long and weary years, Jacob has learned and discovered the secret of true victory. It is the way of the cross, nothing more and nothing less. No pain, no gain. No death, no resurrection. In order to have life, he must die first as our Lord Jesus Christ says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25) The Author of life, Jesus Christ set the example how to live life in the Father. That is what Jacob’s life signifies. Are you still wrestling and struggling like Jacob? Or are you submitting yourselves to God like Israel? Jacob calls the place Peniel and the sun rises above him as he passes Paniel, and he is limping because of his wounded hip (Genesis 32:30-31). I believe that it is truly the moment of heaven opening and outpouring showers of the Father’s abundant blessing upon him relentlessly. Thank you Father for your unfailing and long-suffering love for us!

January 31, 2017

© 2015-2017 David Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.

Empty Jars (2 Kings 4:1-7)

Elijah and Elisha are two pillars in delivering God's message in the northern kingdom of Israel. These two prophets rebuked the kings, stopped the rain and brought forth the rain back on the land, and performed the unmatchable miracles in all time. In the northern kingdom there haven't been any godly kings at all. So God sent the prophets to warn and awaken them from the imminent judgment of the Lord if they persist idol worshipping, forsaking the Lord of heavens and earth. They are God's instruments through whom God is telling us how he is running the course of the universe, especially of human history. In this chapter of 2 Kings, the story is focused on two women who were really in a desperate situation. It tells us that no one is off from God's radar of care and watch. That's the reason this chapter pays full attention to the lowly people with a greater detail. This in fact reveals what real humanity is precisely. We are in need even desperately just like these women in the story. It may be a bit difficult to think that we are in such a desperate need, especially in physical level. But we are indeed in need in all three levels of life, physically, mentally, and spiritually every second of our lives in this age and the ages to come. Truly God has put every human being wherever and whatever circumstance we are to learn the truth that we are forever in need. We are not made to live on ourselves at all. We do not have what it takes to meet our deepest needs of hunger and thirst. We do not even know what the problem is. We know that we are not here by ourselves and for ourselves. We have been made by God in his image and in his likeness. We are constantly in need of the light and truth of God which reveal and teach us that we can live in him and by him and for him and through him.

“The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.’ Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’ ‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a small jar of olive oil.’ Elisha said, ‘Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Donʼt ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.’ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.’ But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.’” (2 Kings 4:1-7)

In this story, there is a widow whose husband was a seminary student but passed away, leaving behind his wife and two sons. Now, the debt collectors are on the way to claim her two sons as slaves. What a pity! The woman is so powerless and defenseless that she cannot but losing her sons and even her fate is at high stake as well. There is nothing she could do not to lose her children. The pain and sorrow of the mother is unspeakable and unimaginable if not this woman. This is not written to tell this peculiar woman’s tragic circumstance only but to teach us something significant on our humanity. It is written as an example and warning for us. The Scripture tells, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11) It is written for our knowledge and understanding through which we may understand what is really going on in our lives, so that we may take a careful heed to the revelations God speaks in our hearts and minds.

See that she is not left alone but visited by the right person and on the right time. The prophet Elisha has come to her and listened her whole story. Elisha is asking her, saying “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” Then she answers, “Your servant has nothing there at all except a small jar of olive oil.” She has nothing but a small jar of olive oil which worth little and far short of redeeming his children. Yes, it is little for her to do anything at all, but more than enough for God to do his work. It reminds of one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew who brought five loaves and two fish and said, “But how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9) But it was more than enough for our Lord Jesus to feed five thousands with twelve baskets left over. We are so obsessed to measure up the success even the possibility of being successful with what is visible in our eyes, completely neglecting and ignoring what is invisible. The Scripture tells, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) What is seen is simply the manifestation of what is invisible. One unquestionable fact is that no one can control and make run our body as it is functioning and operating. Who can command the heart to pump the blood every second or so? Who can control the complicated and complex digestive systems of our body? Who can resist not sleeping for certain hours every day? Even the most modern science cannot answer that. But the Scripture plainly tells that God created heavens and the earth, and everything in it. God made man in his own image and in his likeness. So, we are not here in random or by accident, but with the cause and purpose set by the Creator. God is the Creator, so he knows how to run and operate our body and the universe. Although its cause and power are all invisible, it is truly working and functioning according to his plan and will which was set even before the time began.

It must have been a while for the woman in this story to come to receive a help from the man of God. She must have been worrying and fearing of losing her children since the husband’s passing. It doesn’t mean that God had not been concerning and caring her all along the difficult times. Rather, the Father has been closely and carefully watching over her and finally when the time comes he sent his servant to take care of her. The Book of Hebrews tells, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) It tells that our Father in heaven not only watches over us but also deeply empathizes with our troubles and sufferings and heartaches. We don’t know why there is delay as far as we feel in being answered of our pleas and prayers, even sometimes quite an urgent one. However, the Scripture puts this way, saying “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)  Whether happy or unpleasant, good or bad, shameful or painful, failing or humiliating in our experience, God knows how to work them together for the good of those who love him. And in another place it says, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5) God’s love is behind in all the human events including some noticeable delay of being answered to the prayers of the saints.

It is significant to note how she is helped by God. The prophet asks her, “How can I help you?” It’s not a question to be answered but a rhetorical one because he knows how he is going to help her. It arouses her expectations and draws her attention to see how the heavenly Father is working when it seems nothing would work out. Then he tells her to tell what she has in her house. She tells that she has nothing there at all except a small jar of olive oil. Immediately, the prophet tells her to go around ask all her neighbors for empty jars, not just a few. The woman isn’t sure why but she did what she was told to do. She then enters inside with her two sons and begins pouring the olive oil into the empty jars until the last one filled and the oil stops flowing. It could fill all the empty jars in Israel if she brought them all. With the jars filled with olive oil, the mother did save her sons.

What does empty jars indicate? I believe it indicates our humanity easily breakable and fragile. Oil in the Scriptures is used as the symbol of the Holy Spirit. Putting together, it tells that we humans have a fatal flaw represented by the empty jar which can only be filled by the Spirit of God. In the place like the Epistle to the Corinthians, Apostle Paul describes humans as jars of clay or earthen vessels. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7) French philosopher Blaise Pascal said something remarkable. “What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.” This earthen vessel is made by the Creator God and he knows how to fill it to the full. One of the missing pieces in our humanity is a great mystery. Philosophers and mind searchers and scientists have been searching hard to find the answer throughout the history but no avail. The mystery is not something we can find in the world because what God has written in our deep hearts can be only taught and revealed by himself. Yes, we are designed and made as God’s vessel and instrument which holds the treasure, the Spirit. So, the Scripture calls that we are the temple of God. Man has not only body and soul but also spirit. In essence man is spirit. “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) Since Adam fell, man has been lost in darkness which means the spirit of man is not functioning and operating as God intended man to be working even before the creation of the world. The fallen man is lost how to  handle lives. It’s a total blunder. What man intends to do good eventually falls into a shamefully embarrassing evil. Never meant to do wrong but to do good purely and earnestly, but falls into an undeniable blunder. The Scripture confirms bluntly, saying “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” (Romans 3:19)

The Prophet tells the woman to go inside with her children and to pour out the olive oil into the empty jars. It tells the work of the Holy Spirit is from within, not making any noise or spectacular show externally. Jesus tells, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) This is how God is working through the Holy Spirit who is quietly and yet powerfully delivering the needy in due time without fail. Nothing can resist and hamper the power of God working mightily in the heart of believers. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit will never leave but stay forever in the spirit of man whose Lord and King is Jesus Christ. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5)

The Tabernacle is the place where the Lord God has been indwelling in the midst of his people all along the tumultuous and yet victorious experience of his people. It is a pattern of his holy residence, especially the holy of holies where the Ark of God is permanent stationed. Prophet Isaiah has seen a great vision in the temple of God. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1) It must have been an utterly holy and exquisite experience to the prophet. The holy and exalted glory of the Lord had been visibly manifested to the eyes of man Isaiah. It is a personal and intimate revelation to a man inside the temple, not a spectacular broadcast to the nation in public. That is how our Lord God manifests and reveals his power and glory and honor within the realm of spirit. This Tabernacle is the picture of humanity in whom God has made his royal residence forever. The holy of holies is the picture our human spirit where the Spirit of God indwells forever. It had been forbidden to enter into except once a year by the high priest. But Jesus Christ opens the door for us to access the throne of God by tearing his body apart as the ransom sacrifice to the heavenly temple. He died on a cross for our sins. He shed his blood to redeem the lost humanity. Then, the Father opened a way for sinners to come into the holy of holies by faith. “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27:51a)

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

2017. 1. 27.

© 2015-2017 David Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.