The following is a bonus episode recorded in
question and answer format with Michaela in 2020.
Your host Paul Robbins is currently serving in
Israel, but will return on February 10th. Welcome
to Journey from Jacob. From our first breath
to our last heartbeat, we are all on a journey.
Jacob was a biblical character whose journey
is documented for our benefit. Like all of us,
there were unforgettable moments along the way
which required decisiveness. One of those decisions
determined his destination. We will not only
discuss Jacob's journey, but Israel's as well,
right up to date. May this podcast inspire you
to make choices along your way that will benefit
others and guide you to the destination we all
long for. 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 and in
that chapter we see Jacob struggling with a man
and then being blessed and his name changing
kind of both at once. And later on, we're going
to be talking about the importance of that renaming
moment. But for now, we're going to talk about
that struggle and his fighting with that man
and what that meant and how that led to the blessing.
So the question for now is, Jacob was already
blessed by Isaac. Why did he need to be blessed
again? Why did he feel the need to struggle with
this man and get blessed again? That's good.
So, it's kind of like you get something that's
given to you, but it has no batteries. So, you
get this wonderful toy. It's in your possession,
but it can't function because there's nothing
that's going to start it to move or do what you
think it's supposed to do. So Jacob was in this
place with the blessing. It seemed like it was
supposed to be his, but he didn't sense anything
in him that changed him. He still felt himself
as this, this conniver, this guy who had to get
his way. And so we see that story unfold when
he leaves his parents' house and travels back
to where his mother is from, and he lives with
his mother's brother. And he's really looking
for a wife amongst his mother's brother's family,
which genetically seems wrong now, but back then
we're in a different age where it didn't really
affect them like it does today. So he sees a
little woman of his dreams, which is Rachel,
and his uncle, his mother's brother, which is
his uncle, it's kind of confusing already, Uncle
Laban, is a conniver. It just so happens, just
like Jacob. It's sort of like what you reap is
what you sow. So Jacob is starting to sow that
which he's reaped for many years of his life,
this sense of conniving and deceiving others
to get his own way. So when he thinks he's gotten
Laban's daughter to be his wife on the wedding
day, on the wedding night, it's actually Rachel's
sister, Leah, not Rachel herself. And that was
Laban's doing. He switched the sisters until
the older sister go in to Jacob. And Jacob wakes
up in the morning and says, what's this all about?
You know, he's like freaking out because the
woman of his dreams is not lying in bed with
him in the morning. So that begins this whole
episode where, no, you can't just have Rachel.
You can have Rachel, but first you have to work
for me for seven years, and then after that I'll
see if you're worthy enough, then I'll give you
Rachel. Well, anyway, this whole thing goes on.
his character starts to be developed at this
point, like never before. Because life for him
was pretty much easy street, even though he had
his ups and downs. He had run for his life, but
still he's alive. And he feels the safety and
the protection of his mother and father, even
if from a distance. So seven years to him is
no longer a big thing because he's so awestruck
by Rachel that he's going to live it out until
that day. So that day approaches. Fast forward,
he has to stay another seven years to live in
Laban's house because that's the deal on Laban's
side. And Jacob's willing to do that. Now he
has two wives, and they start to bear children
for him, some through Rachel, some through Leah,
and some through their handmaidens. And so he
builds up this family. There's 11 sons, and they...
God, he hears from God, it's time for you to
go back to your father's house. So he packs up
his wives, his livestock, which is much. He's
got much in the way of possessions, far more
than what he came with. He came with nothing,
and he's literally leaving with a company, what
they call by number, a company of his herd. It's
gigantic herd, which God said that you were going
to get all these. Part of the blessing is that
you're going to have multiplied possessions.
You will return with a company. And so he's actually
returning now with two companies. So God's multiplied
blessing to him in the natural. So it's very
important to know in the natural Jacob is being
blessed, just like God said. He's got 11 sons,
he's got daughters that they don't number, but
he's also got a tremendous amount of flocks and
he's got servants with him. This large company,
two companies of people and flocks and herds.
So he leaves Laban and on the way out of the
land where he's coming from, Laban's territory,
Laban shows up. So Laban is hot on the trail
after him because he realizes that Jacob snuck
out at night with his daughters, his grandchildren,
and all his possessions, and apparently they
lived on a different part of the property. So
he could do that because it's a huge... group
to sneak out in one night, but he had it all
planned out and they left. And remember, he's
a professional deceiver. He's a conniver. He
knows how to do these things. So he gets on the
road and then Laban shows up and says, hey, somebody
took the family idol. And he starts getting on
Jacob's case that not only did he take away without
saying his goodbyes, but he stole the family
idol, which no one does that. So Jacob said,
hey, search me. I got nothing. Search my everything.
Search anyone. Anyone who has this, if you find
this on anyone, that person can be cursed. You
can do what you want with. It was actually Rachel
that took that family idol, but she saw her father
coming and she hid it under her purse, sitting
on it, and she told her father that, I'm going,
please don't make me get off the saddle because
I'm going through the season of women. So that
he says, okay, just stay there. And he trusts
it's his daughter and she would certainly not
do this. So they leave. And the problem is that
it's... Laban is still not satisfied, but he's
leaving him alone. And so they get to this point
to a river crossing. The river is called Jabak,
which literally means crossing over. So from
there, they'd be crossing over into the land
where his forefathers lived, the land of promise,
which God had already appointed for Abraham and
his descendants. He remembers very clearly that
the last thing his brother said is, the next
time I see you, it's the end. And he knows the
kind of man his brother is because he— disobeyed
his parents at the drop of a hat and went off
and married Esau's daughters, which was the most
shameful thing, most disgraceful thing for them,
and the highest, the height of disobedience and
disrespect. So he knew his brother was capable
of anything. So he comes up with another plan.
Remember, he's a planner and a conniver. So he
sends, he says, this is my plan. I'm going to
send over all my possessions, flock by flock
by flock, and and then I'll have a special portion,
a huge portion, for Esau. So he does that. He
lines them all up and he sends them over and
then he sends over his wives and his servants
over behind them. And he tells some of his servants
when they meet Esau that they're supposed to
tell Esau that this is your servant, not your
brother, this is your servant Jacob who wants
you to have this company of flock. of herds and
cattle of sheep and goats and etc. And so it's
to appease him, this first act of appeasement
that we know in human history. I'm sure there
was others but it's the first one we get wind
of and seemingly it should work because there's
so much there. But Jacob is left alone. and everyone
is gone and it's night it says. So Jacob's left
alone at night everything he's owned accumulated
for 21 years including his wives and children.
So he's got 11 sons and Rachel is pregnant with
their 12th. So he's by himself and he's obviously
afraid and it's night and it speaks about the
darkness of the soul and this crazy thing happens
this man out of nowhere comes and begins to wrestle
with him. Now, how weird is that? This man begins
to wrestle with him. But there's something about
this man that Jacob just doesn't say, hey, man,
what's up with you? What are you wrestling with
me? And where did you come from? There's not
supposed to be people here. And so he's kind
of like me in my story with the crabs. There's
no place to go. But yes, he's under assault.
But it's a man, it's not a crab, it's a man that
wants to wrestle with him, that starts the fight
and Jacob engages with him. And they wrestle,
and it says they wrestled all night long. Now,
you talk about struggle, that is an immense physical
struggle. If anyone's ever wrestled, I was a
wrestler in high school, and I have to go back
to this just as an example. We were a very good
wrestling team. We had state champions on the
team. But this day, we were leaving the schools,
high school, and we were leaving the school to
go to town in Brentwood, New York, which was
known for its wrestling. And it was a high competition
match. And I was all excited about it because
I was not wrestling. I was the second man. And
I get to watch the whole thing. And I was really
excited because the guy that was in my weight
class that was first to wrestle was really good
wrestler. And so I was eager to see this match
and thinking that maybe we could win because
the guy he was going to wrestle was 14 and 0
in competition. I remember very little in those
days, but I remember this very clearly. This
was a night for me like Jacob. So even though
I was supposed to be a spectator, I'm on the
bus and I'm fooling around with my friends in
the back of us because we're not going to wrestle.
These guys in the front are wrestling. They're
really quiet because of the strength of this
team. And the coach walks back from his seat
in the front all the way to the back of buses
where I'm sitting. And I'm like, this is weird.
And he comes up to me and he says, Robbins, you're
wrestling. And I'm like, what? And he says, Capasso
is so sick. He's throwing up. He can't wrestle.
You're wrestling. And he goes, I only got one
bit of advice for you. Don't get pinned in the
first round. And I'm like, you got to be kidding
me. And I'm looking for the exit sign. You know
how they have emergency exits? And I'm wondering
if I open the exit sign at 40, 50 miles an hour,
will I die? Because I know I'm going to die on
the ring if I don't die now. And I was like,
I wanted to throw up with everything in me, but
I knew I couldn't. So when I got out there to
wrestle this guy, The only counsel I got from
this coach was, don't get pinned in the first
round. So the first round is the longest round.
So it's a seven minute match, but it's three
minutes the first round. I thought three minutes
would never end because this guy had me twisted
up in positions that I didn't think I was possible
to be in. And he couldn't pin me though. And
it wasn't that I was trying not to be pinned,
but I knew that my coach was going to kill me
if I did get pinned. But I just couldn't move.
He had me twisted up so much like a pretzel that
my bones were aching and breaking and my muscles
were twisted so much that I was in agony just
from wrestling for less than three minutes. So
I know what that's like. And fortunately, I made
it through the first round, but not the second.
But I never lived it down. But I realized that
I was not carved out to be a wrestler. But I
know what it means to struggle like that. And
this is what Jacob did. And it said that he wrestled
all night long. So this is physically, I would
say, in the realm of the impossible. But this
is the determination we see in this man, Jacob,
that he was willing to do that. At the end of
the night, we say that the dawn broke, that the
sun began to rise. God speaks to you. He doesn't
know it's God yet. He realizes it's an otherworldly
being, probably from being so tied up with him
all night long, that this is not a normal person.
And yet he says to him, man, give up. Basically,
I mean, I'm putting words in his mouth, but he
says, when are you going to give up? And he says,
I am not giving up until you bless me. So this
blessing to him was more important than the struggle
that he was going through. And I think that's
really important to understand that When Jesus
said that you will find me, when you seek me,
if you seek after me with all your heart, it's
this place inside of us that we long for. So
Jacob knew that he was not the man that... this
blessing was going to make him to be, because
all the outward things that he had accumulated
had not changed him, even wives, even children,
you know, in great possessions, and respect from
his uncle, which he never had before. And yet,
there was something more to it that he had to
keep fighting for, struggling for. which was
this blessing. So he had the blessing from his
father in words, but it was never internalized.
In other words, this Christmas toy, or whatever
you want to call it, had no batteries. It had
a label, but it wasn't an identity. He was still
a deceiver. Exactly. And he knew it. So God was
willing to stop and say, this is it. Let's just
put the brakes on here and you go on with your
life. And he goes, no, it's not enough. I need
the blessing. I want the blessing. I will not
stop. And so what happens? God touches him. God
touches him. That's very important. He didn't
know it was God then, but he realizes after he
disappears that that was God. And he blessed
him. He touched him. And what is really striking
is that it was dawn. And so for him, that's more
than just a time of day. It was the time of his
life. It was the beginning of a life where light
was beginning to shine on him, in him, and would
be through him. The other thing that's really
amazing is that he says that God touched him
in the leg. And from then on, it says that he
limped. And that doesn't sound like a blessing.
But what he's saying is that God isn't out there
to hurt him or limit him. is that this picture
is that he would never walk the same again. It
did not stop him from walking. We see him walking.
We see him active for the rest of his life. But
he never walked the same again. And that's what
the blessing does. It changes your walk. It changes
your journey. You're no longer journeying to
find something, to accumulate something, to become
someone. You're journeying to be who you are,
because who you are is who you should be. So,
how would you relate then the struggle that Jacob
went through to become Israel? How would you
relate that to the struggle that we go through
in that dark night of the solace, you would say?
How do you personalize that? Well, I think there
should be a wrestling match that takes place
in everyone. And in the culture we live in today,
that is something that is never discussed in
the secular world. but little discussed in the
spiritual world, in the world of Christian faith.
This wrestling match is kind of like when you
said before, why couldn't God just bless everybody?
Why did he have to just choose Abraham and through
Abraham? Why couldn't it just do it? And so that
thought should be wrestled out. Because if we
just accept these things that face value and
say, well, this is my face, I believe God, but
you really don't because you never really wrestled
those thoughts out with God. Why didn't you?
And I think later on we're going to learn from
Moses that when... when what God expects of us,
and the prophets will repeat this, is that we're
to love the Lord our God with all our heart,
all our soul, and all our strength. Jesus asked
that same question, what is the greatest commandment?
He was asked that question. He turned back and
said, you tell me, what's the greatest commandment?
He says, you shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And
so that concept is like bigger. than just going
up and saying, Jesus forgive me of my sins, I
accept you as saviour, amen, and say back in
January 17, 1932, that's when I gave my life
to Jesus. never been the same sense, but have
you never been the same sense? Have you really
had a different way of looking at life? Have
you stopped seeing life as if it just revolves
around you? Are you really inclined to walk into
somebody else's life and kneel before them and
say, how can I change your, how can I affect
your life for good? Because like you said that
is how you would bless others. You're saying
that, like, for example, God blessed Abraham
so that he could be a blessing to the nations,
but that blessing is kneeling down before someone
and almost being of service to them. God's basically
saying, I'm of service to you. I'm here to fight
for you, to do all these things for you, to prosper
you, but not for the sake of being prospered,
but for the sake of you doing that to others.
It's almost like the one who is esteemed by God
becomes the servant of everyone else in the way
that Jesus is. Yeah, that's precisely. And so
it's really a wonderful story when we fall into
that category of saying, you know what, it's
not about me. The world does not surround me.
It does not function without me. I mean, it functions
without me. Break time. Let's take two. When
I was young, I didn't know I believed what is
called solopsism. It's a theory of life. It's
actually a foundation of thought. It's a philosophical
concept that people latch onto and live by. It's
called solopsism. And what it basically means
is that the world revolves around me. I am the
sun and every planet circles me. Jonah had that
issue. He thought the whole world revolved around
him. And he ended up at the bottom of the sea,
literally at the foundation of the earth, if
you remember. God took him right down to the
bottom, the middle of the earth, where the earth
was literally revolving around him because it
has a point, a center point. So God took him
right to that point to show him, I mean Jonah,
where is your perspective? Because here you are,
the world is literally revolving around you right
now. How do you feel? Is this what you really
want in life? And so God had to show Jonah the
same thing that was happening to Jacob. So God
does this repeatedly, but he does it to us. If
we're really willing to seek him with our heart
to become the person that we are called to be,
then we're going to find this journey, have a
struggle to it, a struggling aspect to it. It's
not a walk in the park. Well, because it's not
easy to recognize that the world doesn't revolve
around us, because in our own head, it's very
easy to see everyone's interaction with you and
the way that your life is walking forward as
a you -centered thing. It's hard to recognize
that everyone's living their own life just as
intricate as yours in their own self. So I think...
That's very important. That realization is very
important. But the struggle of coming to God,
to faith, to all of those things, it's a struggle.
It's not, just like you said, a simple prayer
that we say, Jesus, thank you for forgiving me
of my sins. Amen. The end. I'm going to go and
continue to act like the world revolves around
me. And you asked the question, how is this relevant
to anyone else outside of Jacob or the Christian
faith? And that is what we need to be asking.
Is there any relevance here for me? And if that's
an honest question, we see that this nature,
which we talked about before when we defined
Jacob, which means deceitful, that in the book
of Jeremiah, which we quoted from, just 17, talks
about this heart of man. which is Jacob above
all things, deceitful above all things. It seeks
its own above all others. And so we recognize,
hey, I'm a Jacob too. And that's the recognition
that is the scariest part, to admit that there's
something in me that needs a touch from God,
whatever the cost. I need something, I need to
get rid of this thing within me, whether you
want to call it Jacob's heart or cancerous or
sin, which is what the Bible calls it, a sin
nature, it needs to be dealt with. But why would
you ever want to hold on to it once it's identified?
You know, is that really the kind of way you
want to live? And I think that someone who is
a seeker, an honest seeker, is going to say,
absolutely not. I want this thing removed. And
that's what Jacob was striving for. I want to
see this thing gone. And that's why he was willing
to go the distance. He was willing to fight all
night to see that thing gone. I think all of
us have to come to that recognition of ourselves,
as you were saying, that our hearts are deceitful
above all things and that we want that gone.
But it's like, how do I get rid of my own heart?
And you're asking in a way for a blessing from
God to have a change and a transformation. I
think a lot of people would call that salvation.
But I'm not sure that The way that we view salvation
would quite cover that because me, you know walking
into grace and saying I'm all good Jesus has
saved me doesn't seem like the quite the same
thing as we're talking about here with a struggle
and with a change of Name at the end of the day
a change of name from a heart that is Jacob to
a heart that is Israel So, I mean we're going
to get into those names and that change. So maybe
this is a good time to stop and Next time we'll
talk about that change then from Jacob to Israel
and that name and how that matters in each and
every one of us. That's appropriate. Thank you
so much for joining us today. We hope you enjoyed
the discussion and got something out of it. If
you want to be a part of the conversation or
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we journey from Jacob. Love you all. See you
next week. Shalom. We bless you for taking the
time to consider this message. May it cause you
to be fruitful and effective and lead others
along the way with confidence and determination.
Check out our website at comfortmypeople .com
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