Comments on Genesis 32:22-32

What’s the earliest sport mentioned in the Bible?

baseball (“in the Big Inning”) or tennis (Joseph served in Pharaoh’s court)

passage today earliest athletic competition mentioned in Bible: wrestling

one of strange, mysterious passages in Bible: don’t exactly know what it means

life-changing event for Jacob: such events often confusing or strange

If doing YOB readings, know that Jacob was an “interesting” character

nobody would want him as role model: no example of faith

name “Jacob” means trickster: always looking for a way to pull a fast one

even before born, fighting w/ brother

wouldn’t feed him unless signed over inheritance

tricks father on deathbed to get blessing: has to run away from home

goes to uncle Laban: another schemer

for 20 years, 2 try to pull wool over each others’ eyes

tricks about marrying daughters, about dividing herds

not the kind of person you’d want to have as a role model for children or self

used any trick he could find to take advantage of another person

self-seeking: do whatever it takes to get ahead: doesn’t matter who you hurt

something interesting about Jacob: compare w/ others we’ve been reading about

no mention of faith in God, like grandfather Abraham (last week)

Lord didn’t have anything to do w/ way he led his life

before today’s passage, only 2 times in life when had anything to do w/ God

1. When running away from brother Esau, after stole blessing from dying father

stopped to sleep for night, had dream of ladder to heaven

(songs: “Jacob’s Ladder,” “Stairway to Heaven”)

promise from God to care for him

Jacob made promise: if return safely, will give 10% to him, worship him

a promise, but didn’t change how he lived his life

2. Now, running away from uncle Laban 20 yrs later

tricks caused bad blood, had to leave

going back home: gets word that brother Esau approaching w/ army of 400

terrified: prayed to God

“You promised 20 yrs ago to take care of me! Save me!”

Apart from those 2 incidents, Jacob pretty much lived life w/out God

handle life with his own wits

even these 2 times: not like God most important thing to him

God touches his life w/ dream, but flash in a pan

then, in moment of desperation, dug himself in hole he couldn’t get out of

turns to God for help: final ace in the hole: last ditch attempt

even so, not exactly humble

“You told me you’d make me prosper. Well, live up to the deal!”

We turn to God in this way sometimes, too

insurance policy, last card to play

but then, like Jacob, go on to plan life on our own, as best as we can

Jacob: sent generous gifts to brother, divided family/flock into 2 groups

Last night before meet brother (& maybe doom), spent alone, along side of river

“a man wrestled with him till daybreak:” who?

angel? God? don’t know: some emissary from God

Jacob may have turned to God as last resort, and still made own plans

but God came to Jacob, forced him to confront him

changed his life: name changed from “trickster” to “wrestler w/ God”

a different person the next morning, when went to meet Esau

humility & generosity, instead of scheming and trickery

continue to read life of Jacob: lived up to name change

Image for us: wrestling w/ God

often told that being Xn easy: turn life over to God, will guide like gentle shepherd

not always that easy

so far this year, have talked about accepting God’s claim on our lives

about finding our special place in God’s plan

you can’t do those w/out changing who you are

when you come before God, follow where he leads, will never the same again

Jacob the Trickster became Israel the Struggler

for all those years, Jacob thought he knew who he was

lived according to particular identity

that night beside the Jabbok River, found out for 1^st time who he really was

come to God now: discover who we are

Genesis 18:20-33 – Would You Buy a Car from This Guy?

Even if you don’t know your Bible very well, you’ve probably heard of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s pretty remarkable, considering the fact that they disappeared thousands of years ago, long before practically all of the significant events of the Bible. But long after they were gone, the Bible continued to talk about them, all the way up to the last book of the Bible, Revelation. These cities had two claims to fame: their great sin, and the way that God destroyed them because of their sin.

For all the attention that the Bible pays to Sodom and Gomorrah’s great sin, it’s surprising that it doesn’t actually describe what it was that was so bad about them. The conduct of its residents of the eve of its destruction (Genesis 19:4-5) has led people to assume that God punished them for sexual sin. After all, this is were “sodomy” gets its name from. The only problem with this assumption is that God had decided to destroy Sodom before this happened. Maybe the crowd’s conduct that night represented the kinds of things that they always did, but we don’t know. Actually, there’s one place in the Bible that tells us what was so wicked about Sodom, and it had nothing to do with sex. According to Ezekiel 16:49-50, the sin of Sodom was that its citizens did not help the poor and needy, but were “arrogant and overfed.” If we want to be sure to avoid the sin of Sodom, maybe we need to take a closer look at ourselves.

Whatever the specific sins were, Sodom and Gomorrah were so wicked that God decided that they needed to be wiped from the face of the earth. There was just one complication: Abraham’s nephew Lot lived in Sodom. Abraham was man God had chosen to become the forefather of his chosen nation, and Lot was his closest living relative. So God sent three angelic messengers to Abraham to tell him about his plans to investigate Sodom and deal with it accordingly. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but apparently God did this so that Abraham could warn his nephew and help him escape.

So God’s angelic agents deliver their message. But after they leave, Abraham confronts God directly. You have to give him credit for going straight to the source and not hiding behind the go-betweens. On the other hand, you have wonder about the way that Abraham approached God. He displays none of the respect or humility that we ought to have in prayer. Remember: this was a culture in which people could be executed simply for appearing before the king without being summoned (Esther 4:10-11). And Abraham didn’t just enter God’s presence: he stood up in front of him. You’re supposed to bow or prostrate yourself before a king. How rude and presumptuous!

But that was only the beginning of it. Abraham’s conversation with God sounds more like he’s haggling for the price of a new car than he’s in the presence of the Eternal Lord. He starts to bargain with God for the city of Sodom! He starts off by appealing to God’s nature. “Lord, would you destroy the whole city if there are fifty righteous people in it? That’s not like you to kill innocent people along with the wicked. You’re the judge of the earth: why would you do something like that?” So God agrees: if he finds fifty good people, he’ll spare the city.

Apparently at this point Abraham thought to himself, “Great! God will spare Sodom if there are enough good people in it.” His next step was to try to negotiate the price. He must not have thought that is was a done deal that the city had fifty good people in it. So, like someone trying to by a used Chevy, he dickers with God to get the price down. To me, it sure sounds like what happens in the markets of Ghana! And Abraham does a pretty job of haggling: he ends up working the price all the way down from fifty to ten. If, when God investigates Sodom, he finds ten good people, he won’t destroy the city. Incidentally, even that was too high of a number. It turns out that there were only four people: Lot, his wife, and his two daughters, who qualified.

I wonder how low God would have been willing to go and still spare Sodom. Would he have settled for four?

What if Abraham would have started right with ten people: would God have agreed to save the city for that few people? Or did Abraham have to convince God by working him down to an acceptable number?

I wonder why Abraham was so concerned about saving Sodom. If the city was really so depraved, he must surely have had his share of problems with them. Life would have been a lot easier for Abraham if Sodom was destroyed. But he asked God to spare them anyway. It’s important to remember that Abraham wasn’t asking God to take care of his friends. This was a prayer for God to be good to his enemies. When’s the last time you asked God to take care of Osama bin Laden? Or that annoying person in your neighborhood, class, or workplace?

Maybe Abraham comes off being really inappropriate in this story: boldly confronting God, bargaining with him, etc. This may not be a perfect example of the proper attitude for prayer. And yet, God still listens and accepts him. That’s really good news for us: you don’t have to do it “right” in order to have God receive your prayer.

The only reason Abraham could act like this in front of God is because he was comfortable around him. Being in the presence of the Lord was something that he was apparently very comfortable with. He didn’t need to hide behind heavenly messengers or elaborate rituals and formula prayers. He could come to God exactly as he was, and he knew that it would be alright. The better you know God, the more comfortable you are to be with him.

The deal that Abraham worked out with God prefigures the atoning work of Christ. For the sake of one righteous person, a globe full of wicked people have been spared.