Jacob, being Jacob, won't let go the man who has put his hip
out of joint, and how painful that must have been, before he receives the man's
blessing. Jacob must name himself, the
deceiver, before he can receive that blessing, the blessing of a new name, the
one who has striven with God and man and prevailed. Now, Jacob who has been a coward and set his family
and his goods as well as the Jabbok between himself and Esau, now rises,
divides his family into two camps when he sees his brother coming, and goes to
the front of the party to be the first to greet Esau for good or ill. He has seen God face to face and lived, now
he will meet his fears face to face as well but he is bowing in subservience to
his brother who runs to greet him, the past is in the past. This meeting presages another meeting between
brothers in Egypt several years later doesn't it? While Jacob may have stolen his father's
blessing, he now shares that blessing in the gift to Esau. Jacob hasn't lost all his Jacob-ness has
he? He promises to go to Seir to see
Esau but instead goes to Succoth, he isn't sure that Esau has completely
forgiven him and isn't willing to take unnecessary risk. Jacob reveals
something of what it means to have God's Spirit, we are never fully God's
people, we continue to need change.
They fully and correctly understood the statement, "I
and the Father are one." They knew
He was claiming equality with God and that, they determine, isn't truth it is
blasphemy. Indeed, if it were a true
statement there would be no stoning. They
have determined that it is a blasphemous claim, He has besmirched the honor of
God by comparing Himself in this way. His
logic in answer is unassailable, the Scriptures speak of them as gods so why
has what He has said been judged blasphemous?
He points to the works He has done and says they prove His claim is
true, not empty words of boasting. Because
His time had not yet come and they continue to want to arrest Him, Jesus
retreats, a la Jacob, across a river, the Jordan, outside the jurisdiction of the
temple police. When he returns, He, like Jacob, will be at the head of the
line.
John proposes two tests for those who are not children of
God. One is the person who makes a
practice of sinning and the other test is the one who does not love his
brother. John says that while we are not
what we shall be because we don't know sinless perfection, haven't seen it,
studied it and understood it, we know enough to practice the righteousness we
know to purify ourselves from the sins we see.
Jacob learned that the practice
of keeping out of harm's way and non-confrontationalism was sin because it was
lack of faith, so he changed his ways. Where
is there sin in your life that you aren't actively fighting? In order to win the battle you have to
engage. The answer is to abide in Him,
avoid those things and substitute prayer and study.
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