surviving the struggle

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

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Genesis 32:21-32

21 So the gift passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the pass of the Jabbok.

23 He took them and sent them on across the stream, and everything else that he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the dawn ascended.

25 The man saw that he was not able to dissuade Jacob, he hit his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.

26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn has ascended.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 And he asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have persisted in your struggle with God and with men, and have proved yourself able.”

29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he asked, “Why is it that you ask for my name?” And there he blessed him.

30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,[1] saying, “For I have seen God face to face, but my soul has survived.”

31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel,[2] and he limped on his hip.

32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the thigh muscle. _________________________________________

surviving the struggle

Jacob is at a crisis point in his life. He has left his father-in-law behind and responded to God’s call to go back to Canaan. He learns that Esau is preparing to meet him with a band of 400 men. He fears this meeting greatly, and sends a great present of livestock on ahead of him in the hopes that he might appease his brother’s wrath.

That night, Jacob wrestles with a “man” constantly, and is injured on his hip joint. The next morning the “man” reveals that Jacob is going to be renamed Israel – “he strives with God.” He names that place Peniel, for, he says, “I have seen God face to face, but my soul has survived.”

Have you had your encounter with God? Keep striving with him until he blesses you.

LORD, we are hanging on, and we will not let go. We want to encounter you, and live to tell about it.

[1] peniel: “face of God,” or, perhaps, “my face has seen God.”

[2] penuel: a variant of peniel, or, perhaps “our face has seen God” (reflecting a later communal tradition).

Posted in discipleship, Jacob, relationship with God | Tagged | 1 Comment

just one more sign

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

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Matthew 12:38-42

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation is asking for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the ground.

41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented when Jonah preached, and see, something much more than Jonah is here.

42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something much more than Solomon is here. _________________________________________

just one more sign

Jesus scolded his generation because they had all the evidence they could ask for, but they were holding out for just one more sign.

For the Ninevites in Jonah’s time, all they needed to see was a half-digested prophet screaming that judgment was coming. For the queen of Sheba came to Solomon to see if he had the wisdom he was reputed to have, and she discovered that he did.

For that reason, Jesus said that both the Ninevites and the queen of the south will testify against this generation on judgment day. He called the generation adulterous, because that was at the heart of their refusal to believe. They had sold out to another love, so all the evidence in the world would not convince them of Jesus authenticity.

Have you turned your heart toward Jesus, or are you waiting for just one more sign? That is not the place you want to be.

LORD, forgive us for holding back. You deserve our loyalty and love, and we have no reason to wait.

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wise caution

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

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Genesis 32:6-20

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are also four hundred men with him.”

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and upset. He split the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,

8 thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”

9 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, that I may do you good,’

10 I am least worthy of all the deeds of faithful love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

11 Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, because I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children.

12 But you promised, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your family as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'”

13 So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a gift for his brother Esau,

14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

15 thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

16 These he entrusted to his servants, every drove separately, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between one drove and the next drove.”

17 He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose property are these ahead of you?’

18 then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And what is more, he is behind us.'”

19 He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you meet up with him,

20 and you shall say, “What is more, your servant Jacob is behind us.'”For he thought, “I may appease him with the gift that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”

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wise caution

Jacob decided to separate his camp into two, and then to further divide his property into separate droves. It was a risk he was prepared to take, hoping that his gift would appease his brother’s anger. He probably got the idea from his recent encounter with angels from the LORD, and his declaration that there were two camps – one his, the other, the LORD’s. Now, people will remember Mahanaim for a different reason.

As it turns out, Jacob will not need to do this, but it was a wise strategy. In the New Testament, Jesus will tell his disciples to be cautious of others, to be wise in dealing with them. Jacob is demonstrating that characteristic here.

LORD, teach us how to be wise when dealing with others, because we do not know how they may react.

Posted in discernment, Jacob, wisdom | Tagged | 1 Comment

every careless word

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

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Matthew 12:33-37

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten, because from the fruit you will know the tree.

34 You brood of vipers! How can you say the right thing, when you are wrong? Because out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

35 The right person out of his right treasure brings forth right words, and the wrong person out of his wrong treasure brings forth wrong words.

36 I warn you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,

37 for by your words you will be vindicated, or by your words you will be condemned.” _________________________________________

every careless word

Jesus scolded the Pharisees for their criticism of his work. Their words had eternal significance because there will be a judgment day, and all those wrong words will come back to condemn them. Every careless word spoken against Christ and his word is sealing their fate.

Christian, are you fond of criticizing others? Do you regularly post combative posts on your social networks? Beware, everything you say matters. Do not assume that your words are insignificant. The judge is listening.

LORD, forgive us for blaring our thoughts, and broadcasting our opinions. Teach us restraint.

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another camp

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

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Genesis 31:51 – 32:5

51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this pile and the monument, which I have set between me and you.

52 This pile is a witness, and the monument is a witness, that I will not pass over this pile to you, and you will not pass over this pile and this monument to me, to do damage.

53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac,

54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his relatives to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.

55 Early in the morning Laban got up and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home.

32:1 Jacob started traveling on his way, and the angels of God met him.

2 And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim.[1]

3 And Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,

4 instructing them, “This is what you will say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have lived with Laban as an alien and stayed until now.

5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.'” _________________________________________

another camp

What Jacob had with Laban was hardly a reconciliation, nor was Jacob yet reconciled with his brother, Esau. But this text reveals that Jacob has grown inside. No longer is he simply seeking what he wants, without regard for who he leaves behind. He has begun to show spiritual maturity that is now seeking reconciliation and peace. He is not all the way there yet, but he’s getting there.

Granted, part of what Jacob is now experiencing is simply the wisdom one gains by working with people, and experiencing conflict. He is now wary of Laban, and thus seeks a covenant that offers him protection from his father-in-law. He fears Esau, and wants to get on his good side. He has persistent with men, and is learning how to prevail in his encounters with them.

He is having a similar experience with God. When the angels from God meet him, he recognizes them, but we are not at first told what they said. What we are told is that Jacob recognizes that there are two camps – mahanaim. Jacob is realizing that God’s house is not just at Bethel. It is wherever Jacob is. There are two camps, one in the human realm, one in the divine. God is not someplace else. He is camping with us in the same spot. The things that happen to us are not just social interaction in the human camp; they are also part of our interaction with the LORD.

LORD, teach us the spiritual maturity we need to prevail and get peace – with each other and with you.

[1] mahanaim: two camps.

Posted in consideration of others, discipleship, Jacob, wisdom | Tagged , | 1 Comment

gather or scatter?

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

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Matthew 12:27-32

27 And if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel them? Because of this, they will be your judges.

28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I expel demons, then that proves that the kingdom of God has arrived among you.

29 How else can someone enter a strong person’s house and steal his stuff, unless he first ties up the strong person? Then he can really plunder his house.

30 The one who is not with me is against me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters.

31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will potentially be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

32 And the one who speaks a word against the Son of Man will potentially be forgiven, but the one who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

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gather or scatter?

Jesus warned the Pharisees to stop criticizing what the Holy Spirit was doing. Jesus had utilized the Holy Spirit’s power to tie up Satan and plunder his kingdom, gathering those he was rescuing into God’s kingdom. By criticizing Jesus’ work, the Pharisees were placing themselves in a dangerous status before God. They were blaspheming (spreading a bad stink) against the Holy Spirit.

Some people had not yet made their mind up about Jesus’ person, but trusted their eyes enough to believe he was doing God’s work. But the Pharisees had gone beyond that. They were calling his rescue a work of the devil.

Jesus told his enemies that they had two choices: either join him and his kingdom work (gather with him) or face the consequences. Those consequences included permanent loss of forgiveness. The fate of such people is destruction in Gehenna hell.

LORD, may we have the wisdom to join you in your work, and to stay away from those who dare to criticize it.

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a treaty at Mizpah

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

040114Genesis 31:38-50

38 These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and the rams of your flocks I have not eaten.

39 I did not bring to you what was torn by wild animals. I took the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

40 I was like this: the heat consumed me by day, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

41 These twenty years I have been with your household. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, you would have already sent me away empty-handed. God saw my trouble and the labor of my hands and he rebuked you last night.”

43 Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne?

44 Come now, let us swear to a covenant, between me and you. And let it be a witness between me and you.”

45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument.

46 And Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a pile, and they ate there by the pile.

47 Laban named it Jegar-sahadutha,[1] but Jacob called it Galeed.[2]

48 Laban said, “This pile is a witness between me and you today.” Therefore he named it Galeed,

49 and Mizpah,[3] because he said, “The LORD is watching between me and you, because we are hidden, each man from his companion.

50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.” _________________________________________

a treaty at Mizpah

After 20 years of service to Laban, God had blessed Jacob with a large family and many possessions. In fact, his wealth had increased so much that he was now seen as a threat to Laban. Jacob left at the command of God, but did so secretly. Laban and his men overtook them after seven days. The two make a treaty with each other, calling on the LORD to protect them from doing harm to each other. It is unfortunate that after 20 years by each other’s side – these men find it hard to trust each other.

Some see the Mizpah monument as a sort of prayer, where these two men are asking for the LORD’s protection while they are away from each other. It was really a sign of mistrust, asking the LORD to protect them from each other. Putting up Mizpah monuments is not one of those quaint Old Testament practices we should be incorporating into our culture.

LORD, make us people who generate trust and respect. Forgive us for being such poor representatives of the God we confess.

[1] Jegar-sahadutha: witness pile (Aramaic)

[2] Gale’ed: witness pile (Hebrew).

[3] Mitspah: observation post (Hebrew).

Posted in consideration of others, faithfulness, Jacob, trust | Tagged | 1 Comment

critics of the rescue

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

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Matthew 12:22-26

22 Then a blind and mute demonized man who was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the mute man could speak and see.

23 And all the people were astounded, and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24 But when the Pharisees heard of it, they said, “He could not cast out demons without the power of Beelzebul, ruler of the demons.”

25 Knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed and deserted, and no city or family divided against itself will stay intact.

26 And if Satan is now casting out Satan, he is divided against himself. Then how will his kingdom stay intact?

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critics of the rescue

Jesus was calling on his critics to examine the nature of their criticism. The Pharisees had accused him of drawing on Satan’s power to deliver the demonized.

We know that sometimes that does happen. Sometimes Satan takes on the guise of a deliverer to deceive. The apostle Paul predicted an apostate church which would deceive people with all kinds of miracles and signs.[1] John attributes those miracles to the false prophet.[2] Believers need to be careful not to assume that anyone who seems to be empowered by God is actually getting his power from God.

But Jesus is stressing the other side of the issue. He asks his critics to take a good look at what is being done in the name of the coming sky kingdom. People are being rescued from sin, shame, and suffering. Satan’s kingdom is being ransacked, destroyed and left desolate. These are not miracles done to deceive. These miracles set people free. If Satan were doing them, it would be like a civil war going on in his kingdom.

Jesus was content to keep rescuing people, even if those acts of mercy were used against him. No criticism from the other side would stop him.

LORD, teach us how to rescue people from the grasp of Satan’s kingdom. Give us courage to keep doing so, even when we are criticized.

[1] 2 Thessalonians 2:9.

[2] Revelation 19:20.

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taking the moral high ground

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

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Genesis 31:26-37

26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have stolen away my heart and carried away my daughters like captives with a sword?

27 Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with laughter and songs, with tambourine and lyre?

28 And why did you not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters goodbye? Now you have acted foolishly.

29 It is in my power to do damage to you. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’

30 And now you have escaped because you longed greatly for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?”

31 Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.

32 Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not stay alive. In the presence of our relatives point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” But Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s.

34 But Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them.

35 And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the teraphim.

36 So Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have angrily chased me?

37 For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household items? Set it here before my brothers and your brothers, so that they may decide between us two.

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taking the moral high ground

Nothing feeds conflict like the assurance that you are in the right. Both Jacob and Laban took the moral high ground here. Both were convinced that they were wronged, and both were correct. Knowing what they do not, I am struck by how easy it was for them to assume that the fault was not shared. Actually, God was working behind the scenes to protect each of them from the other.

LORD, give us the wisdom to see both sides of an argument. May we seek peace, even with those who have wronged us.

Posted in anger, humility, hypocrisy, Jacob, reconciliation | Tagged | 1 Comment

getting off the soapbox

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

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Matthew 12:14-21

14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, seeking to destroy him.

15 Jesus, being aware of this, left that region. And many followed him, and he healed them all

16 but sternly warned them not to make his presence known.

17 This was to fulfill what was predicted by the prophet Isaiah:

18 “See, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

19 He will not quarrel or shout aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;

20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;

21 and in his name nations will hope.” _________________________________________

getting off the soapbox

Jesus had the most important message ever proclaimed, yet he decided to get off the soapbox for a while. One of the reasons for this strategy decision was that a conspiracy among the religious elite was mounting. They wanted to assassinate him. His hour would come, but he had others to reach before that time, so he decided to stay away from the big cities.

He did not compromise his ministry by doing so. The crowds would follow him wherever he went, and he would keep healing them all. By staying on the move, and keeping his ministry low-key, he ensured that people from all backgrounds in many places would have access to his grace. The Holy Spirit would draw the needy to him.

I have many friends in ministry around the world who are forced to be creative as to how they share Jesus. The same Holy Spirit works among them to reach the hurting while they stay away from the public limelight. He still draws people to Jesus.

LORD, when we have to make changes in how we do ministry, we will trust you to make those changes work.

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