Jacob

Listen to today’s reading:

Genesis 32:22-30

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.”

Psalm 35:1-3

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.
Take up shield and armor;
arise and come to my aid.
Brandish spear and javelin
against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
“I am your salvation.”

Ephesians 6:10-17

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Today’s Reading:

In terms of innings, no one to date has beat the record of innings played in a major league game since the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves game on May 1, 1920, and it could have gone even longer. One fascinating thing about this game was the pitching duel - Brooklyn’s Leon Cadore and Boston’s Joe Oeschger pitched the entire 26 innings of the game. The importance of pitching longevity in this era was talked about by Oeschger in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune decades later. He said, “If a pitcher couldn’t go the distance, he soon found himself some other form of occupation.” Yes, it was different back then. Too bad the game cut off at 26 innings at a 1 to 1 tie because of darkness. We’ll never know what could have been… In Genesis 32, we see a duel unfold even greater than the old baseball days, through nightfall and into the break of dawn. Jacob had sent ahead of himself all his possessions to appease Esau (his older brother that he had stolen his blessing and birthright from). He was left in the darkness by himself when suddenly, we read that he gets into a wrestling match with an unknown man. Until daybreak, they fought to overpower each other. Unexplainably, with just a touch, the man “wrenched” Jacob’s hip and the fight seems over; however, Jacob is determined and still won’t let go. He wants a blessing from him – what we find out is actually God himself. God renames Jacob “Israel.” which in Hebrew means “contender” coming from the verb “to fight” or “persevere.” In Jacob’s case, the name fits perfectly, as Israel is also believed to mean “God prevails.” When we read the story of Jacob, we see that he fought for an earthly blessing from the time of his birth. He went to great lengths, even deceiving his father and betraying his older brother for the family blessing. This caused him to fall into fear which haunted him for arguably the rest of his life. He wrestled God for blessing, dismissing and forgetting his grandfather Abraham’s covenant with God. As time went on, the people of Israel became God’s people that continually struggled and battled, at times with God and against the world or with the world and against God – but God continued to prevail in his covenant with them, into accomplishing redemption in Jesus through Israel despite all of these spiritual and physical battles. Today, as we fight our battles against the schemes of the devil as followers of Christ, he has given us all we need to defend the faith. Remember the words in Ephesians 6 to put on the full armor of God that comes from the gospel. We need to give up our battles for worldly things and blessing that will only cause us regret. Fight the fight of faith, because we know that God is the one who will prevail, and his kingdom is the only thing that will last. Like in life, in the long, tiresome innings when the game goes well into the night, keep scratching for runs for Jesus. It’s promised that the kingdom will come in its fullness in the near future. The morning is coming that will bring to light every inch of darkness we battle in this world. Continue to go the distance, even into the night. Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “in the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” 

Today’s Prayer Guide:

Praise – Praise God for fighting for us even when we don’t fight for him.

Confession – Tell God you are weak without him and that you have not fought the fight of faith with your whole heart.

Ask – Ask God to give you energy and all the tools you need to go to war against the darkness.