Proper 13
Preaching
Preaching and Reading the Old Testament Lessons
With an Eye to the New
At the command of God (Genesis 31:13), Jacob is returning to Canaan from Haran after twenty years of labor (cf. 31:14) for his Uncle Laban. He is returning a very rich man. He now has two wives and multiple children and servants and hundreds of goats and rams, camels and cows (cf. 32:14-15), many of which he has acquired by cheating Laban. He is returning as the same shrewd scoundrel that he has always been. Consequently, when he hears that his brother Esau is coming out to meet him with 400 picked men (32:6), he divides his herds in two and sends half of them ahead of him as a present for Esau, to appease his brother's wrath. At the same time, he sends his wives and maids and eleven children across the difficult ford of the Jabbok River in the dark of the night (32:22). And then Jacob, the cheat, the rich man is left with his own thoughts in the dark of the night beside the river.
Jacob, however, the bearer of God's promise, is not alone. He is suddenly attacked by some mysterious figure who wrestles with him until daybreak. We are not told who the figure is until verses 28 and 30 in our text, where it is said that Jacob has "striven with men and with God" and has "seen God face to face." In the wrestling, Jacob's thigh is put out of joint, and he limps away from his desperate encounter.
Much in this story seems exceedingly mysterious to us. For example, the strange figure tells Jacob to let him go before daybreak (v. 26). Lying behind the story, therefore, is the ancient belief that God is not to be seen by human beings. Similarly, the divine figure refuses to tell Jacob his name (v. 29), and again, that echoes the belief that to know a god's name is to be able to summon the deity to one's aid at will.
Most important, however, is the fact that in these ancient stories of the patriarchs, Israel saw herself. It is in this wrestling with God that Jacob's name is changed to "Israel," meaning "he who strives with God," or "God strives." Not only Israel's forbear Jacob is the bearer of God's promise (cf. v. 12), but the whole people are the ones to whom God gives the promise of land and descendants and covenant, and the whole people are to be the medium of God's blessing on all the families of the earth. Like us members of God's new covenant, Israel of the old covenant is set apart for God's purpose of being his kingdom of priests and his holy nation (cf. Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9).
What, then, is this story telling us? First, it shows that our election by God costs us something. Jacob is wounded in his wrestling with God, and limps away toward his destination of the promised land. Israel -- and we -- are chosen by God, not for privilege but for service. And that election and that service cost us something. It is not easy to be a servant of God, either in Jacob's time, or in ours. Saint Paul could tell us that -- look at the list of sufferings he has endured that he recounts in 2 Corinthians 11:23-33. But most of all, look at the cross, where we learn that God's battle with the sins of the world involves a crucifixion. If we want to be God's people, then we take up a cross. We die to ourselves, that Christ may live in us and make us new people. And that brings with it sometimes scorn from society, even sometimes persecution, as Christians around our world could testify to us.
Second, this story about Jacob's wrestling tells us that it is the persistence of our faith that wins the battle to which God subjects us. Jacob cries out in this story to his divine assailant, "I will not let you go unless you bless me" (v. 26). Sometimes we have not the foggiest notion what God is doing with us. At times it seems as if he has laid upon us more struggle or suffering than we can possibly bear. But the message of our text is, "Hold on! Cleave to God! Believe that he is working his good purpose in you! Refuse to let him go until you receive his blessing!" For Jacob received his blessing, and so will we, good Christians. And that blessing is new life, peace that the world cannot ever give, joy in the companionship of God, meaning and purpose for all of living, and good, highest good, to all eternity.
Lutheran Option: Isaiah 55:1-5
These verses form the first part of the final summons of Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55) to the Israelites who are exiles in Babylonia about 550 B.C. These verses and those in 6-7, are surrounded by the promises of a liberating and gracious God, who will deliver his people Israel from their captivity.
What this summons sets forth are the conditions in the state of salvation that Israel will enjoy if she believes the prophet's words and "waits" for God's liberating act (cf. 40:31), and gives her whole heart to her Lord. As such, the words of this text hold out before us, too, the blessings we will have when we commit our selves, body and soul, to Jesus Christ.
Obviously, the blessings we will receive are described metaphorically. First, the text tells us that we will have the necessities of life -- water to drink and bread to eat. When we thirst and hunger, God in his salvation of us will supply our need. If we seek first the Kingdom of God, the Lord knows that we need the necessities of life and will furnish us with them (cf. Matthew 6:25-33).
But the gifts God gives in his salvation of us go far beyond the basic necessities. He will not only give bread and water, but wine and milk and satisfaction in labor (vv. 1-2), enjoyments that stretch far beyond our elemental needs. We will be able to enjoy life, to revel in it, to celebrate, as in a banquet of the choicest delicacies and finest foods.
And even more, says our text, if we commit ourselves to the Lord, we will live (v. 3). And not only that. We will enjoy an everlasting fellowship with our God. The promises to David in the Old Testament (2 Samuel 7:8-16; 23:5; Psalm 89:28-37) are now given to all of God's people -- God's steadfast love forever, God's protection from all enemies, God's abiding companionship that even death will not disturb.
As King David's reign was a witness to the power of God, so our salvation will be an equal witness (v. 4), and others also will come to worship the Lord, because they will recognize in our lives that God is with us (v. 5; cf. Zechariah 8:23; Isaiah 2:3). And all of that will serve to glorify the Lord through us.
In many ways, this is a fantastic promise of what commitment to the Lord Christ brings with it. But God always keeps his promises, and countless Christians through the ages can testify to us that yes, their love for Jesus Christ, has brought them salvation's blessings beyond all measure, pressed down and running over. Fullness of life is to be had in the company of our Lord, good Christians. We have only to open our hearts to the gifts he wants to give us.
Jacob, however, the bearer of God's promise, is not alone. He is suddenly attacked by some mysterious figure who wrestles with him until daybreak. We are not told who the figure is until verses 28 and 30 in our text, where it is said that Jacob has "striven with men and with God" and has "seen God face to face." In the wrestling, Jacob's thigh is put out of joint, and he limps away from his desperate encounter.
Much in this story seems exceedingly mysterious to us. For example, the strange figure tells Jacob to let him go before daybreak (v. 26). Lying behind the story, therefore, is the ancient belief that God is not to be seen by human beings. Similarly, the divine figure refuses to tell Jacob his name (v. 29), and again, that echoes the belief that to know a god's name is to be able to summon the deity to one's aid at will.
Most important, however, is the fact that in these ancient stories of the patriarchs, Israel saw herself. It is in this wrestling with God that Jacob's name is changed to "Israel," meaning "he who strives with God," or "God strives." Not only Israel's forbear Jacob is the bearer of God's promise (cf. v. 12), but the whole people are the ones to whom God gives the promise of land and descendants and covenant, and the whole people are to be the medium of God's blessing on all the families of the earth. Like us members of God's new covenant, Israel of the old covenant is set apart for God's purpose of being his kingdom of priests and his holy nation (cf. Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9).
What, then, is this story telling us? First, it shows that our election by God costs us something. Jacob is wounded in his wrestling with God, and limps away toward his destination of the promised land. Israel -- and we -- are chosen by God, not for privilege but for service. And that election and that service cost us something. It is not easy to be a servant of God, either in Jacob's time, or in ours. Saint Paul could tell us that -- look at the list of sufferings he has endured that he recounts in 2 Corinthians 11:23-33. But most of all, look at the cross, where we learn that God's battle with the sins of the world involves a crucifixion. If we want to be God's people, then we take up a cross. We die to ourselves, that Christ may live in us and make us new people. And that brings with it sometimes scorn from society, even sometimes persecution, as Christians around our world could testify to us.
Second, this story about Jacob's wrestling tells us that it is the persistence of our faith that wins the battle to which God subjects us. Jacob cries out in this story to his divine assailant, "I will not let you go unless you bless me" (v. 26). Sometimes we have not the foggiest notion what God is doing with us. At times it seems as if he has laid upon us more struggle or suffering than we can possibly bear. But the message of our text is, "Hold on! Cleave to God! Believe that he is working his good purpose in you! Refuse to let him go until you receive his blessing!" For Jacob received his blessing, and so will we, good Christians. And that blessing is new life, peace that the world cannot ever give, joy in the companionship of God, meaning and purpose for all of living, and good, highest good, to all eternity.
Lutheran Option: Isaiah 55:1-5
These verses form the first part of the final summons of Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55) to the Israelites who are exiles in Babylonia about 550 B.C. These verses and those in 6-7, are surrounded by the promises of a liberating and gracious God, who will deliver his people Israel from their captivity.
What this summons sets forth are the conditions in the state of salvation that Israel will enjoy if she believes the prophet's words and "waits" for God's liberating act (cf. 40:31), and gives her whole heart to her Lord. As such, the words of this text hold out before us, too, the blessings we will have when we commit our selves, body and soul, to Jesus Christ.
Obviously, the blessings we will receive are described metaphorically. First, the text tells us that we will have the necessities of life -- water to drink and bread to eat. When we thirst and hunger, God in his salvation of us will supply our need. If we seek first the Kingdom of God, the Lord knows that we need the necessities of life and will furnish us with them (cf. Matthew 6:25-33).
But the gifts God gives in his salvation of us go far beyond the basic necessities. He will not only give bread and water, but wine and milk and satisfaction in labor (vv. 1-2), enjoyments that stretch far beyond our elemental needs. We will be able to enjoy life, to revel in it, to celebrate, as in a banquet of the choicest delicacies and finest foods.
And even more, says our text, if we commit ourselves to the Lord, we will live (v. 3). And not only that. We will enjoy an everlasting fellowship with our God. The promises to David in the Old Testament (2 Samuel 7:8-16; 23:5; Psalm 89:28-37) are now given to all of God's people -- God's steadfast love forever, God's protection from all enemies, God's abiding companionship that even death will not disturb.
As King David's reign was a witness to the power of God, so our salvation will be an equal witness (v. 4), and others also will come to worship the Lord, because they will recognize in our lives that God is with us (v. 5; cf. Zechariah 8:23; Isaiah 2:3). And all of that will serve to glorify the Lord through us.
In many ways, this is a fantastic promise of what commitment to the Lord Christ brings with it. But God always keeps his promises, and countless Christians through the ages can testify to us that yes, their love for Jesus Christ, has brought them salvation's blessings beyond all measure, pressed down and running over. Fullness of life is to be had in the company of our Lord, good Christians. We have only to open our hearts to the gifts he wants to give us.
