Today’s Bible Reading:? Genesis Chapters 32-33
Make peace with God and make peace with man?
Escaping the jealous uncle After Laban, Jacob now faces a greater danger - his brother Esau, who has vowed to kill his brother Esau to vent his anger on the day of his father's death. God first asked the messenger to strengthen Jacob's trust in God. However, Jacob was still afraid, so he used his own method to appease Esau's anger: he divided the livestock and servants into many teams, gave the livestock to Esau as gifts, and then sent his wives, maids, and sons across the ford of Jabbok. Maybe he thought that if anything happened to these people, he could still escape. Little did he know that God taught him the most important lesson at this time, letting him know that he could no longer rely on himself. That night, Jacob was left alone, and angels came to wrestle with him until dawn. As a result, his thigh became lame and he couldn't escape even if he wanted to. Logically, Jacob lost, but Jacob did not allow the angel to go until he blessed Jacob. He now knew that he could not survive without God's blessing. The angel gave him a new name: Israel, which means God prevails. He also said that he “struggled with God and men and prevailed!” How is this possible? How can a person who loses be said to have won? This is the spiritual truth. If our lives are overcome and surrendered by God, we are truly victorious believers.
As Jacob truly reconciled with God, he also reconciled with others. He used to be a "catch" person who would not let go of his interests and would never "suffer a loss". Now he no longer values ??property and everything in the world. Even though Esau refused, he still begged Esau to accept the gift in order to reconcile his brothers. As a result, Jacob returned to Canaan safely.
Chapter 32 Jacob is reconciled with God
Chapter 33 Jacob is reconciled with his brother
Meditation
There are many paradoxical truths in the Bible. For example, a truly living believer is a person who is dead in Christ (dead to sin, the world, and self); a truly free believer is a person of the Lord. A slave has no freedom in the Lord; a true gainer is one who has lost it to the Lord... Jacob experienced this. After he was overcome by God, he became a victorious saint. Are there areas in your life that God has not yet overcome? Are there any areas where you still want to make the decision yourself, rather than God? Remember, these are often the places that cause us the most pain in our lives. Will you correct your life?
Walking with the Lord
We see that throughout Jacob’s life, he viewed everything from God’s perspective and from a spiritual perspective. He is a person who never forgets his roots. He remembers every experience firmly. One of the ways is to change his name, change the names of places and people to commemorate them (please refer to Genesis 28:19, 32:2, 30, 30 3:20, 35:7), etc.
In what ways will you remember God’s grace?
Golden verse: 2 Corinthians 5:20