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PEOPLE IN PRAYER

JACOB: PRAYING FOR GODS BLESSING

BIBLE STUDYGenesis 32:22-32 (corresponds to sermon text of April 14, 2013)

1. Have you ever had an experience in prayer that left you profoundly changed? Explain.i2. Read Genesis 32:22-32ii3. What elements of this story seem mysterious to you? What questions arise as you read

this text?iii

4. Before Jacob had this powerful encounter with Godiv, he took steps to be completelyalone (vv. 22-24). Why do you think this was important?

v

5. When is the last time you spent an extended period of time all alone with no outsidedistractions?

6. In what ways is Jacob changed by this encounter with God?vi7. Jacob is granted one request but denied another. What request is granted?vii What

request is denied?viii

8. Why do you think God grants some of our prayer requests but not all of them?9. Before God could get Jacob to cry out for the spiritual blessing he needed, the Lord basically had

to beat Jacob up. Why do you think it took so much to get Jacobs attention?

10.What do you think would motivate you to cry out more earnestly for Gods spiritual blessing onyour life?

NOTES:

iThis is a somewhat personal question. As you encourage the group to respond, be careful not to

pressure anyone into answering unwillingly.

iiContext: In this series we will be studying different passages from the Old Testament in which people

engage in prayer. It is important to explain the basic context of each of these passages.

The present text describes an event in the life of Jacob, a grandson of Abraham. In this passage, Jacob is

preparing to cross the river Jabbok to re-enter the Promised Land, after having spent many years in a

self-imposed exile. He knows that when he arrives in Canaan he will have to face Esau, the hot-headed

brother whom Jacob had defrauded when they were both young, and who is still likely to be angry with

him. When Jacob fled Canaan years before, he was alone and penniless. He is now returning to Canaan

the wealthy leader of a large family. However, despite all Jacobs success, something is still missing in his

life something that can be given to him by God alone.iii

The purpose of this question is to allow your group to acknowledge the enigmatic nature of this story.

Dont attempt to answer all the questions your group raises at this point, and dont permit other group

members to do so either. Encourage the group to embrace the fact that there may be aspects of this

story we never fully understand.

ivThough the figure who assaults Jacob in this passage is identified merely as a man, Jacobs response

to him indicates that Jacob understood himself to be in the presence of God. Hosea 12:4 identifies the

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man as the angel. In the Old Testament, a mysterious figure called the angel of the LORD sometimes

appears and is referred to as if he is God himself in human form. James M. Boice identifies the man with

whom Jacob wrestled as being this person, noting, Most scholars consider this figure a preincarnate

manifestation of the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ.

v

Though there is no indication that Jacob was seeking, or even expecting, to meet God in this way, hissolitude that evening might have played an important role in what happened to him. It was not until he

put away the distractions of people, possessions, and responsibilities that God revealed himself to Jacob

in this way.

The picture here is of a restless and agitated man. Nights are dark in the desert. No work is done at

night. But Jacob was so fearful of his anticipated meeting with Esau that he could not sleep. He had to

do something. So he got up, roused his household, and then moved them all across the Jabbok. Probably

he kept pacing back and forth with nervous activity. Finally although the passage does not say so

explicitly he went back across the stream and awaited the morning. The chapter says, So Jacob was

left alone (v. 24). This is good. For the first time, Jacob is not among the distracting demands of his

encampment. He is quiet. (James Montgomery Boice)

vi At least three changes might be listed. First, Jacob has a new sense of his own weakness. This strong,

self-reliant, successful man now walks with a permanent limp, an on-going reminder of his frailty before

an omnipotent God. Second, Jacob has a new sense of his own identity. God has changed his name to

Israel and has re-defined the way that Jacob is to view himself from this time onward. Third, Jacob has

a new sense of reverence for the Lord. I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been

delivered. The one who strives with God now looks upon God with a feeling ofrespect and awe.

viiHe receives the blessing that he pleads for.

viiiHe is not allowed to know the mans name.