I came across a song that used the phrase 'God of Jacob'. I wondered why. Why that phrase to refer to God? I mean, I know Jesus referred to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But if you were to rank them, wouldn't Jacob come in a distant third?
Let's think about this. I know Abraham wasn't perfect, but he did have that whole faith thing going on. Isaac, except for maybe missing his mom too much, was boring enough not to lose this 3-man race.
But Jacob? Not only does his name actually mean 'deceiver', he seems to work hard to live up to the name. Yet as he gets older, we start to see a change of heart, which brings him back home. And that's when we run across this story.
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.”
~Genesis 32:22-26
Never mind, for the moment, how much great God is that He takes on a form that Jacob can compete with, while still showing him who's the boss. Do you see just how focused Jacob is in going after what he wants?
I will not let you go unless you bless me.
I know who you are, God.
I know what you're capable of, God.
I want what only you can give me, God.
You know what? Maybe I do want to sing to the God of Jacob.
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