The Back-Up Plan

January 16, 2009

Today's Reading: Genesis 31-32 and Matthew 11

Yesterday, I believe that I went so far as to call Jacob selfish, today, I’m going to take a step further and call him a coward. I’m not saying that Jacob would not fight if there was a noble cause, but when he learns that his brother is coming to see him, he does something that he probably did not need to do.

He splits his group up into two camps, hoping that if Esau destroys that one, the other would have a chance at escape. I don’t think that the Bible says how he wanted to implement his plan. I mean, did he want one group to meet up with Esau, and then the other group to flee the other way? If so, which group did Jacob mean to be a part of?

Once again, I can’t be the pot who is calling the kettle black here, as I’m sure I would be the first to come up with a back-up plan. As we discussed earlier, Jacob was a fugitive, and it is only a matter of time before the authorities that are after him catch up to him. I’m sure he realized by now what a terrible thing he had done to his brother, but he knew there was nothing to be gained by turning himself in. After all, he had a family of twelve children, and who would look after them? Worst case scenario, Esau might have killed his entire family.

So I guess he decides to come up with a plan to save as much as he could. Clearly the sign of a man at the end of his rope; a last ditch of cowardice that could end up looking like valor.

How different is Jacob’s life from that of Jesus. If you look at the life of Jesus, he didn’t seem to have any “split up into two groups” plan. In fact, he would say things that would easily take him on a one-way path to the cross.

However things like “Woe to you” and other calls to repentance had to be said, and Jesus knew that he was the only one who could say it. I think Jacob knew what had to be done, but was a little scared to do it.

All of that changed for Jacob when he was wrestling with the angel. It was never really said why these guys were wrestling. I don’t think the WWE was paying them for it, but what has always scared me about this verse is that Jacob wrestles with the Angel of the Lord and stands a good chance of winning. God has to use some sort of paralyzing strike in order to get rid of him. The man just would not let go.

Why did Jacob stay on, because he wanted to get blessed. Is that selfish? Of course. However, Jacob is selfish because he is human, and he really screwed things up. If that doesn’t sound familiar, then you’re probably not human. We need to be blessed.

If we wrestle with angels, let them win. You’ll never be the same afterward.