The Chapter-A-Day thread.

[Jimmy P]

lol...no no...I know God meant something, but He really didn't say what would happen....that's where I get lost....He told Laban don't be speaking good or bad to Jacob...so Laban does anyway...and nothing happened other than the truce...and I'm like "Okaaaaay"

 

[brinny]

was God cautioning or warning Laban then?

 

[Jimmy P]

I thought God was warning Laban...but that can't be because there was no consequence if he disobeyed...so was it a caution?

 

[brinny]

Why did He speak to Laban at all?

 

[Jimmy P]

Maybe He spoke to Laban because He didn't want Laban messin' around and causing trouble...God had big plans for Jacob...

 

[brinny]

now THAT is interesting......what makes ya' think God had BIG plans for Jacob?

 

[Jimmy P]

Just the way everything worked out for Jacob...He got his Father's blessing, Jacob got the woman he wanted, plus some...he got held down by deception from Laban but that worked out in the end because when Jacob left, he had alot to start out on...like, everything fell into place...
Then Rachel has her period on the camel, so comedy was interjected here...Should I hide after that last statement?

 

[brinny]

.........is that it?

 

[Jimmy P]

Then by his seed, he creates the 12 Tribles of Israel and his youngest, Joseph rocks the world and helps the family out later on...

 

[brinny]

it gets more interesting by the moment, doesn't it?

 

[Jimmy P]

It is neat seeing how God put everything into place to work out for our own good

 

[bcmom]

Today's chapter is Genesis 32 - Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau - Jacob - Bible Gateway

 

[brinny]

chapter 32: Jacob wrestles all night for a blessing....

 

[Jimmy P]

Here's where I get confused...for one, this man couldn't overpower Jacob...for two, he asked Jacob what his name was...

Ok, if it were God, you know God could overpower Jacob and also He would know Jacob's name...but yet, Jacob said he saw God, face to face...

 

[brinny]

Here's where I get confused...for one, this man couldn't overpower Jacob...for two, he asked Jacob what his name was...

Ok, if it were God, you know God could overpower Jacob and also He would know Jacob's name...but yet, Jacob said he saw God, face to face...

When God asks a question, is it because He doesn't know? Is it that He couldn't or wouldn't overpower Jacob? Was Jacob blessed? What is it that prompted Jacob to think He had actually wrestled God, and Who was it Jacob was telling to bless him?

Was it a man Jacob was wrestling?

 

[daughter of man]

I don't really understand it either I mean why would a stranger come up to Jacob and just decide to wrestle with him? It must be of some significance because Jacob seemed to think so and the Jews made another food law out of it. Maybe when he said he saw God it was because he was close to death but survived? I'm not sure why he would want a violent stranger to bless him though...

 

[bcmom]

When God asks a question, is it because He doesn't know? Is it that He couldn't or wouldn't overpower Jacob? Was Jacob blessed? What is it that prompted Jacob to think He had actually wrestled God, and Who was it Jacob was telling to bless him?

Was it a man Jacob was wrestling?

God was asking Jacob a question He already knew the answer to. IMO, It was to help Jacob frame the situation. God could simply have said "From this day forward, you shall be known as Israel". But I think He wanted Jacob to understand the change. Remember, by this point in time, Jacob would have been exhausted from wrestling all night with a force greater than him. He would have been mentally and physically spent. God would have needed to speak to him like a parent speaking to a child to him to understand that He was making a decree.
As for could God have won? Well how many times do parents wrestle with their children and let them win, and bore of it after awhile ( such as by daybreak) .

 

[Jimmy P]

Could that be where we get that old adage about 'wrestling with a decision'?

Was kinda weird though, that God crippled Jacob...

 

[bcmom]

God left Paul with a thorn in his side.

 

[brinny]

i never thought of that, yes, that is true that God left Paul with a thorn in his side.....interesting that what happened with Jacob was similar, in that i don't think his hip was ever the same....