Jacob's Smackdown | Sunday, August 11, 2024

Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God, even with the Holy One who is faithful. Ephraim feeds on the wind, and pursues the east wind; he daily increases lies and desolation. Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried to Egypt. (Hosea 11:12–12:1)

Jacob the swindler became Israel only when he gave up grasping and held on to God's mercy — and that is the very lesson Hosea presses on a deceitful nation.

Why These Old Stories Matter

We've been studying through the Old Testament this summer, and we've arrived at the book of Hosea. We'll be in chapter 12, but we're going to take the long route to get there, because we need some background.

Our culture is increasingly biblically illiterate. Fewer and fewer people know the names and stories of the Old Testament. I have a pet peeve when I hear ministers say, "You remember the story of..." — because the fact is, fewer and fewer people remember the stories.

Years ago I was slowly trying to share the gospel with a friend. As we were driving, I brought up David and Goliath, and about five minutes in he stopped me: "Wait — that story's in the Bible?" He had an MBA and thought it was just a business-school illustration about the little guy against the big guy.

If these names and stories aren't familiar to you, that's okay. Hopefully as we go through the Scriptures you'll get to know these people, because what God did in their lives is important for us. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 that these things were recorded in the Old Testament for our instruction, and he gives the application: "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." It is so much better to learn from the mistakes of others than to have to commit them yourself.

The Beginning: Abram's Call

To understand Hosea 12, we begin at the very beginning, in Genesis. The word Genesis speaks of origins, and the book tells the story of many beginnings.

In Genesis 12 we are introduced to Abram. God called this man when he was already advanced in age — 75 years old. He was married to Sarai, ten years younger, and they had no children. That's ironic, because Abram means "father of many." He lived near what we know today as Babylon, in modern-day Iraq.

God called to him:

Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.

Why would Abram leave everything he had known for nearly eight decades? Because God made him a stunning promise:

I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great... I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Right here is a proof of the truth of Scripture. Four thousand years later, everyone connected to the monotheistic faiths — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — knows the name Abraham and looks back to him as their father. Abram stepped out and followed God on the basis of that promise.

Isaac, Rebekah, and the Twins

Eventually God changed Abram's name to Abraham, "father of many nations." When he was 100 years old — twenty-five years after he began following God — and his wife Sarah was 90 and had always been barren, they had a son. They named him Isaac, which means laughter, for they were filled with joy that God had made good on His promise.

When Isaac was 40, he married Rebekah, and like Sarah she was barren for the first part of their life together. Again this was a problem, because God's promise of many descendants had now passed from Abraham to Isaac. So Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, and she conceived.

The children struggled together within her. (Genesis 25:22)

Rebekah had a difficult pregnancy and went to inquire of the Lord. He answered:

Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.

That was abnormal for the time. Birth order was extremely important, and it was not normal that the older would serve the younger.

When the twins were born, the first came out red and covered with hair like a garment, so they named him Esau ("hairy"), also called Edom ("red"). The second came out grasping his brother's heel, so they named him Jacob — "heel catcher." That name carries more than the literal meaning; within it is the idea of a supplanter or deceiver. I don't think they realized just how much of a deceiver he would be.

Esau grew to be a skillful hunter, a man of the field — he probably would have lived in Idaho. Jacob was a mild man who dwelt in tents — a Californian. Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Jacob the Deceiver

From Genesis 25 through 32, Jacob proves to be every bit the heel catcher — always working every angle, always trying to get ahead by his own cunning. He swindled his brother out of the birthright for a bowl of beans; Esau was willing to give up his place and blessing for his brother's lentils.

Then, with Rebekah's help, Jacob deceived his blind father. When Isaac asked, "Who are you, my son?" Jacob lied: "I am Esau." Isaac said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau" — because they had put goat skins on Jacob's arms. So the deceiver stole the blessing of the firstborn as well.

Esau hated his brother and said in his heart, "When the days of mourning for my father are at hand, I will kill my brother." So Jacob fled east and north, back to his mother's family, to hide out at his uncle Laban's house.

On the way, at a place called Luz, Jacob had a dream of a ladder reaching into heaven with angels ascending and descending. When he woke, he recognized it as a holy moment — but always the conniver, he tried to work a deal with God:

If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going... so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God... and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.

Do you see the heel catcher at work? It's quid pro quo: God, if You bless me, I'll serve You — I'll even tithe. None of us has ever thought anything like Jacob, of course. But remember: you reap what you sow. If you sow swindling and deception, expect to reap the same.

Twenty Years with Laban

When Jacob reached Laban's house, he discovered where his deceptive gene came from. The two were kindred spirits, equals and rivals in conniving. From Genesis 29 to 31 it is twenty years of back-and-forth swindling. Jacob finally said:

I have been in your house for twenty years... and you have changed my wages ten times.

I guarantee Laban was thinking, "Pot, meet kettle." During those years Jacob married two wives, received two concubines, fathered twelve sons and a daughter, and amassed great wealth — measured then in flocks and servants.

But now Jacob is at the proverbial crossroads. He and Laban have set up a pillar as a boundary; he cannot go back east. And out west waits his big brother Esau, who once vowed to kill him. The heel catcher is caught in a snare of his own making. He gained his wealth by lies, deception, exploitation, and fraud — and there are certain points when wealth simply cannot help you.

Sending Gifts to Esau

In Genesis 32, Jacob sends messengers ahead to Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. Notice the change of tune. The man who once stole his brother blind now says:

Speak thus to my lord Esau, "Thus your servant Jacob says..."

He tells of his wealth, hoping to find favor. The messengers return:

We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.

Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided his people, flocks, and herds into two companies, reasoning, "If Esau comes to one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape." Then he prayed:

O God of my father Abraham... I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant... Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him.

Then he took an enormous gift from his wealth — hundreds of goats, sheep, camels, cows, donkeys — and sent them ahead in successive droves, each servant instructed to tell Esau, "They are your servant Jacob's. It is a present sent to my lord Esau." He said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me." Again, working all the angles.

Wrestling with God

That night Jacob sent his family and everything he had across the brook Jabbok, and he was left alone.

Then a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. (Genesis 32:24)

In the New King James, Man is capitalized. They wrestled all night, and when the Man saw that He did not prevail, He touched the socket of Jacob's hip and dislocated it. Still Jacob fought, lying in the dust, sweaty, tears running down his face. The Man said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But Jacob said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me."

What is your name?

The last time Jacob was asked about his identity was by his blind father, and he lied: "I am Esau." Now the deceiver answers truthfully: "Jacob." And the Man said:

Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.

This is the first time that name appears in Scripture. Israel means "one who struggles with God," and carries the connected meaning of one who has become governed and ruled by God. When Jacob asked the Man's name, he received only a blessing, and named the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." As the sun rose, he limped on his hip. I believe this Man, when you piece it together, is the incarnate God — Jesus Christ before His birth to Mary.

This passage has personal meaning for me. More than two decades ago, in my parents' garage, I was sharing spiritual things with my oldest brother, Allan, who for a long time lived much like a Jacob. He told me, "I want to wrestle with God like Jacob did." I said, "You might want to be careful — Jacob walked with a limp for the rest of his life." Jacob only prevailed when, in effect, Jacob died and Israel rose. As he held on and said, "I'm not letting You go unless You bless me," God gave him something far greater than any financial blessing: a transformation of his very nature.

The rest of the story unfolds in Genesis 33. Esau did not kill his brother — quite the contrary. He ran to meet Jacob, embraced him, fell on his neck, kissed him, and wept. When Jacob pressed the gifts on him, Esau said, "I have enough... keep what you have for yourself." A fascinating transformation.

The Charge in Hosea 12

What does all this have to do with Hosea 12? The connection comes about 1,400 to 1,500 years after Jacob. Look back at Hosea 11:12. "Ephraim" is another name for the northern ten tribes. God says they have "encircled Me with lies." Judah in the south still walks marginally with God, but Ephraim "feeds on the wind, and pursues the east wind," daily increasing lies, making a covenant with Assyria and carrying oil to Egypt.

Jacob's descendants had become like their namesake at his worst — like the deceptive, heel-catching Jacob. For centuries they had lied and deceived and even tried to encircle God with their lies, persisting in immorality and indecency. Now comes the reaping of all that sowing.

Point one: a deceiver who encircles others with lies will be blighted by a strong east wind. Here in San Diego we understand an east wind — when it blows off the desert, it brings hot, dry air, a Santa Ana, and with it the danger of wildfires. Israel sat west of the great Arabian Desert; the strong east wind could decimate their crops. God says through Hosea: just like your father Jacob, you have been a deceiver, encircling Me with lies, and now the east wind is coming to destroy you. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

You Cannot Appease the Enemy

Point two: you cannot placate and pacify the enemy. That's exactly what Jacob tried to do — gift after gift to appease Esau. And it's what Israel tried to do. The Assyrians were coming, so Israel tried to buy them off with their wealth, while at the same time sending oil to Egypt to win favor in the south. They played both sides, thinking their money could fix the problem. They had only one real choice: to do what Jacob eventually did — pray, "I am not worthy of Your mercy, but Lord, please deliver me." But Israel would not.

The Lord also brings a charge against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds He will recompense him. (Hosea 12:2)

Point three: God will not barter or negotiate with a sinner; He will repay according to deeds. The last thing you want is to face a perfectly just God on the basis of what you've done. In Islam, the scales weigh good works against bad, and you never know until the final day whether your good will outweigh your bad. Trust me — the last thing you want is to stand before God on the basis of your deeds, for the wages of sin is death.

When I stand before God, I want to stand on the basis of His mercy. King David understood this after his adultery and murder were exposed. His repentance in Psalm 51 begins:

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

That is your only hope and mine: not according to my good works, not according to my bad works, but according to God's lovingkindness.

Return Like Jacob Returned

Hosea continues, recalling the very story we've traced:

He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, and there He spoke to us — that is, the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is His memorable name. So you, by the help of your God, return; observe mercy and justice, and wait on your God continually. (Hosea 12:3–6)

Remember your father Jacob — remember when he wrestled with God, gave up, and begged for blessing, and how God changed him from Jacob to Israel. Now follow him in that repentance. Return to the Lord, observe mercy and justice, and wait on Him.

Point four: only by repentance will God relent and give mercy and grace. Jacob prevailed when he became Israel — when he yielded, when he said, "I am not worthy of Your mercies; deliver me." But Israel's people were not reverting from Jacob to Israel; they were devolving into something worse:

A cunning Canaanite! Deceitful scales are in his hand; he loves to oppress. (Hosea 12:7)

They had grown wealthy by unjust practices in business and in law, and they deceived themselves:

Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.

That was the lie: We've become so wealthy, this proves we're okay; our wealth will cover our sin. Be careful when you think you stand, lest you fall.

But I am the Lord your God, ever since the land of Egypt; I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast. (Hosea 12:9)

Once a year, at the Feast of Tabernacles, Israel left their homes to live in tents, remembering their wilderness wanderings. God says: you've built great homes and think yourselves wealthy, but I will make you dwell in tents again — and not for one week.

I have also spoken by the prophets, and have multiplied visions. (Hosea 12:10)

For centuries God had warned through Hosea and many others, giving symbols and visions so the people might repent. But they would not. They turned holy places like Gilead and Gilgal into places of idolatry, so God says their altars will become heaps of ruins. Jacob fled to Syria, served for a wife, tended sheep; and by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt and preserved them. Yet they provoked God to bitter anger, so He will leave the guilt of their bloodshed upon them.

The Lesson for Us

Why are these things recorded? Paul says they are written for our instruction and admonition. You may be able to build quite a life through deception, injustice, and immorality — many people have. But eventually the bill comes due. Eventually you reap what you sow, and in that moment there is only one place to turn. Your wealth cannot save you. The only salvation is in the Lord: "I have these things, but I am not worthy of them — God, deliver me."

There is still time. There is still opportunity to turn to the Lord.

This word from Hosea 12 and the illustration from Jacob's life are exceedingly important for the time and place we live in. We are not Israel, and we don't follow everything they did, but their story is instructive. We have become very wealthy as a people and a nation, and we need to recognize that it has all been according to God's grace and mercy. The danger is thinking it's all the product of our own ingenuity and greatness. No — it's all according to His mercy, and our deliverance is ultimately only in Him. God help us to know that, and to have the boldness to share it, because there are many people in our lives who need to hear it.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I thank You for this passage of Scripture. It is challenging but important, and I pray that You would help us learn the lessons we find in passages like Genesis and Hosea. They may seem, when read casually, like they have nothing to do with us, but You have so many gems of truth that You want us to glean in these passages. God, I pray for our county, our state, our nation, and for this world that is in desperate need of Your mercy and grace. Apart from Your mercy and grace we have no ultimate hope. Help us to recognize that, to affirm it in our own lives, and to share it with others. Give us boldness, we pray. We ask this today in the mighty and precious name of Jesus. Amen.