Genesis-113-To See the Face

God's Word is from Genesis 33:1-12.

 

"Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead of them, bowing to the ground seven times as he approached his brother Esau. But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. 'Who are these with you?' he asked. Jacob answered, 'They are the children God has graciously given your servant.' Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down. Esau asked, 'What do you mean by all these droves I met?' 'To find favor in your eyes, my lord,' he said. But Esau said, 'I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.' Jacob said, 'No, please! If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me so favorably. May I also ask you to accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.' And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. Then Esau said, 'Let's be on our way, and I'll accompany you.' Amen."

 

Jacob, Who Wrestled with God

As we examined last week, the word 'Israel' doesn't mean that Jacob wrestled with God. The subject of this word is God. In other words, it means that God wrestled, or rather, that God fought for Jacob.

 

When God wrestled with him, Jacob humbled himself and clung to God. And this very act of humbling himself became Jacob's victory. The Jacob who had lived by relying only on himself was struck in the hip, and when he realized his weakness, he held onto the angel of God with tears and supplication. God acknowledged this as a victory. Jacob, who had relied on himself, had now become Israel, the one who relies only on God.

 

Jacob's Sin and the Meaning of the Hip

Another aspect of the story is that Jacob met the angel of the Lord on his way to Canaan. Jacob was stopped on the way to Canaan. In fact, Joshua also met the angel of the Lord when he was about to enter Canaan. There is a consistency here. This goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. When they rebelled against the Lord and left the Garden of Eden, the Lord blocked the way with a fiery sword of the cherubim.

 

Canaan is the promised land and symbolizes the holy land where God is with His people. It is like Eden and also like the Temple. Because it is a holy land, we cannot enter it as we please. If our sins are not dealt with, we will surely die if we meet a holy God. In a situation where the sin of Adam and Eve's rebellion against God is not resolved, we cannot simply enter Canaan and the kingdom of God that Canaan symbolizes.

 

Now, Jacob meets a host of angels on his way to Canaan. Though they don't speak to each other, Jacob recognizes them. And surprisingly, Jacob seems to know what problem he needs to solve. He is trying to meet Esau, who lives far away, to resolve something. We can see that God is about to solve the problem of sin in Jacob's life, the work we call the history of salvation.

 

When we look at Jacob's story within this broader framework, we realize that the event of Jacob meeting Esau is an event of death. Esau had originally planned to kill Jacob, so Jacob was afraid of that. But before meeting Esau and dying, he first met God, and God attacked Jacob. God came to judge Jacob first. He was confronting Jacob's sin.

 

Jacob clings to God, but he still moves forward with his own strength and strategy. He sends all his possessions ahead to Esau, and all his family, and he remains behind. He doesn't surrender to God but wrestles to the very end.

 

However, when Jacob persisted, God struck his hip. The hip symbolizes the power of procreation, the very source of life. Why did God strike the place of procreation? This is because it is the part that contains the symbol of the woman's offspring, the promised offspring, whom God promised from the time of Genesis, and who would come to save us.

 

Striking that place symbolizes the suffering of the Messiah who must carry out that work. This is how Jesus Christ enters this story. Some might think, "Isn't this just forcing the Bible to fit?" But if you know the meaning of this hip bone, it becomes a little clearer.

 

The Bible already tells the story of the hip from the time of Abraham. When Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac, he said, “Put your hand under my thigh and swear.” This is because it is the place of the covenant. It also comes up again later in Jacob's story. When Jacob makes Joseph swear to "surely carry my bones to Canaan," Joseph also puts his hand under Jacob's thigh. This is the place of the covenant and was meant to make Jacob remember this covenant.

 

What kind of covenant was it? It was a covenant that showed that Jacob was not killed, even though he should have died after seeing God. This is very similar to the covenant God made with Abraham. When God appeared to Abraham as a blazing torch at night, He told him to cut up animals and lay the pieces out.

 

This means, "I will make a covenant with you, but if you do not keep the covenant, you will be cut up and die like these animals." But only the blazing torch passed between the pieces of the animals. This means that God alone passed through the covenant, and even if Abraham could not keep the covenant, God said, "I will die in your place." Here, Jesus Christ appears. Likewise, when God struck Jacob's hip, it meant, "I will take your place where you should die." That is why I read Isaiah 53. It means that God struck, or killed, Christ in the place where we should have died. This is the event of the cross.

 

The True Purpose of the Bible

The reason Jacob talked about his survival after seeing God with such emotion is not that he had knowledge of the cross or Jesus Christ. However, he clearly lived a life that pointed to Christ, that is, a life that showed the history of salvation. You can see this more clearly if you read the book of Hebrews. Moses was the son of Pharaoh's daughter, but he caused an incident and was chased into the wilderness. The Bible interprets that event as "Moses valued Christ more than any treasure in the world." How could Moses have known Jesus at that time? The Bible interprets it this way because Moses played a role in showing Christ within the history of salvation.

 

When Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea, did he know that it was baptism in Christ? He probably didn't know precisely. But they all knew. "God rescued us and saved us, who were bound to die by entering this water." Even if they didn't fully understand that the Passover lamb pointed to Jesus Christ, they knew that by the Passover lamb dying in their place, they were able to live.

 

This is called the progressive revelation of God's redemption in the Old Testament. This is because God reveals His revelation more and more clearly. If you read the Bible without understanding that this revelation of salvation becomes clearer and clearer, you will read the Bible in fragments. Then we will not try to understand God's history of salvation, but rather look for a verse we need, a verse that will bring us grace, or a verse that fits our circumstances.

 

When a business is not going well, the verse "I will open the floodgates of heaven" will be most appealing. When something frightening happens, the verse "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed" will be most appealing. And people will say, "God gave me this word."

 

This is a misunderstanding. What God wants to tell you is much more majestic than that. What God wants to show you through the Bible is how God holds you, what He promises, and how He is with you through all circumstances. It is this majestic history of God that holds you, not finding a verse you need for a specific moment. Of course, that verse may sometimes be right for your situation. I am not denying that.

 

But even so, that verse must be understood within the context of God's entire Word. Otherwise, reading the Bible will not be much different from reading the words of Confucius. A Bible without Jesus Christ can effectively perform no power. It is impossible for a Bible verse without Christ to perform the true power of the Word.

 

Jesus Himself said, "You study the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; yet it is these that testify about Me." He said this to the people of the Old Testament. If you miss this fact, the story of Jacob will end as a lesson that "we are such weak and arrogant beings," "we must rely on God," and "if we cry and cling to God, God will praise us by saying, 'You have won.'" I am not saying that these things I mentioned are wrong. They are in harmony with the rest of the Bible.

 

However, if the story of Jacob ends with just that, we must know that we are not reading the Bible fully. The story of Jacob is not just to give us a lesson, but to give us life with that lesson. The knowledge of the Bible is not to expand your knowledge, to teach you humanities, or to provide you with information you didn't know before. Its purpose is not to give you the wisdom you need to live life.

 

The Word for Life

The reason the Bible was given to us is to allow us to have life and live that life to the fullest. The fact that you and I are preaching and listening to a sermon means that we are listening to a story with our life on the line. The very moment this word is preached and shared is a moment when your life is at stake. That's why the pastor's sermon is said to be precious.

 

We are not discussing something that we can afford to know or not know, or something that we can just pass over. We are discussing a matter of life and death. Are we people who are preparing for an eternal life, or are we people who will end our lives at 80 or 100 (or even 120) years old? We are preparing for eternal life. And we are sharing what the life of a person preparing for that should look like.

 

Therefore, we see the shadow of Jesus Christ in Jacob, and we know that the words, "You have won," are not a declaration that Jacob won, but that Jesus won. Through Christ, Jacob was saved, and while Jacob did not fully understand it, we now do.

 

Abraham waited with such joy for the time when Jesus would come, but he never saw it in person. But we understand how the stories of Abraham, Jacob, and Moses were fulfilled through Christ. We now finally know how this Bible, which was written over 2,000 years, has such amazing unity, and the miraculous things that occurred. We finally realize how a young man from Nazareth who died 2,000 years ago can save our lives today. We finally know what it means to say, "I am in Jesus." This is because when Jacob's story doesn't end with Jacob but becomes the story of Christ, that story of Christ becomes my story.

 

Life in Christ

You are people in Christ, not people who vaguely believe in a distant God in the sky. You are people who make Christ their very life, and Christ is your all. You might ask, "What does someone who died so long ago have to do with us? What relationship does a Jew who wasn't even Korean have with us?" The Holy Spirit worked within us to string all these stories together like beads on a necklace. The Bible wasn't written by some brilliant religious person creating a good book. It was written by people who didn't know each other at all, people who had never even read what others had written (did everyone in Moses' time have the Pentateuch?). Yet, their writings miraculously came together, showing a remarkable history of fulfillment in Christ.

 

All believers would be amazed, but even the brilliant Augustine initially rejected Christianity, turning to Manichaeism, a blend of various religions. As a master of rhetoric and the leading scholar of his day, he looked down on Christianity. He denied it, saying, “How can the Old Testament stories make any sense? How can a story about a father-in-law and a daughter-in-law even be in there?” But when he heard the sermons of Bishop Ambrose, he understood this very point. “God, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, has consistently delivered Christ and the kingdom of God through the entire Bible in a way that is too great to comprehend, so that all people might be saved.” Utterly astonished by this, Augustine renewed his faith, repented of his life, and wrote his famous book, Confessions. This was his first step.

 

And so, Jacob was given a sign. From now on, he will live with a limp. And every time he looks at his leg, he will feel, "I should have died, but I lived." Each time, he will realize, "I am a sinner," and he will know, "Though I am a sinner, He saved me." This is just like us. It makes us realize that we are sinners and, at the same time, righteous. The Old Testament scholar Klein even said this event was a shadow that showed Justification by Faith. While we can't be 100% certain, it's clear that the content of this story is pointing to Jesus Christ.

 

The Sign of the Covenant Given to Us

This didn't happen only to Jacob; it happened to us too. We also have a sign, the sign of the covenant, just like Jacob. This is the Lord's Supper. If there's a book written by the Old Testament scholar Iain Duguid, don't hesitate to buy it. His many commentaries and interpretations will be a great help to you. He is a biblical theologian, not a systematic theologian, and he interprets and comments on each book of the Bible. He wrote about the sign of the covenant the Lord has given us:

 

“At the Lord's table, we remember the wrestling of the cross that Christ fought. We remember that His body was broken for me and that His blood was shed for my sin. In that place, in Jesus Christ, I cling to God. We plead, like Jacob, that Jesus' promise given to us will be fulfilled. Here we eat the assurance that even if some powerful army threatens us, God's love will never let us go.”

 

As we know, Jacob walked with a limp and later used a staff. Just as his limp reminded him every day of who he was and who the Lord was, the Lord's Supper makes us know where we are saved from and what we are to receive. What could be closer to us than the food we chew and eat? The Lord willingly gave Himself to become that for us.

 

“Chew it with your mouth, take and eat it. Drink it with your mouth. I am so close to you, I am with you, and I love you, just as I am in your body.”

 

This is the sign of the covenant the Lord gives us. Every time we participate in this sign, we aren't just receiving communion; we are coming to know and understand who we are and who the Lord we confess is.

 

Seeing God's Face in Esau's Face

The story of another face Jacob met, the face of God, appears once more through Esau. Esau's appearance is as grand as a movie scene. Jacob is walking, limping, and meeting the morning sun. His face was likely bright, but his leg must have ached. He was walking in the place he had named Peniel himself. He saw a man walking toward him, meeting the sun, and to his surprise, he was not alone but was leading an enormous group of 400 men. In a movie, this would be a thrilling, suspenseful scene.

 

When Jacob met Esau, how afraid was he? He came all this way because he was afraid he would die if he met Esau, didn't he? But how much had Jacob changed? The Jacob who didn't cross the stream and put his family in front of him now sends his family back and goes forward himself. Isn't that amazing? Jacob had definitely changed. Just think. Let's say I've played in a local soccer match with Son Heung-min, who is called the god of soccer. If I broke through and got past Son Heung-min there, what would I be afraid of the next time I play soccer somewhere? "I'm the person who played with Son Heung-min. I got past Son Heung-min," I would say, right?

 

What about you? You are a person who met God and came to life. Would such a Jacob be afraid of Esau? It makes no sense. As soon as Jacob saw Esau, he ran and bowed down seven times. People think Jacob bowed down because he was afraid of Esau, but I don't think so. That ignores the entire context. Jacob's actions show how a person who has received God's grace changes. A normal person would have said to Esau, "I have now wrestled with God and won, and I have been given the name Israel." But Jacob said nothing and instead bowed down seven times to meet Esau.

 

And he called himself a servant. Was it to beg for his life? No. He was alive in the presence of God. It was not by his own power; our interpretation is that he was saved because of Christ. He had a sign of the covenant and even if he didn't fully understand it, he clearly knew, "This is the price of my life. This is why I lived." Therefore, he wasn't acting to look good. He was truly greeting Esau as a servant would greet a king, following the custom of that time. All his actions—sending gifts, calling himself a servant, calling Esau "my lord," and bowing down seven times—were the actions of a servant to a king. He was doing something that we would find hard to believe.

 

In Genesis, Isaac had blessed Jacob, saying, “May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.” According to this blessing, Esau should have called Jacob "my lord." But now, Jacob called Esau "my lord." This was Jacob publicly giving back the blessing he had stolen by deceiving Isaac and Esau. He was saying, "This is what I took from you by deception, so I am giving it back to you." What does this mean? Did Jacob give up his birthright? No. This part is important for us to consider when we think about repentance.

 

True Repentance and Blessing

We usually think of repentance as just words or an apology, but the Bible teaches that repentance means not only acknowledging a wrong but also taking responsibility for its consequences. Finishing with just words is not biblical repentance. True repentance means breaking our pride by paying a price. This is called restoration or repentance. It doesn't just mean restoring something to its original state.

 

It's not about thinking, “I wronged this person by this much, so if I repay them this much, it’s good.” True repentance means not just compensating the other person, but continuing until God is pleased. It's not doing what feels right to me; it's walking forward until the very end, doing what God desires. That is the mark of a believer.

 

Therefore, our repentance cannot end with mere restoration; it must go to the place where God is pleased. Look at Jacob. For him, acknowledging his wrong and repenting would have been giving back the birthright. He might have thought, "I took it from you by deception, so I'll give it back." But Jacob didn't do that. Instead, he showed what God was pleased with.

 

The reason God pursued him and wrestled with him until the end was that Jacob wanted to enjoy the blessings of this world through the birthright. Jacob couldn't let go of it. But now, Jacob had changed. When Esau asked, "What is all this livestock I met?" Jacob replied, "It is to find favor in your eyes, my lord." Look at verse 10: "No, please," said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this present from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me so favorably."

 

Here, the word 'present' is translated as 'gift' in the NIV, but the closest translation to the original Hebrew is 'blessing'. This is the same word used when Isaac blessed Jacob, saying, “May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth.” So Jacob wasn't sending a gift to win favor with Esau; he was saying, "I am giving you the blessing I received back then." "I'm giving you all the blessings I received."

 

Jacob realized that what he had pursued was the blessing to be enjoyed in this world and that he had wanted the birthright to get what he wanted. But now, he said, "I'm giving it to you. Because I now know what the real birthright is." Through 20 years of living as a wanderer, he realized what he should truly pursue and what true blessing was. He knew the real meaning of the words "the older will serve the younger," so he served Esau instead. "I am a dead man."

 

God's Response and Love

As you know, when Jesus Christ came to this earth, he was God and King, worthy of all worship and praise. But he said, "I came to this world as a ransom for you. I came to serve you." Why are you here?

 

Is it to cry out, "I am saved"? Is it only to exclaim, "I am a child of God"? Or is it, like Jacob, to confess, "I now know why the things I pursued left my heart empty. It is because only God can fill my heart and soul"? When Jacob realized this, the meaning of the birthright was completely different for him. So when he saw Esau, he said, "To see your face is like seeing the face of God." This phrase is 'P'ney Elohim,' which is shortened to 'Paniel'. Just as Jacob named that place 'Peniel,' he saw 'Peniel' in Esau's face.

 

If Jacob had never met God, saying, "I see the face of God in your face," would have been an act of suicide. But for him, this was now a moment of joy and glory. What a touching moment! Because Esau came running as soon as he saw him. He didn't come running to kill him. Esau hugged Jacob, put his arms around his neck, kissed him, and they both cried.

 

For Jacob, Esau's action was not just a meeting of brothers but God's answer to him. It was God's response and love, showing him how much God loved him, how his relationship with God was restored, and how his relationship with Esau would be restored. Jacob didn't mean that Esau was God, but he was confessing, "This action you are showing is the very face of God."

 

He now knew God who fought for him, who saved him, the Israel who defeated his sin. He realized that the birthright was not about bloodline or worldly desire. He fully understood that true birthright was the "offspring of the promise" given to one who is "born of God's will." God gave us that very promised offspring, and when Jacob realized that this was the true birthright, he knew what he should pursue from now on.

 

True Blessing

This blessing was not about staying in this world. For Jacob, who was a wanderer and had been deceived by Laban, this event "showed him where he had gone wrong from the beginning." Jacob now ends the conflict. The fight between the older and younger son is also over. Because that could no longer be his purpose. By serving the older, he knows and fulfills the divine revelation of becoming the true firstborn. He began to know that his blessing was God Himself. He now understood God's promise, "I will be with you." Before, he had thought, "God will be with me and help me get what I want," making God his idol. But now, he knew the God who fought his sin and won for him. He realized that God was not just someone who walked with him but someone who restored his life and filled his emptiness.

 

Jacob, who used to serve his own god, his own idol, has changed. He now knew the God who fought his sin and won for him. He was not just someone who walked with him. He was not someone who helped him get what he wanted, but someone who restored his life and showed his empty soul the true meaning of God.

 

He didn't just say, "I am with you." Even now, he runs to us, hugs us, kisses us, and says, "I love you," "I am always fighting for you," and "I will always share My victory and everything I have with you." "You are not My servant but My friend," and "You are not a foreigner but My son, My child, My little ones. I will never let you go." Jacob saw Peniel, that very face of God.

 

My dear friends, today you have also met Peniel, the face of God. And that God will never let you go.

 

Let us pray.

 

Lord, the life of Jacob, which we will walk together, is still tumultuous. But now we know. We earnestly ask that we may also share in the blessing that Jacob received when his life, lived for 20 years in uncertainty, deceiving and being deceived by Laban, entered into a life of knowing God and knowing himself. Lord, teach us. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.