Hidden Bondage Revealed (An Excerpt from "The Naked Truth: Exposing the Deception of Adventism"

By Hazel Holland

Beyond its obvious sexual connotation, incest in essence is an abuse of the legitimate authority that a parent or guardian has over a child. It is a generational family dysfunction, passed down through the generational genes, destroying trust and distorting the healthy parent-child relationship.

For example, in the normal order of things, a parent or guardian is in the position of exercising control and authority over a child by virtue of age, knowledge and experience. The parent is presumed to know better than the child does what is right and wrong, what is safe and unsafe— essentially what is good for the child. Until the child is old enough to be accountable for his or her own decisions, choices and behavior, the parent or guardian stands in the place of God for the child.

Following this line of reasoning we begin to see that parental authority becomes abusive when the parent uses the position of power to satisfy selfish wants or needs at the expense of the child. Because the child is dependent upon the parent or parent figure, the child becomes the victim. Since the victim has generally been taught to admire, trust and respect the one who has abused him, the victim unknowingly becomes a collaborator in the abuse cycle. The conflicting emotions of love and hate, courage and fear, trust and distrust, towards the offending parent leave an indelible mark of fear and shame on the child as the child is forced to deny his or her own reality.

Just as incest was a generational sin, passed down through the generational genes on both sides of my biological family, so spiritual incest is a generational sin passed down through the denominational genes of the SDA church. As incest is the abuse of parental authority, spiritual incest is the abuse of spiritual authority exercised by spiritual parents and those in authority over us in the church.

Another way of saying this is, “Spiritual abuse is the misuse and abuse of spiritual authority by church leaders who set themselves up as gate keepers, using religious performance rather than faith in Jesus as the criterion for accepting or rejecting their followers.”

For the purposes of this book I am dealing specifically with the generational sin of spiritual incest in the SDA church. In fact generational spiritual incest has been the best-kept secret within the SDA church for the past one hundred and fifty years. Understanding our spiritual roots and the process our spiritual forbearers used to arrive at their system of beliefs will help us understand why this present generation of Adventists shown in the dream is behaving like incest victims.

As we look at our church history it will become crystal clear how our spiritual forbearers set themselves up to become not only victims but also perpetrators of spiritual incest, and why this cycle of spiritual abuse continues to be experienced in the lives of many of its members to this day."

Chapter 5: Chosen for Service NOT Privilege (Who are the Israel of God?)

By Hazel Holland

After the call of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God’s election was passed on to Jacob’s twelve sons. Since God had changed Jacob’s name to Israel, Jacob’s sons became the sons of Israel, who in turn later became the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. Some well known descendants from these tribes are Moses from the Tribe of Levi, the Apostle Paul from the Tribe of Benjamin, and King David and Jesus the Messiah from the Tribe of Judah.

This election of the children of Israel was a corporate election and a call to service, not privilege. However, in trying to interpret the Old Testament prophets by the letter instead of by the Spirit, we have more often than not established a place of privilege for the children of Israel that God never intended.

After four hundred years of slavery God delivered the children of Israel (also called Israel or Israelites) from Egyptian slavery and brought them into the land of Canaan so "that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws”. Since God loved all nations, Israel was called to serve the nations by being an example of what it meant to love and worship the Lord. The Scriptures reveal that Israel as a nation was summoned to be God’s priestly people in the earth because God wanted all the nations to come to Him.

I was moved to tears when my friend, Ramone, expressed the following thoughts about the children of Israel. “I believe that God’s sovereign purpose in bringing the children of Israel into the land of Canaan was so that He might teach them, through His law and sacrificial system, of their human inability to remain a faithful covenant partner with God. God wanted to teach them, along with the nations around them, about the reality of sin and man’s total inability to be faithful to God’s covenant. But most importantly, God wanted Israel to share with the nations around them that a faithful covenant partner was coming!”

Israel was chosen to teach the Gentile nations by example of God’s coming salvation for all people. The prophet Isaiah puts it most eloquently when he says; “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

God chose the children of Israel because He had a special task for them to perform, not because He loved them more than the other nations, or because they were better than the rest. No. The children of Israel were elected to a ministry of redemptive servanthood. They were chosen to be a living demonstration to the nations around them of what it meant to worship God.

The Old Testament prophets repeatedly tell us that the sons of Israel were God’s chosen ones—God’s chosen servants to teach the nations around them about the reality of sin and man’s total inability to be faithful to God’s covenant. Through the sacrificial system God wanted to bring hope to all people of all nations that a Deliverer was coming!

“O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones” (1Chronicles 16:13).

“O descendants of Abraham his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones” (Psalm 105:5).

“He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy” (Palm 105:43).

The following passage of Scripture reminds us that the nation of Israel was a chosen “son” who was a type (shadow) pointing forward to the coming Reality, Jesus Christ—the Chosen One.

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me” (Hosea 11:1-2).

However, in Matthew 2:15, we find that Hosea’s prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus’ parents took Him to Egypt to protect him from Herod’s slaughter of innocent children.

“When he (Joseph) arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son” (Matthew 2:14-15).

Here we see Matthew taking a passage from Hosea, which clearly refers to literal Israel, and telling us that this passage was fulfilled in Jesus Christ! The shadow had been fulfilled now that the Reality had come! I feel sure that Matthew also wanted his largely Jewish audience to know that Jesus was the Chosen One foretold throughout the Old Testament Scriptures.

Then we see how Matthew again takes the following prophecy from Isaiah and applies it to Jesus Christ.

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations” (Matthew 12:18; Isaiah 42:1).

Israel was “chosen” because God wanted them to be a servant community to the nations around them in order that God might teach them through His law and sacrificial system about the reality of sin and man's total inability to remain faithful to God's covenant. More importantly God wanted Israel to prepare the Gentile nations around them for God's coming salvation. A Deliverer was coming! A Chosen, Faithful Servant and Covenant Partner was coming!

(See Isaiah 51:1-8; Jeremiah 23:19-26; Ezekiel 33:23-29; Micah 7:14-21).

(Next: Chapter 6: Go here.

Chapter 9: Our Higher Spiritual Calling (Who are the Israel of God?)

By Hazel Holland

In our study to determine who are the "Israel of God?” we have found that the election of the physical nation of Israel (Israel after the flesh) was but a sign of a higher spiritual calling. This calling is not based on the lineage of Abraham, but it is based on the faith of Abraham. The following Scripture reveals that this was God's plan even before the creation of the world.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3-6).

Jew and Gentile alike, children of Abraham by faith in the promised Seed are being called to enter into Christ and become part of His new creation, the “Israel of God”. We who belong to Christ no longer put our faith in our law-keeping (legalism), or in flesh-based circumcision (Judaism), but only in the cross of Jesus Christ.

“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:14-16 (NKJV).

Notice that these verses reveal that those who are "in Christ Jesus" are the “Israel of God." Since Jesus Christ is the new Creation, we are a new creation in Him. As God’s new creation we can only boast of His great salvation.

In our study we have seen that the Old Testament prophets spoke of the great salvation that God would provide in fulfillment of His promise to Abraham. That righteousness, like the righteousness of Abraham, was not a righteousness which men earned by their law-keeping, but it was a righteousness which God Himself provided through the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Now as we read the Old Testament Scriptures and interpret them in the light of God’s final revelation in Christ, we see that Jesus is not only the new Creation, but Jesus is also the Chosen One, and the new Israel.

Furthermore, since the cross, Christ’s flesh became the new Temple which fulfills and replaces the old temple in Jerusalem. Only through this new Temple may you and I (Jew and Gentile alike) enter God’s kingdom.

“Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…” Hebrews 10: 19-22 (NASB).

Suddenly the Dispensationalist’s view of these prophecies being fulfilled in a future millennium begins to unravel. They vanish in Jesus Christ, because He has already fulfilled them!

This means that in Christ, you and I are also chosen. Based on our higher spiritual calling in Christ you and I are also the new Israel who will inherit every spiritual blessing in Christ. May God’s mercy and peace rest upon the true “Israel of God”, His very “treasured possession”, whom He keeps as the “apple of His eye” (Deuteronomy 7:6; 26:18; Psalm 17:8).

Chapter 8: Children of the Promise (Who are the Israel of God?)

By Hazel Holland

The calling of ancient Israel as a nation to be God’s priestly people on earth could succeed or fail. In fact Paul speaks of the failure of this mission when he says, “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Romans 2:24). Furthermore, we get a brief glimpse into Paul’s heartfelt sorrow and unceasing grief for those of his fellow Israelites who rejected Jesus as their Messiah.

“I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons… But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: ‘THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.’ That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants’” Romans 9:6-8 (NASB).

Here Paul paints a picture that identifies the characteristics of the true “Israel of God”. Contrary to what many ancient Jews believed, although the nation of Israel descended from Abraham’s bloodline, being a part of that literal nation did not make them the children of promise, the “Israel of God”. Even though many of the ancient Jews believed that they possessed salvation (being privileged) solely on the basis of their being a descendant of Abraham, the Scriptures teach us otherwise.

Those who are the descendants of Abraham are not necessarily the “Israel of God”, instead that blessing belongs to Jew and Gentile alike who receive the promise of the Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. Being a descendant by Abraham’s bloodline and being a part of literal Israel does not guarantee that we are heirs of the promise, but being a part of the “Israel of God” by faith in Jesus Christ does guarantee that we are heirs of the kingdom.

Now that the promised Seed has come, we can clearly understand that those who are children of the promise put their faith in Jesus Christ and are recipients of eternal life. Only those who are in Christ are truly the “Israel of God”, but those who are not in Christ are not Israel.

This is a clear declaration that Israel is not a geopolitical nation, or even a genealogical one, but rather a remnant, spiritual people saved by God’s grace from every nation, kindred tongue and people. (Romans 11:5).

First fruits of a New Creation

Paul confirms that the Old Testament doctrine of election remains unchanged in the New Testament. Clearly we can see that God’s love for the human race is universal. God’s election of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Israel, or of the church is the way God implements His love for all of humanity.

Because God loves the world He chooses a people, he chooses patriarchs, he chooses prophets, he chooses apostles, and He chooses the body of Christ in order to implement His love for the entire human race. Election has nothing to do with the eternal salvation of individuals, but refers to God’s way of bringing His salvation message to the ends of the earth.

Christians are God’s chosen people in the same way that ancient Israel was chosen. Jews and Gentiles are chosen in Christ to be a servant community and witness to the kingdom of God. We have been called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light in order to declare God’s praises to the ends of the earth.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” 1 Peter2:9-10 (NIV).

Our calling in Jesus Christ is to be the first fruits of the new creation as we anticipate a much larger harvest to come (James 1:18). We are chosen to serve God by issuing the invitation to all people in every nation to come for God’s end time banquet.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV).

However, calling ourselves Christians does not necessarily make us Christians. Being a part of the visible body of Christ does not guarantee that we are actually a part of His new creation anymore than being a descendant of one of the tribes of Israel guaranteed that you were part of the “Israel of God”. There’s no difference between a natural Jew and a natural Gentile as far as God is concerned, because children of the flesh are not the children of God.

What makes the difference is if we (Jew and Gentile alike) are children of the promise, born of the Spirit! If we are, then we share a common spiritual ancestry in Christ. Abraham is our father and the Jerusalem that is above is our eternal home.

(Next: Chapter 9: Go here.

Chapter 7: "Unveiled" in Christ (Who are the Israel of God?)

By Hazel Holland

It seems that many in the church have forgotten that Abraham wasn’t looking to possess the land of Canaan as his inheritance at all. For his eyes were on the Jerusalem that is above, the city of the living God, the church of the first born, the Promised Land of the saved (See Hebrews 12).

“By faith he (Abraham) lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” Hebrews 11:9-10 (NASB).

Furthermore, Hebrews 11 goes on to say that there were many other "heroes of faith" besides Abraham who died without seeing the promises, but welcomed them from afar by faith.

“All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them” Hebrews 11:13-16 (NASB).

There are many references besides the one mentioned above that refute the idea that God wants His land. More to the point, didn’t Jesus clearly said that His kingdom was not of this world? If it had of been I feel certain that other disciples besides Peter would have been out on the front lines brandishing swords, ready to cut off more than high priest’s servants ears!

Moreover, since the old covenant has been fulfilled in Christ, it is now obsolete! So what would be the purpose of hanging on to literal land in the Middle East that was given to Abraham’s offspring when God’s primary purpose was not the land that was important, but the lives of the people in the nations that God wanted to bless with His salvation?

Why have so many in the church forgotten that God’s goal in giving ancient Israel the land of Canaan in the first place was so they might freely worship Him, and in so doing become a witness to the nations around them that the God of Israel loved all men and wanted all men to know Him.

By failing to let the New Testament interpret the Old, our understanding of ancient Israel’s mission as being a call to service, NOT privilege, has been tragically misunderstood by the church and the nation of Israel alike. Many in the church today have joined Israel in her blindness. My prayer is that the “veiled” Scriptures that cause men to stumble will become “unveiled” in Jesus Christ!

(Next: Chapter 8: Go here.

Chapter 6: Promised "Land" Issue (Who are the Israel of God?)

By Hazel Holland

In the last chapter we discussed how Israel in Old Testament times was chosen by God for service, not privilege. Israel was chosen to be a blessing because she had been entrusted with the privilege of being the bearer of “Light” to the Gentile nations around her.

However, although ancient Israel was chosen by God to be a “light” to the Gentile nations around her of God’s coming salvation, she failed miserably in her mission. Even as we remember Isaiah’s eloquent words, “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6), we recognize that this Scripture only began to be fulfilled after Pentecost.

The veil was lifted from the minds of the disciples as they were filled with the Spirit, and they began to testify that Jesus was the “Light”. After persecution came and the early church was scattered the “light” of God’s salvation went to the four corners of the earth.

Having said that, consider with me for a moment how God’s original plan to use Israel as a “light for the Gentiles” has become very complex, because a parcel of “land” in the Middle East has become more important than the lives of the people who occupy it?

The present Arab-Israeli conflict continues because both the natural children of Abraham (Israel after the flesh) and the Palestinians continue to fight over “land” that each side claims belongs to them. In spite of the fact that the Scriptures tell us that God restored all the land that He promised to give Israel’s descendants, many in the church fail to believe that God kept His promises to them.

“So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled” (Joshua 21:43-45 NIV).

What further complicates this whole “land” issue is the fact that many Christians have taken sides. They believe that Israel is still God’s “chosen” people, and the literal land they occupy belongs to God because He gave it to them as their inheritance forever.

But that belief totally contradicts God’s heart for all people. Contrary to popular opinion within the church, God does NOT show favoritism. There is no partiality with God!

“There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism” Romans 2:9-11 (NIV).

No one group, or any certain territory, like the land of Israel, holds a favored position in relation to salvation. God is bringing these blessings to all people on earth. Exclusivity and elitism are out of the question. Peter declares after his change of heart:

“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right” (Acts 10:34-35).

If God doesn’t show favoritism, why do so many of us in the church? Is it because we do not understand God’s heart for all people? Is it because we see “Israel” as a nation rather than “Israel” as people? Is it because we sadly favor and value an earthly inheritance over an eternal inheritance?

For years many Christian have believed that a necessary condition for the return of the Messiah was for the Jews to return to their land. This belief also ties in with the precursors of modern Zionism who also believed that the return of Jews to the land of Israel was a precondition for the redemption of the Jewish people.

Thus, many Christians, believing that the formation of the state of Israel in 1948 was a miraculous intervention of God, offer their support to Israel by insisting that the land belongs to them, because they are still God’s “chosen” people.

However, if we in the church would take a hard and honest look at the bloody history of how the state of Israel was actually “born”, it could hardly be considered a miraculous intervention of God! Yes, it’s a miracle how God has preserved the existence of the Jews around the world, but NOT the formation of the state of Israel.

My friend Ramone reminded me that to take someone’s life because God said, “This land is my inheritance” neglects the truth that the nations are Christ’s inheritance. He further suggests that "when we kill people for whom Christ died are we not robbing Christ of His inheritance? Furthermore, because we are “co-heirs with Christ” are not the nations our inheritance also? That means our neighbors are also our inheritance. So if we kill our neighbors to possess their property, aren’t we trading our eternal inheritance (our neighbor’s lives) for an earthly inheritance that is temporal?"

By saying that God’s hand was in the establishment of the state of Israel, many in the church are unknowingly declaring that it was God’s will for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to be evicted from their homes so that “God’s people” could get their land back. That kind of wounding takes a long time to heal! By the church sanctioning that kind of spiritual abuse doesn't it place future generations of Israelis in a grave position where they will continue to inherit a cycle of violence?

From my perspective, the church has done the state of Israel a great disservice by not proclaiming to her the cutting edge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. By not calling her into accountability and repentance for her acts of violence against the Palestinian people we have neutered the gospel of Jesus Christ. God is calling us to speak the whole gospel of God’s love and grace into the Middle East situation. God's Spirit is calling the church to minister to both Jew and Gentile alike, and help them enter into the true Promised Land--the true promised rest found in Jesus Christ?

It’s shocking to realize that land has become more valuable than lives for whom Christ died. Many of us in the church have a serious heart issue. Can you hear the cry in the Father’s heart for the people of this land? I do. My friend, Ramone, heard, “I don’t want My people to have land, I want them to have Me!” What will our response be?

Link:  What God Joined Together at the Cross

Next: Chapter 7:  Unveiled in Christ

Chapter 4: Broken for Blessing (Who are the Israel of God?")

By Hazel Holland

The same covenant promise that had been given to Abraham and Isaac was then passed down from Isaac to his son Jacob. Although Jacob and Esau were full-bloodied, twin brothers of Isaac, God sovereignly chose the lineage of Jacob, the younger brother, to continue the line of salvation history before the twins were even born. Thus, God’s choice of Jacob had nothing to do with Jacob’s good works, but rather God’s sovereign purpose in preserving salvation history.

We already saw in the previous chapter that Abraham had to wait for twenty-five years before God fulfilled His promise to him in the birth of Isaac. Now we find out that Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, had a similar problem as Sarah. She was barren also.

“Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife… Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived… So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb… Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them” (Genesis 25:20-26).

I had never noticed until now that hidden away in the statement, “Isaac pleaded with the Lord ...and Rebekah conceived,” is the fact that Isaac prayed for twenty years before God answered his prayer for a son. Since Abraham was still alive at this time, I feel sure that he must have prayed too, because he knew what it was like to wait for the promised seed. I’m confident that Abraham encouraged Isaac to persist in prayer and not falter in his faith as he had done. Abraham would most certainly have discouraged Isaac for even thinking for a moment about “helping” God bring about the fulfillment of the promise through Rebekah’s maidservant.

The Nature of Faith

Both Abraham and Isaac prayed believing that God would fulfill His promise even though they both had to wait many years before they saw the fulfillment of the promise in their immediate offspring. In fact, the book of Hebrews reminds us that many of the Hebrew patriarchs never in their lifetime saw the fulfillment of what God had promised them. Nevertheless, they continued to believe right up to their dying day that God would fulfill His promise by someday sending a Deliverer. The promised Seed, Jesus Christ would come in the fullness of time—God’s time, NOT theirs.

Essentially, this is what faith is. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Walking by faith is taking hold of the promise of God and refusing to let go. Faith is persistently holding on to the promise while waiting for God to fulfill it in His timing. Although Abraham prayed for twenty-five years and Isaac for twenty for God to give them the promised son, they never saw the ultimate fulfillment of their offspring—the promised Seed that would eventfully come.

These men of faith, along with other men of faith in the Old Testament waited for the fulfillment of the promised Seed for hundreds of years. They never stopped believing that God would do what He had said He would do—send a Deliverer. And we already know the end of their story because we can look back and see that the Deliverer came in the fullness of time. But I’m getting ahead of the story…

Jacob’s Lack of Faith

Let’s pause for a moment and remember how Jacob’s life began in Rebekah’s womb. This child of destiny, who began his life by grabbing his twin brother by the heel, later gained the blessing of God by grabbing on to God and refusing to let go. This child, who had been chosen by God before he was born to carry the blessing of the promised Seed, later manipulated his older twin brother, Esau, and deceived his aging father, in order to gain both the birthright and the blessing that had already been promised him. Instead of trusting God to fulfill His promise, Jacob deviously worked behind the scenes to grasp what was already his by God’s sovereign choice.

Jacob’s name (means “supplanter, schemer, cheater, one who grabs from behind) accurately described his inclination to take things into his own hands and wrestle to get his own way in life. Ever since he deceived his father into thinking that he was Esau so that he could obtain the spiritual blessing reserved for the eldest son, Jacob had been on the run.

We all know the rest of the story. After Esau learned about what Jacob had done he was so angry he threatened to kill him. So Jacob was forced to leave his father’s house and flee for his life to his uncle Laban’s place. On the way to this unknown country Jacob had a dream in which God confirmed to him the covenant that He had made to both Abraham and his father Isaac (Genesis 28:10-15).

Furthermore, Jacob’s family struggle didn’t end once he got to Laban’s. For years Jacob continued to wrestle and struggle with his uncle over flocks and herds and Laban’s two daughters, Leah and Rachel, who eventually became his wives. In spite of the fact that Laban treated Jacob very poorly during this time, Jacob became extremely wealthy as a result of his effective management of the flocks.

Although Laban had been in agreement with Jacob’s ideas, it had cost Laban dearly, even to the point of bankrupting him. So again, twenty years later, Jacob was forced to flee, this time from his uncle, because Laban’s sons had become jealous of his wealth. So he headed back to his father’s house in Canaan, with his wives, children, and many flocks (Genesis 30:42-43; 31:14-16).

Wrestling with Fear

On his return journey he became fearful one night when he leaned that his brother Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men the next day. Not knowing what Esau’s attitude toward him might be, he placed his wives, children, servants, and all his possessions on the other side of the river Jabbok* for safety. Then he withdrew into the darkness to spend the night by himself as he sat beside the Jabbok River, a frightened man, searching for answers.

Suddenly, he found himself wrestling with a “Man”. The Bible doesn’t tell us what went on during that wrestling match or how many hours it lasted. All we know is that everything that had happened in Jacob’s life so far had brought him to this crucial moment in time when the pre-incarnate Christ would change the direction of his life.

I believe that God in his grace and mercy allowed Jacob to grapple with his fleshly desires as he struggled to overpower this unseen Man. I feel sure that Jacob’s life must have passed before him many times during that crucial night. How he must have longed to be delivered from fear. Little did he know that the One with whom he wrestled was the promised Deliverer who would soon deliver him from fear.

Wrestling with God

As Jacob wrestled with God, he may have remembered his mother’s words as she described the wrestling match that had gone on within her womb before her boys had been born. It was true that this wrestling for dominance had plagued him throughout his life. He knew that he had depended on his own strength and resources to help God answer His promises that He had made to him.

Jacob remembered that God had repeated the same words to him at Bethel in a dream that he had made to Abraham and Isaac years earlier. Surely, in order for those promises to come to pass God needed Jacob to help Him by exercising his cunning mind so that all families on earth would be blessed through his offspring.

Jacob, like so many of us, continually struggled throughout his life to help God answer His promises by attempting to make them happen in the natural (flesh) instead of waiting for God to have them manifest in the spiritual realm. This promised blessing that Jacob had plotted to obtain for his offspring was the same blessing in “seed form” that had been given to Adam and Eve? Jacob could no more alter God’s sovereign plan than he could bring it about by his own conniving schemes.

While Jacob wrestled with his own tormenting thoughts, He must have struggled to understand how he was supposed to be heir to the promises of God if Esau was going to kill him. He must have fought to come to grips with the timing of God’s plan as he remembered the dream God had given him twenty years earlier at Bethel. Perhaps God had changed His mind about Jacob being an heir to the promises of God after all.

Now, failing to trust God once more with his destiny, Jacob had sent drove after drove of animals ahead of him as a gift for Esau in an effort to appease him and gain his acceptance. Jacob was obviously rich in the things of this world. But hadn’t so much of his material wealth been achieved by his own shrewd thinking and conniving ways? For that reason, how could he honestly trust God to deliver him from Esau when he had so wrongfully manipulated his brother in the past?

Perhaps he deserved to die and forfeit the coveted blessing after all. On the other hand, maybe if he addressed his brother as “my lord” and “your servant, Jacob”, and Esau saw all the gifts he had sent, Jacob might find favor in his brother’s sight (Genesis 28:3-20). I feel quite sure that as Jacob fought to win this wrestling match within his own mind he must have agonized over his checkered past. Possibly, a sense of hopelessness and despair filled his heart at times during the night’s struggle as he assessed the bumpy road he had chosen in life.

The Turning Point

Finally, a turning point came in Jacob’s struggle after the pre-incarnate Christ touched his hip, weakening and immobilizing him on the spot. Now Jacob had been broken for blessing. Although he had repeatedly tried to gain that blessing by his own devious ways, God allowed him to come to the end of himself so that he might see that it was God who was in control and not Jacob. Jacob suddenly stopped wrestling out of fear and started clinging to God in faith as he cried out in pain, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26).

During that awful night, Jacob finally learned that the blessing of material wealth that he had gained by his shrewd business dealings was not the blessing that he really desired. He must know for sure that he hadn’t forfeited the privilege of being chosen by God to have the Promised Seed come through his offspring. He desired that blessing now more than anything else.

After that night of struggle Jacob knew that neither his good works nor his bad works caused God to withdraw his covenant promise from him. Seeing God’s goodness towards him changed him. Thus, in keeping with Jacob’s change of heart, God changed his name from Jacob to Israel. In spite of all his conniving schemes Jacob finally knew that God truly loved him. He was no longer a deceiver, but one who prevailed with God.

Jacob said of God after his night of wrestling, “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved” (Genesis 32:30). Not only did God preserve Jacob’s life and change his name to Israel (prince of God), but He preserved his seed, because it was through Jacob’s offspring that the Seed would come. Salvation history was being preserved that night so that in the fullness of time, the TRUE SEED, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, would come.

Jacob-like People

That is why the Scriptures remind us that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and, yes, He’s the God of Jacob, too. God knows that deceitfulness is one of the characteristics that we all share in common as a result of our fallen nature. Although not one of us likes to admit it, we are all Jacob-like at times, yet God loves us anyway. God knows our hearts. He knows that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?” Jeremiah 17:9 (Amplified Bible).

I’m weeping right now in the Spirit as I realize that God’s sovereign love that was poured out upon Jacob has also been poured out upon you and me. God chose us in Christ before we were ever born, just like He chose Jacob. In fact, God reminds us in Hebrews 11 that He is not ashamed to be identified with Jacob. This means that God is not ashamed to be identified with all Jacob-like people.

For that reason, when our hearts deceive us, God does not reject us when we become Jacob-like in our attitudes and desires. No. God not only knows our hearts, but He already knows those who are His. Just like Jacob, God chose us in Christ before we were even born. As we are confronted with this Good News, God’s amazing goodness leads us to repentance as it did Jacob.

Instead of resisting God, we are irresistibly drawn to the One who loved us first. We find out that God does not credit the deceitfulness of our hearts to our account, but instead credits our account with Christ’s truth-filled righteousness. All our deceitful ways and manipulative schemes have been credited to Jesus Christ account, not ours. He became sin for us so that we can be known by God as the righteousness of God in Christ.

I want to intimately know and love a God like that. I want to believe in the One who has a future and plan for my life just as He had for Jacob’s life. God wants to continually bless us with His presence while He assures us that He will never let us go, just like He blessed and assured Jacob. He has a new name for us, too—a new name that I feel sure will reflect not only our struggle here on earth, but how God sees us forever in Christ. He has a new name for all His beloved children that we will receive on that Day when we see God face to face (Revelation 2:17).

*Jabbok means "wrestling".

(Next: Chapter 5: Go here.