Wrestling with God - Genesis
Read the summary of the Sunday sermon: God calls Jacob back to the promised land, but meets Esau along the way. In the moment of his greatest fear, where Jacob mistrust the goodness of God, he wrestles with God and finally receives the blessing he has been looking for all his life, and is ultimately reconciled with Esau. Like Jacob, we are called to wrestle with God in the places of deepest brokenness in our lives, because it is there that he bestows his blessing and favour upon us.
Read: Genesis 32:22-31 and 33:4-11
Discussion Questions:
If you were in Jacob’s position in this moment, how would you feel about seeing Esau after 20 years?
Gen. 32:9-12 records Jacob’s prayer for protection. What can his prayer teach us about how we approach God in moments of crisis?
When Jacob wrestles with God, he does so in a way that is persistent and unrelenting, even while being wounded by God. What does this moment say about the kind of faith we’re called to have as Christians?
Is the response that Esau has when he sees Jacob in Gen. 33:4 the one you would expect him to have? Why or why not?
Is there something in your life that you are wrestling with God about? What has that experience been like for you?
How does the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau shed light on our reconciliation with God and the reconciliation we are called to pursue with each other?
What are some practical steps you can take today to begin pursuing reconciliation with somebody that you are alienated from?
How does this story of reconciliation and wrestling with God point us to Jesus?
Prayer: Take some to pray through the things you shared in question #5 as a group, asking that God would reveal to us his purposes in those situations.
