Jacob's Limping Faith

 And the Lord said, "Now get up and cross the Zered Valley." So we crossed the valley. Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. The Lord's hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp. Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, the Lord said to me, "Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.  (Deuteronomy 2:13-18)   In the land of Esau, the land south of the Zered Valley, the last of Jacob's unfaithful descendants die.  Does the text mean to recall more through this geographical point of interest?  I think it does. If you recall from the story in Genesis 32-33, Jacob is filled with "great fear and distress" (Gen. 32:7) at the prospect of meeting his brother Esau again after so many years in exile with his uncle Laban.  Jacob wrestles, alone, all that night with a man who he later understands to have been God.  In some way, this is a story of Jacob's fear wrestling with a God who proves to be for Jacob, not against him.  Jacob had a hard time believing that God really could be faithful to his promise of establishing Jacob in the promised land, given the frightful prospect of Esau and his 400 men.  And so, Jacob's fear wrestles against the promise of God 'til daybreak where he is given the name "Israel," the "one who wrestles with God."  As it turns out, Jacob's desire for blessing proves stronger than his fear.  He survives the encounter and lives, though not without a God-induced limp to humble him and remind him that he always lives by God's saving, and not his own.  Our present story in Deuteronomy is similar.  It is in the land of Esau, south of the Zered Valley, where Israel once again becomes Israel.  For a 38-year-long night their fears have caused them to disbelievingly wrestle with God's promises.  At the end of this long night: their desire for blessing wins out and they are still alive, but not without a significant limp.  All the fearful fighting men have died and Israel is reminded that they live by God's promises, God's provision, and God's saving—not their own.  It's worth noting that this is the first Holy War described in the book of Deuteronomy.  "The Lord's hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them."  This language is the same as in other God-directed military campaigns that Israel will undertake.  It is important to remember, therefore, that the first Holy War is not against the enemies of Israel, but is waged within Israel itself.  Fear had to die out of the camp before Israel could trustingly receive the promise of God's victory.  The promise given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob could only be received by a people of Abraham's faith, who were willing to go on nothing more than the word of God, trusting that whatever was needful would be given by God.  Or perhaps more accurately: a people of Jacob's limping faith, that through wrestling with fear and doubt would have to discover again and again that God's blessing was worth pursuing, that God was faithful to his promise, and that anyway: God was the only hope for salvation they had. The language of fear vs. faith and fear vs. love will show up again and again in the Bible.  It is at the heart of the account of Saul vs. David that we've just finished off.  Read 1 Samuel 18—the passage is just dripping with the contrast between the fear encircling Saul and the love buoying up David in the promises of God.  Or again in the New Testament, go back to the passages cited by Pastor Michael yesterday like that from 1 John 4: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…" This dynamic shows up in our own hearts still today.  So take time to examine: what fears in your heart cause you to wrestle with the promises of God rather than receive them?  We tritely and simply accuse others we disagree with these days of being "fearful," particularly when it comes to the culture war battles being fought within the church.  The accusation may very well be correct.  But remember: the first holy war is fought within—not without.  Before we can go crusading against the world—we have to wrestle through the fears of our own hearts.  Having done so, we may just find that there's actually no battle to be fought at all on the other side… just gifts to be trustingly received from the God of promise and blessing who saves us still.