Jacob on the Road

Genesis 25: 22-34, Romans 8: 1-9

There is a novel called Sangdo, which I enjoyed reading. It's a novel that was published in a newspaper a long time ago, but I remember reading it with passion. One part of the novel caught my attention. A merchant, a man, and a woman appeared in the novel and one of them asks how many surnames there are in this country. Everyone gathered and wondered how many surnames in the Joseon Dynasty, and a woman said, "There are two surnames in this country." Then the woman said, “There are Lee and Hae in this country. Lee is a person who benefits me, and Hae is a person who harms me.” From this part, I could see how this woman perceived the world. You can see that there are two types of people who benefit her and those who harm her.

The story of Chapter 8: 1-9 in Romans and Chapter 25 in Genesis, we have just read today, shows two types of people and two types of nations; those who live according to the body and those who live according to the Holy Spirit, those nations who are strong and weak, those who like to hear and those who stay at home.

If you look at the words from the two Biblical texts that we read today, you can easily find dualistic ways of thinking. Dualism is a popular term in philosophy, religion, and psychology that describes the world or ideas as two independent fundamental principles. Two independent fundamental principles commonly found in dualism are light and darkness, good and evil, soul and body. The idea that two principles are mutually independent in dualism means that two principles are at odds and conflicts with each other, and the position that either of the two independent principles ultimately wins through the process of confrontation and conflict is often known as the natural logical conclusion of dualism.

From this dualistic point of view, the Bible's theory that Jacob wins the struggle against Esau and the Spirit overcomes the flesh seems to be a natural consequence. The story of Jacob is a story you know so well. Jacob, who was born by God's choice from Rebekah's womb, who will be served in the future, is Israel's ancestor who will grow into a strong nation. Just as the name Jacob means God's protection, the Biblical writer demonstrates that Jacob was promised God's choice and protection from the womb of Rebekah.

However, as Jacob grew up, the first act recorded in the Bible was to deceive his brother into accepting the rights of the eldest son. Later, he appears to deceive his father into taking away the blessings his brother Esau deserves. According to this theory, Jacob should belong to the Holy Spirit and be raised in a righteous way, and eventually be in the position of the Spirit, beating the forces of death. But Jacob is never portrayed as a suitable person for the position of the Holy Spirit and a person who belongs to God's law.

It is believed that those who are chosen by God should be those who belong to the law of life and the Holy Spirit, and those who live according to the Holy Spirit. However, we can raises the question of why Jacob was chosen by God. The Epistle to the Romans says “those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." Jacob is supposed to be with God's Spirit, but we can raise the question, "Why do Jacob not believe in God's choice, but constantly make human and worldly efforts?"

Perhaps Esau was hard to admit that Jacob, who deceived himself and deceived his father, was chosen by God. Jacob is often not the character of righteousness we think of, nor does it seem to be perfectly in the realm of God's law and spirit. Why did God choose Jacob, who is not a perfect figure in God's law?

The dualism is a theory that explains human reality and life and reveals human perspective as in the story of Sangdo. However, we question whether this dualistic thinking and structure properly describes and reveals human life in reality. It is not easy to understand God's will from a dualistic point of view.

Do you know a movie called Schindler's list? In the movie, Schindler is portrayed as a heroic figure who saved Jews in Eastern Europe and evacuated many Jews. Schindler was a great man who risked his fortune and life to save the lives of Jews. However, Schindler was not a heroic character from the beginning, as he appeared briefly in the early scenes of the film. He is depicted as a secular person who plays with women and enjoys his life through having parties. However, as he experienced World War II and witnessed the devastating lives of the Jews around him, he gradually began to change his life goals. Eventually, he was transformed into a heroic character who rescued Jews by taking his fortune.

In the early days, Jacob was also a secular man who tried to make human efforts for his own good. While leaving his home and heading to the home of his uncle Laban after deceiving his older brother and father, he still tried to achieve his goal of worldly greed and pursuit of profit. Despite having dreamed and met God at Bethel, Jacob did not show much change. Even at Laban's house, he still negotiated with Laban to build quality and amass wealth. As you know, even though he was blessed by God returning to his hometown, he still appears to be the most human form of fear and distress at the Jabbok River just before meeting his brother.

It doesn't look so different from what we look like in this present times. We live as Christians, believing that we belong to the Spirit of God, but we still make the wrong choice between spirit and flesh, between life and sin, and we still see the duality that spans both sides. Rather than trusting God's grace and choice in the face of difficulties, we also try to solve them through our relationships with people around us or by using our power. Jacob tried to buy the rights of his eldest son from his brother because he was too weak to accept God's word and he thought that his brother was much more loved by his father.

However, the biggest reason for Jacob's transformation into a great man of God was the wrestling with God in the Jabbok River and the encounter with God. After deceiving his father, Jacob left his comfortable home and met God “on the road,” and wrestled with God "on the road," on the bank of the Jabbok River, leaving Laban's wealthy home and returning home. Between spirit and body, life and sin, Jacob constantly tried on the road from the flesh to the spirit and tried to meet God on the road from the law of sin to the law of life, despite the broken hip bone.

Paul describes human weakness, physical sin and God's grace in Romans 8. Theologian N. T. Wright asserts that Paul's theory of justification is not simply a declaration of God's infinite grace to those who believe in Jesus, in other words, a declaration of legal innocence, but salvation through constant action and eschatological completion. This shows that, by God's grace, a person who belongs to the spirit must constantly strive and continue to try to meet God in order to be truly saved. Morevoer, it seems to show dualistic thinking, but the words of the Romans we have read so far are not just a dualistic distinction between the flesh and spirit, but show God's love and grace to send his son in the form of a sinful body and lead us to the path of the Holy Spirit. Jesus went beyond the simple dualistic thoughts of spirit and flesh, life and sin, and came to the world in the human body of sin, condemning sin and saving humanity.

Human beings are existential beings who constantly struggle and strive between the ideal self and realistic self. God has already chosen you and has made a life of righteousness, spiritual life, and life in Jesus. However, we are still weak in reality. Even in the age of advanced medicine, we still live in fear of the coronavirus. Even though we try to live faithfully as Christians, we are still existential beings who are easily frustrated. We try to please God, but we still live under pressure from human greed and worldly powers. Even though we know that the Spirit of God eventually overcomes death, we still become frustrated by making wrong choices in the world.

The reason that Jacob became the great ancestor of Israel was that he was not simply a person belonging to the Spirit, but a person who constantly tried to go on the path of the Holy Spirit in his life. In Hosea 12:4-5, “He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there—the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is God's name!” Jacob was fiercely confronting God in his life, crying and asking for grace.

What are you asking God for now?

What did Jacob think on the road? What did Jacob think when he held onto God to bless him even in a situation where his hip bone was injured and he couldn't walk?

We are now experiencing a time when the coronavirus crisis makes it difficult to form a community of faith. The fear of the coronavirus surrounding us is too great for us to just wait and believe in God's promise. It seems like the world God promised will come soon, but it seems that we are still alone in the dark world.

However, just as Jacob faced a fearful and difficult world with a new identity of Israel through wrestling with God, I sincerely hope that all of you including me gathered here will continue to walk into the world of the Holy Spirit even in real difficulties. I also sincerely pray that you are not conceited just because you belong to the Spirit of God, but also you do not despair because you belong to the flesh. Like Jacob, who met God "on the road," I pray that Yonsei Church community would become community that meets God in their life and meets God sincerely.