{"id":5014,"date":"2025-11-05T09:47:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/?p=5014"},"modified":"2025-11-05T09:47:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T14:47:23","slug":"exodus-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/05\/exodus-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Exodus 1:1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Unfortunately, it was not possible to make a podcast recording of today’s\u00a0reflection.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u00a0Each day this month we\u2019re looking closely at one of the 1:1 verses of the Bible \u2013 exploring what we can learn from chapter one \/ verse one of various Old and New Testament books.<\/em>

Exodus 1:1<\/strong>

\u201cThese are the names of the sons of Israel\u00a0who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family.\u201d

Every now and then you\u2019ll hear people say that the Bible is boring, and that it ranks right up there with reading the instructions for installing a new water heater.\u00a0

That\u2019s a dead giveaway that those individuals have never actually picked up a copy of Scripture and read it for themselves. They certainly haven\u2019t read the books of Genesis and Exodus.

What do we find in the first two books of the Bible? We discover that the descendants of Abraham, the so-called Chosen People, are about as emotionally stable as guests on the Jerry Springer Show.\u00a0 Moms and Dads are passive when they should be assertive, and assertive when they should be gentle. There\u2019s rape, incest, lying, and intergenerational deceit. In the words of John Ortberg, \u201cThese are not the Waltons. These people are messed up. They need Dr. Phil, Dr. Laura, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Spock, Dr. Seuss\u2026somebody.\u201d

Does this mean that the writer of those two books, traditionally thought to be Moses, was morally confused? Not at all.

The real hero of the Bible is God. God is the primary actor in all of the biblical narratives. People of every generation may be promise-breakers, but God is a promise-keeper. One of the recurring messages of the Bible is that if God can work through men and women like these, he will never be reluctant or ashamed to work through you and me.

The truth is that God is also the hero of your<\/em> story.\u00a0

God is the primary actor in the drama that is called your life. You may be at mid-story right now and cannot imagine that you are headed for a happy ending.\u00a0

But God is always at work in ways that surprise and confound us. If we will turn to him, if we will receive the blessing that he offers to us in exchange for our trust, we will discover that he is the God of second chances. He is the One who can transform the debris of our relational messes into outcomes we could never have imagined.

That brings us to the first verse of the first chapter of the book of Exodus, which essentially says, \u201cHey, do you remember that story we started in Genesis? Well, here comes the next part.\u201d

It\u2019s worth pausing to note that the books of the Old Testament go by different names in the Jewish community than the names chosen by Christians over the centuries. Each book of the Torah, for instance (the Torah being the first five books of the Jewish Scriptures), is identified by the first word that appears in the Hebrew text.

The first Hebrew word in Genesis is Bereshit<\/u><\/em>. Therefore the book is called \u201cIn the Beginning.\u201d Leviticus goes by \u201cAnd He Called.\u201d Numbers is \u201cIn the Wilderness\u201d (a far more evocative name than the one Christians came up with). Deuteronomy is known amongst Jewish readers as \u201cThe Words.\u201d

And what of the second book of the Torah?

Christians have traditionally called it Exodus, a mashup of the Greek words ek<\/u><\/em> (\u201cout\u201d) and hodos<\/u><\/em> (\u201croad\u201d) \u2013 essentially, \u201cheading on down the road.\u201d

Rabbis, however, have always called the book Sh\u2019mot<\/u><\/em>, the Hebrew word for \u201cNames.\u201d \u201cThese are the names of the sons of Israel\u00a0who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family.\u201d<\/em>

Exodus is a thrilling book. God\u2019s people are in Egypt, where they have been slaves for something like 400 years. God aims to set them free. He recruits Moses \u2013 an 80-year-old whose life has so far been marked by failure \u2013 to be his point person. What follow are 10 plagues, the first Passover, a pillar of fire, crossing the Red Sea, and an acting opportunity that cements the career of Charlton Heston.

Genesis tells the story of how Abraham\u2019s descendants end up in Egypt. Exodus tells the story of how God gets them out.\u00a0

In between those two narratives is Exodus 1:1. It directs our attention to the names of the earliest characters in this drama.

Names were serious business in Bible times. A name connoted one\u2019s heritage, family standing, and personal character, and was sometimes thought to signify one\u2019s destiny.

There are two names in the first verse of the Book of Names: Israel and Jacob. It matters immensely that these names turn out to be one and the same person.

The story behind that story has been told and retold in Jewish households for centuries. In the book of Genesis, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, spends virtually his entire life trying to earn or deserve or steal what God, as it turns out, has always been willing to give to him for free. Jacob yearns to be blessed \u2013 to know that he is living under the sheltering canopy of God\u2019s favor.

One of the key moments in his search for God\u2019s blessing is an all-night wrestling match on the banks of the Jabbok River.

Here we should pause to note that the more time you spend with God, the more likely it is that you yourself will one day wrestle with God.

Spoiler alert<\/em>: You will lose that wrestling match.\u00a0

But there\u2019s a good chance you will end up with a souvenir from the encounter that will be well worth keeping.

Jacob\u2019s wrestling match is reported in Genesis 32:22-32, which has long been regarded as one of the Bible\u2019s most mysterious passages.\u00a0He is overwhelmed with anxiety as he anticipates a reunion with his twin brother Esau.\u00a0This would be the same Esau from whom he had stolen, years earlier, both the family\u2019s birthright and their father Isaac\u2019s blessing.\u00a0

In the middle of his sleepless night, Jacob begins to wrestle with someone described as \u201ca man.\u201d\u00a0The text implies that this is an angel of the Lord who represents God himself.\u00a0

Light begins to appear on the eastern horizon.\u00a0\u201cThen the man said, \u2018Let me go, for it is daybreak.\u2019\u00a0But Jacob replied, \u2018I will not let you go unless you bless me.\u2019\u00a0The man asked him, \u2018What is your name?\u2019\u00a0 \u2018Jacob,\u2019 he answered.\u201d

Now this may seem like a strange thing to ask somebody after hours of struggle.\u00a0Had the angel forgotten to take his over-the-counter memory supplement, which is why he couldn\u2019t come up with Jacob\u2019s name?

Actually, the person who has been confused about his own identity is Jacob.\u00a0Let\u2019s see:\u00a0How did he answer the last time he was asked the same question?\u00a0\u201cFather, it is I, Esau.\u201d\u00a0Jacob had lied about his identity in order to steal a blessing.\u00a0God will have none of that this time.\u00a0The only way to make progress when wrestling with God is to say, with absolute honesty, \u201cThis is who I am.\u201d<\/em>

For most of his adult life, Jacob has refused to face difficulties head-on. When things get tough, he runs for his life.

But this time is different.\u00a0This time he hangs on to God for dear life.\u00a0\u201cI will not let you go, unless you bless me.\u201d\u00a0

Are you in a wrestling match with God?\u00a0Are you struggling with doubt?\u00a0With anger or disappointment because God has taken away something or someone precious from your life?\u00a0Are you wrestling with confusion because you\u2019ve asked God for guidance but only seem to hear silence?

Don\u2019t let go<\/em>.\u00a0

Way too many people break their clinch with God after just a little struggle and say, \u201cWell, I guess that\u2019s that.\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s true that wrestling with the deep questions concerning God\u2019s presence and God\u2019s will is hard work.\u00a0But such hand-to-hand, heart-to-heart grappling appears to be one of God\u2019s chief tactics for shaping our lives.\u00a0

That was certainly true for Jacob.\u00a0He emerges with a new identity. Jacob (\u201cGrabber\u201d) will now be known as Israel (\u201cHe wrestles with God\u201d).\u00a0And the people of Israel, who to this day carry his new name, have for more than three millennia modeled for the world what it means to go to the mat with the Creator of the cosmos.\u00a0

Jacob leaves with something else.\u00a0\u201cAs the sun rose above him\u2026he was limping\u2026.\u201d (Genesis 32:31)\u00a0

We shouldn\u2019t be surprised that wrestling with God can leave a mark.\u00a0

For years I have looked back on a particularly difficult time in my life and winced.\u00a0The spiritual growth that sprang from those days was wonderful, and probably couldn\u2019t have happened in my life by any other means.\u00a0Still, the memories are painful.\u00a0I\u2019ve lived in the expectation that one day everything would resolve \u2013 there would be only positive recollections, with everything tied up in a bow.\u00a0

Then one day it occurred to me that maybe that\u2019s never been God\u2019s plan.\u00a0

When it comes to memories, I still limp from time to time.\u00a0But every twinge of memory is accompanied by God\u2019s reminder:\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t forget that I was with you during that long, dark night.\u00a0Remember that the morning finally came.\u00a0And I blessed you<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0

That is the message of Exodus 1:1. Read it once more: \u201cThese are the names of the sons of Israel\u00a0who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family.\u201d The sons of He Wrestles With God \u2013 the one who used to be called Grabber \u2013 are now helplessly enslaved in Egypt. They have no hope of deliverance.

But they are crying out to God. And the God who is willing to wrestle with his people has heard every prayer and is at last going to save them.

Are you in a wrestling match with God?

Don\u2019t let go.<\/em>

Life\u2019s hardest moments may leave you with a limp, but you will never walk straighter and taller.\u00a0
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unfortunately, it was not possible to make a podcast recording of today’s\u00a0reflection.\u00a0 \u00a0Each day this month we\u2019re looking closely at one of the 1:1 verses of the Bible \u2013 exploring what we can learn from chapter one \/ verse one of various Old and New Testament books. Exodus 1:1 \u201cThese are the names of the sons of Israel\u00a0who went to… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1029,1032,1033],"class_list":["post-5014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-11-series","tag-jacob","tag-wrestling-with-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5014"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5016,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5014\/revisions\/5016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}