Topical Series

The Jacob Enigma

No. Sermon Title
01 God Loves WHO?
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02 Flesh Sells Out And Caves In
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03 Jacob's Unconscious Encounter
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04 Getting The Blessing
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Recommended Reading


Israel: A Prince With God

From F.B. Meyer's outstanding Biblical biographies series of the great men of faith, here is the challenging story of Jacob, who God named Israel. His re-telling of the life of Jacob is an exciting and rewarding read. You will gain many helpful insights and spiritual lessons as you read and digest these pages written by a master of the spiritual life.

The life of Israel vividly reveals the redemptive power of God in any person. Jacob, the trickster, supplanter and conniver became 'Israel: A Prince with God'. F.B. Meyer does not hide or try to explain away Jacob's imperfections; instead, Meyer uses them to illustrate the transformative work of God over the life of a man as difficult as Jacob. Jacob, who wrestled all night with God, stole his brother's birthright and blessing and bargained a fortune and a wife from Laban, God renamed 'Israel: a prince with God'.

There is comfort to us in Jacob's imperfections. They reveal that 'the love of God is not determined by what it finds in man', and that 'the saints of Bible story were men of like passions with ourselves; and if God was able to shape materials so rough into vessels so fair, there is hope that He will not fail nor be discouraged until He has done the like for us'.

Meyer states that: 'There was too much self-hood in Jacob; as there is in us. This must be broken down, and put in the place of death. The I-life must be crucified before the Christ-life can take its place. The sinews of the old nature must be utterly shriveled; that the new nature, whose only strength is to cling, may be manifested in power'.

One of the greatly loved preachers of his day, Frederick Brotherton Meyer was a pastor, author, Bible teacher and evangelist. He was born in London in 1847 and grew up in a Christian home. In 1895 he went to Christ Church in London, with only 100 attending. Within two years he was preaching regularly to over 2,000. He remained there for fifteen years and then began a ministry of conference preaching and evangelism, travelling to South Africa and the Far East on mission endeavours. He returned to England to pastor for several years before he died in 1929.