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The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, March 3
Genesis 32:24-30
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of
Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Jeremiah 30:7
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When Christ shall cease His work as mediator in man’s behalf, then this time
of trouble will begin. Then the case of every soul will have been decided, and
there will be no atoning blood to cleanse from sin....
Then the restraining Spirit of God is withdrawn from the earth. As Jacob
was threatened with death by his angry brother, so the people of God will be in
peril from the wicked who are seeking to destroy them. And as the patriarch
wrestled all night for deliverance from the hand of Esau, so the righteous will
cry to God day and night for deliverance from the enemies that surround them....
When in his distress Jacob laid hold of the Angel, and made supplication
with tears, the heavenly Messenger, in order to try his faith, also reminded him
of his sin, and endeavored to escape from him. But Jacob would not be turned
away. He had learned that God is merciful, and he cast himself upon His mercy.
He pointed back to his repentance for his sin, and pleaded for deliverance. As
he reviewed his life, he was driven almost to despair; but he held fast the Angel,
and with earnest, agonizing cries urged his petition until he prevailed.
Such will be the experience of God’s people in their final struggle with the
powers of evil. God will test their faith, their perseverance, their confidence in
His power to deliver them. Satan will endeavor to terrify them with the thought
that their cases are hopeless; that their sins have been too great to receive pardon.
They will have a deep sense of their shortcomings, and as they review their lives
their hopes will sink. But remembering the greatness of God’s mercy, and their
own sincere repentance, they will plead His promises made through Christ to
helpless, repenting sinners. Their faith will not fail because their prayers are not
immediately answered. They will lay hold of the strength of God, as Jacob laid
hold of the Angel, and the language of their souls will be, “I will not let thee go,
except thou bless me.
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Patriarchs and Prophets, 201, 202
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