Brokenness: The pathway to blessing
Normally, when something breaks it loses value. For example, a collision decreases the worth of an automobile, and a shattered keepsake is remorsefully discarded as a total loss. Within the physical realm, the laws of nature work to depreciate the value of our possessions, but this is not so in the spiritual realm—in fact, the opposite is true. Scripture poses a number of metaphoric examples to show that, in God’s reckoning, objects, and especially people, become more valuable for service after being broken. Each of the following examples testifies of what can be accomplished in the believer’s life through brokenness.
To know meaning in life
The donkey’s colt, which had never been saddled, became instantly broken in the presence of the Lord Jesus (Lk. 19:30). Through brokenness, the colt learned God’s purpose for its life and fulfilled it: he was to carry Messiah down the Mount of Olives before a cheering crowd. It is when we are broken before God that we will be able to learn of Him and, like the colt, find true meaning in life: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt. 11:28-30).
To offer acceptable worship
Only days before the Lord would be crucified, Mary took a stone flask of spikenard, broke it open, and anointed the Lord Jesus with its precious contents (Jn. 12:1-11). As the ointment was very costly, some criticized the action as being wasteful, but the Lord was refreshed by her expression of devotion. “Let her alone; for the day of My burial has she kept this” (Jn. 12:7). The vessel which contained the spikenard had to be broken to effect worship and the same is true for the believer: “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
To be fruitful
Under his ephod, the high priest wore a blue sleeveless robe which hung down below his knees. Pomegranates, which rattle when dried, and gold bells were to be attached to the bottom hem (Ex. 28:33). The rattling of pomegranates and tinkling of gold bells spoke of Christ’s continual intercessory work on behalf of believers before the throne of grace. The result of this ministry enables believers to be fruitful (as typified by the pomegranates which were full of seeds) and to have a clear testimony of Him in the world (as pictured in the pure gold bells). Yet, for the pomegranate to be fruitful, its hard shell had to be broken in order to release its seeds; if no seeds are planted, there will not be any fruit to come. What it was previously ceased to exist in order to experience God’s creative power and fruitfulness. The same principle is true for the believer.
To have a testimony
Gideon was to attack a vast host of Midianites with merely 300 men armed only with trumpets and torches (Jdg. 7:9-22). The torches were to be hidden in jars which were to be broken on command to let the light shine beyond the jars’ confines. The trumpets were blown and 300 torches shone brightly on the hillsides. Mass confusion swept the camp of the enemy, so much so that they slaughtered each other. Just as the torches shone forth their light after the jars were broken, the believer’s testimony for Christ becomes more intensely brilliant through brokenness.
To be sanctified
Jehoshaphat was a good king, but he had a tendency of associating with wicked people. He aligned himself with evil Ahab to recapture a religious city, and the endeavor almost cost Jehoshaphat his life. Later, he entered into a joint venture with Ahab’s son Ahaziah to sail ships to Ophir for gold; however, God would not have His man fraternizing with the enemy, so He broke up all the ships (2 Chron. 20:35-37). Because the ships were destroyed, the unnatural union Jehoshaphat had with the world was severed, and Jehoshaphat’s only recourse was to draw near to God. Often the Lord will bring us into painful situations to pry us out of the world’s grip. God hates worldliness in the believer’s life and will take drastic measures to ensure that the believer feels His jealousy (Jas. 4:4).
The lesson posed by these broken items is that the believer must be broken to know meaning in life, to offer true worship, to be fruitful, to have a powered testimony, and to be disillusioned with a corrupt world. Spiritually speaking, God puts a premium on broken things, especially on the brokenness of His people: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Ps. 34:18). Perhaps there is no greater example of this truth than in God’s dealings with the patriarch Jacob.
Brokenness in the life of Jacob
One of the most significant events in Jacob’s life occurred while en route to Bethel from Padanaram. God had graciously intervened to rescue Jacob from Laban, but now Esau was approaching with 400 armed men. The news of Esau’s approach unnerved Jacob (Gen. 32:7). So what did Jacob do? Did he pray or cry out to God for help? No, not at first. Rather, Jacob chose to manage the situation himself and meet imminent danger by his own devices. It was only after Jacob finished his planning that he prayed to God for deliverance. On this matter of dependency, C. H. Mackintosh writes, “We must be really brought to the end of everything with which self has aught to do; for until then God cannot show Himself. But we can never get to the end of our plans until we have been brought to the end of ourselves.”1
On the eve of confronting Esau, Jacob isolated himself from his family to fret alone. The Lord, incognito, visited Jacob (Hos. 12:3; Gen. 32:32). Apparently, nothing was said, but the Lord initiated a wrestling match with Jacob, and Jacob was obliged to wrestle the unidentified man all night (Gen. 32:24-25). Both the Lord and Jacob desired something from the other. Jacob, nearly 100 years old, wanted a blessing from the Lord. The Lord wanted Jacob to be broken and yielded before Him.
The Lord could have “pinned” Jacob at any time but did not choose to do so. The Lord was patient with Jacob and was willing to wrestle the whole night with him. What was the Lord’s purpose in this activity? It was certainly not to defeat or destroy Jacob, but rather to teach him to be yielded and broken before Him. If the Lord has ever wrestled with the reader, it is for the same purpose: to obtain brokenness in order to bless you.
By divine skill, Jacob was crippled, making wrestling very difficult and painful (Gen. 32:32). Jacob, being disabled, resorted to the only tactic he had left, holding on to the Lord with all his might. It was at this moment that Jacob was blessed by God. Jacob had sent his family over the brook Jabbok while he remained on the other side alone.
Ironically, Jabbok means “he will empty.” Once Jacob’s will had been broken and his self-dependence emptied, he became a vessel fit for God’s use. That day, Jacob received a new name, Israel, and a new walk, or rather a limp. The pain and the loss of mobility would be a constant reminder that he had wrestled with God and that God had won! The Lord will never harm us, but He may hurt us so that we relinquish control of our lives to Him, the result of which is our fruitfulness and His glory. In closing, let us contemplate Jacob’s words to the Lord: “I will not let thee go” (Gen. 32:26). Jacob had sought to be alone in misery, but after embracing the Lord, his soul clung to His presence and he was blessed.
Endnote
1 C. H. Mackintosh, Genesis to Deuteronomy (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., 1972), p.?122.