Genesis
Genesis 32:22-32
This passage starts out with Jacob and his family trying to settle in for a night’s rest before meeting Esau and his army of 400 men in the morning. Jacob was very self-reliant and, as we have seen thus far, was always trying to work things out himself. One of the issues faced when trying to be self-reliant is that we tend to be blind to the fact that we, ourselves, need help. If we look back over Jacob’s prayers, we see them centered around “Lord, change my circumstance,” and not very much of “Lord, change me.” If we pray for God to only change our situations, but not change us, it tends to foster repeat behavior.
Jacob has been encountering everyone in his life, except God. Jacob has had encounters with his father, mother, uncle, wives, servants, and the list goes on and on. Jacob doesn’t look to encounter God for himself, so God decided to come down and encounter Jacob. In verse 24, it says that “a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day…” but this was not a man. Maybe this was an angel, maybe this was an Old Testament appearance of Jesus. Jacob later said that he “saw the face of God and lived.” For now, let’s just say it was an angel. Jacob wrestled with this angel until daybreak. So determined to hold on to his deception and self-reliant ways, that it took wrestling all night for him to let it go. Our initial response to this may be, “Come on, Jacob, it took God dealing with you all night for you to wake up and realize that you need Him?” Good question. Next question…how long have we been wrestling? How long have we been holding on to something that is keeping us from a more intimate relationship with the Lord, but we just refuse to let it go?
Verse 25 tells us that after wrestling all night, the angel saw that he had not prevailed against Jacob. The reason that Jacob (along with you and me) has prevailed so long in our disobedience is not because we are capable, but because God is merciful. The angel touched, literally touched, the thigh of Jacob, and it dislocated. Why was this the finishing move? Why did this particular injury stop the fight? God knew that Jacob was a self-reliant man and one who could accomplish things on his own without seeking the Lord for wisdom. So, to remind Jacob that he needed God every minute of every day, his hip. From that moment forward, every time Jacob put one foot in front of the other and felt that brief but sharp pain, there was a reminder: I need Him. I need Him. I need Him.
The angel goes on to tell Jacob to let him go because dawn was breaking. Why was this significant? Maybe because when they were fighting at night, there was no light pollution, and Jacob could not see the angel. Now that the sun is about to come up, Jacob would be able to see with whom he had been wrestling. And, if no one can see the face of God and live [1], maybe this was more than an angel. Jacob tells the angel that he will not let go until he blesses him. The angel changes his name from Jacob to Israel. This is so significant. We must understand that we cannot conquer much of anything until God conquers us. Jacob had been conquered, and his name was changed. But more than that, those names carried meaning. Those names were an introduction to who you were. Jacob (deceiver) was changed to Israel (God contends). Jacob wasn’t perfect after this encounter, but you see, his relationship with God changed.
What can we draw from this passage? A blessing isn’t always something that God gives, sometimes it’s what God takes from us. Yes, God gives us the fruit of the Spirit so we can flourish. He also prunes the vine to keep us healthy. It’s easy to see the blessings that He gives, can we also see the things He’s taken that have been a blessing? The taking, the pruning, the shearing…it’s uncomfortable and it hurts. I know. However, we would do better as Israel with a limp than as Jacob with a healthy stride.
This is the Bible. Every word whispers the name Jesus!
By Pastor Barry Ginn
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[1] Exodus 33:20