Genesis 32
22But during the night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, two concubines, and eleven sons across the Jabbok River. 23After they were on the other side, he sent over all his possessions. 24This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. 25When the man saw that he couldn’t win the match, he struck Jacob’s hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket. 26Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is dawn.”
But Jacob panted, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27“What is your name?” the man asked.
He replied, “Jacob.”
28“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “It is now Israel, [Israel means “God struggles” or “one who struggles with God.”] because you have struggled with both God and men and have won.”
29“What is your name?” Jacob asked him.
“Why do you ask?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
30Jacob named the place Peniel—“face of God”—for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” 31The sun rose as he left Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32That is why even today the people of Israel don’t eat meat from near the hip, in memory of what happened that night. (Genesis 32:22-32, NLT)
The Daily DAVEotional
The book of Genesis is rich collection of narrative stories that outline the rise and birth of the Jewish nation.
In this segment of Scripture, Jacob has just fled from his Uncle Laban, with whom he had spent 20 years serving. Their relationship had cooled considerably and Jacob ends up making a quick, hasty and unannounced departure because he fears Laban and what he might do once he learns Jacob is intent on leaving.
With Laban in his rear-view mirror, Jacob is now about to face his brother Esau, whom he had fled 20 years prior. The last time he saw his brother, Jacob had tricked his father into blessing him with the blessing that was supposed to go to Esau. As a result, Esau was intent on killing Jacob, which was the primary reason Jacob ended up with his uncle Laban in the first place.
As you can imagine, Jacob is experiencing a lot of uncertainty and anxiety in his life, with close personal relatives who don’t exactly like him threatening him with physical, bodily harm.
Jacob has done all he can do to try to strategically disarm the situation with Esau but he still doesn’t know if it will be enough. Jacob has sent his loved ones across the river and he is now all alone in the camp. It’s at this point that he has a physical encounter with the angel of the Lord.
One has to wonder what this encounter is all about and what it means. Why would the angel of the Lord come and physically wrestle with Jacob?
I think the encounter Jacob had, though real, is also symbolic of the encounter we all have. For Jacob, his struggle was not really with Laban, nor was it with Esau. His struggle was with God and this encounter essentially brought Jacob to the end of himself.
I was a wrestler in high school so I know a bit about the sport. High school, collegiate and Olympic wrestling is NOTHING like the wrestling you see on TV, which is mostly staged entertainment. By contrast, olympic style wrestling is a grueling and physically demanding sport that is all about control. Each participant seeks to control his or her opponent and is awarded points based on the different levels of control that occur.
If you think about it in this context, one can imagine that this wrestling match Jacob had with the angel of the Lord was a struggle for CONTROL. Jacob had had encounters with God before, but this encounter essentially was a wrestling match for Jacob’s personal identity and destiny.
As Jacob struggles with God, the encounter is essentially a stale-mate, signifying Jacob’s stubborn refusal to relent and submit. However, the man (the angel of the Lord) disables Jacob at the hip, showing that as much as we might resist God, He is ultimately superior to us and at any time, He can disable us. He is sovereign.
Finally, Jacob asks the man to bless him. I think this demonstrates Jacob’s ultimate desire to know and be known by God – to finally submit to God’s desires and plans.
What’s interesting about this is that God’s blessing of Jacob is a demarcation point in the identity and destiny of Jacob. God tells Jacob that He is changing his name. No longer will he be known as Jacob, which literally means “grasper of the heal” or figuratively, “deceiver”. Instead, Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, which means “God’s Warrior”.
Jacob ends up in an all-night wrestling match with God for control of his life. The struggle ends the following morning with Jacob’s identity and his destiny literally changed forever.
It’s doubtful that any of us will have a physical wrestling match with the angel of the Lord. But our struggle for meaning, purpose, direction and identity is real nonetheless.
We each struggle with who we are going to become and whom we are going to serve. God has plans and desires for us and He promises that if we follow Him and His ways, we can experience fullness of life spiritually.
But the struggle for control is real. Our sinful nature prompts us to rebel against God and go our own way, seeking to carve our own path. This often leads to brokenness and heartache as sin often does. And it ultimately separates us from the one who desires to bless us, just as He blessed Jacob.
Reflection
When have you struggled for control of your life with God? What were the circumstances? What was the outcome?
What are some areas in your life that you struggle to yield control to the Lord?
Jacob was given a new identity and a new destiny. As followers of Christ, the Bible says that we have a new identity and a new spiritual destiny. What is your understanding of the identity and destiny that we have as followers of Christ?
What keeps you or hinders you from fully experiencing and living out of the identity and destiny that God wants for you as a follower of Christ?
God gave Jacob a limp, I think, to remind him of his frailty and need to depend on God instead of himself. What are some ways God reminds you of your limitations and need to trust God instead of depending on yourself?
Photo by Aqib Shahid: https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-wrestling-in-mud-5217427/