Read with Me
Genesis 32:22-32 (HCSB)
During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his 11 sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions.
Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that He could not defeat him, He struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. Then He said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”
“What is your name?” the man asked.
“Jacob,” he replied.
“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” He said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.”
But He answered, “Why do you ask My name?” And He blessed him there.
Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “and I have been delivered.” The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel—limping because of his hip. That is why, to this day, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because He struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.
Listen with Me
Jacob found himself at a major crossroads in his life. He was more than ninety years old at this point and had started for home from Haran a rich man, anticipating a warm welcome from his family whom he had left more than twenty years earlier. Now his brother, Esau, was headed his way with a small army of 400 men, doubtless bent on revenge for Jacob’s usurpation of his blessing.
Jacob sent his family and his flocks and herds to the far side of the Jabbok River to put some distance and a barrier between them and Esau’s army. That left him alone on Esau’s side of the river to face him alone if he came at night.
But it wasn’t Esau who came. Instead, a man who Jacob did not know came striding into the clearing where Jacob was sitting near a fire. Believing that this was an advanced scout for Esau, Jacob attacked him to keep him from reaching his family.
But the man fought back, and a long wrestling match ensued. Jacob was strong and determined, but he seemed to be evenly matched by the stranger, so neither one succeeded in overcoming the other as the night passed.
As they fought, it suddenly occurred to Jacob that this was no ordinary man. He entertained the idea that this could be a guardian spirit into whose realm he had accidentally strayed. But if that was the case, winning the match could provide Jacob with several benefits, not the least of which would be the blessing and support of whoever this was.
As the sky to the east showed signs of brightening, the man suddenly delivered a powerful blow to Jacob’s leg, dislocating his hip. Jacob was momentarily stunned by the pain. He could no longer fight the man, but even so, he tenaciously refused to let go of him, despite the man’s command to do so.
Jacob didn’t want to lose the opportunity to receive a blessing from whoever this was he had struggled with through the long night hours. The man stopped fighting and asked Jacob his name, to which Jacob readily replied. Then the man gave Jacob a new name., Israel, which meant “God struggles”. The explanation was that Jacob had fought against both God and people, and with God’s help he had prevailed. By this pronouncement, God was not only taking credit for his victory over Laban, but he was also informing Jacob that he had already won over Esau.
Jacob’s mind went back to the story he had heard about how God had changed his grandfather’s name from Abram to Abraham, and Sarai’ name to Sarah just before He had enabled the 89-year-old Sarah to conceive his father, Isaac. So, he asked the stranger what his name was. He now had it in his mind that this was no local guardian spirit, but the Lord himself.
But the stranger refused to give Jacob, now Israel, his own name. Instead, He gave him the blessing that he had asked for earlier and then disappeared, leaving Jacob sore, lame, and more than a little fearful of what had transpired.
Just as he had called the place of his earlier encounter with God Bethel, or House of God, Jacob now called this place Peniel, or Face of God, because he recognized that it was God with whom he had wrestled and argued all night. He had seen God face to face and had survived the encounter.
One interesting note is that, unlike Abraham, who began going by his new name immediately, Jacob did not generally go by his new name, Israel, treating it instead more like a title than a name. So, throughout the rest of Genesis, Moses frequently refers to him as Jacob, even after this encounter.
Pray with Me
Father, this encounter with You left Jacob permanently changed. The clear implication was that he walked with a limp for the rest of his life, and that he probably had a lot of physical pain as a result. But at the same time, he came to understand that You were more than a vision, more than an idea or a theology. You were real enough to make yourself physically present and to even wrestle with him, and ultimately to disable him. And of course, it became readily apparent that even though You implied to Jacob that he had gained victory over You, it was actually You who had won. Lord, help me to never wrestle with You – that only leads to harm. Instead, help me to walk with You, and to accommodate myself and my plans to Your will. Amen