My son is fortunate to be 12. He’ll be blessed to make 13 in August. He is all motion and noise. Occasionally, he wants to wrestle or mess with me. I’ll wrestle to a point. Let him think he’s getting one over on me, and then I take him down much to my delight. I know there will come a day he will tower over me, but for now, I’m enjoying this bit of angst. He starts these wrestling bits because he wants my attention, connection and contact with me.
He also likes to arm wrestle me. He’s ambidextrous, so when he can’t beat me with one arm, he tries with the other to no avail. It doesn’t matter how many times I beat him, he comes back for more. He is tenacious.
I’ve been studying and stewing over Genesis 32:24-32 where Jacob wrestles with the Man. I’d like to try to unpack some of it and go deep. Care to come along?
The first four words catch my attention –“Jacob was left alone”. How many times has God pulled us aside, all alone to deal with us? God does not share His glory with anyone (Isaiah 42:8). He wants our undivided attention. He doesn’t want us multitasking during our time with Him.
Sometimes God gets us alone because we have some stuff to work out.
Then we see a man wrestled with Jacob throughout the night until daybreak. Many believe this man was Jesus. Whether it was Jesus or an angel of God, the man started wrestling with Jacob. Jacob didn’t start the wrestling match. It wasn’t Jacob wanting something. It was the man. What was he wanting?
Did he want Jacob to surrender his pride, his strength?
Jacob physically wrestled all night. Jacob was tenacious. He was not giving in. He was not giving up. He endured in his own strength. This says a lot about Jacob. Then the messenger from Yahweh has enough and strikes Jacob’s hip socket. Truth is the man could have hit Jacob’s hip socket in the first minute of the struggle. Struggle would have been over and done – BAM! But he didn’t.
Why did he let the struggle continue through the night?
Have you ever struggled with God?
Have you ever tried to convince God your way was better?
Have you ever argued with God? (I won’t go into the whole, “How did that work out?” thing.)
Ever struggle with addiction – shopping, food, lack of discipline, spending, alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex, etc? Ever think, “I got this” or “I don’t have a problem”?
How about pride and being self-sufficient instead of relying on God – ever struggle with those?
Ever struggle with the need to be in control instead of allowing God to handle every facet or every situation?
Have you ever struggled with God when you were in darkness and not in the light?
(Like I said, I’ve been studying and stewing. He’s been walking on my toes, kicking my shins, etc.)
The man tells Jacob, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.” (v 26)
There’s only so long God will wrestle with us.
There’s only so much God will allow before He says “enough.”
But Jacob, being the stubborn one he is, says, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.” Hosea 12:3-5 says Jacob was crying when he made this plea.
“Jacob has been reduced to the place where all he can do is hold on to the LORD with everything he has. Jacob can’t fight anymore, but he can hold on. Not a bad place to be.” (David Guzik commentary – blueletterbible.org) OH HOW I LOVE THIS! Jacob had come to the end of himself. He had nothing in him with which to fight, and all he could do was hold on to God. If you get nothing else out of this post, this is huge.
Jacob had wrestled with God and lost…like anyone wins when they argue with God. And even though Jacob wrestled with God, He wasn’t angry with Jacob. He didn’t lose His temper with Jacob. I am so thankful for this.
The man asks for his name. If you were given a name based on your character, what would your name be? Mine would be “oxen noggin” – bull headed. Jacob’s name means con-man, sneaky, cheater, conniving, and boy, did he live up to his name.
Then the man gives Jacob a new name, a new moniker, a new character, a new reputation. He gives Jacob the name “Israel” meaning “God rules.” God had ruled over Jacob/Israel in the wrestling match. He would rule over the rest of his days too.
At some point in our lives, our name changes.
· Sinner to Saint
· Lost to Found
· Convicted to Redeemed
· Transgressor to Saved
· Offender to Forgiven
· Guilty to Glorified
· Good-for-nothing to Adopted Child of the One true King, coheir with Jesus
· Reprobate to Rewarded
· Scoundrel to Consecrated
· Trespasser to Reconciled
· Wretch to Converted
· Evildoer to Born-again
· Wrongdoer to Atoned
Are you done struggling with God, with the journey He has you on? Are you to the point where you can no longer fight but only hold on to God? Then there’s no better place to be. Now it’s time you take the name you’ve been given by your Abba Father and live out its meaning in every area of your life. Time to get after it. Go.