Jacob Wrestles with God
A life-changing event.
Crippled and Blessed
Genesis 32:22-32 (NLT)
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. 23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.
24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. 25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”
But Jacob said, “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. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”
29 “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.
“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. 32 (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.)
Examine the Scriptures
Review:
Genesis 32:9-12 (NLT)
9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ 10 I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! 11 O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. 12 But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”
Genesis 32:22-32 (NLT)
Jacob Wrestles with God
Crippled and Blessed
22 During the night
In the dark of night.
It’s not uncommon for people to use the cover of night to escape from harmful situations.
Acts 17:5 & 10 (NLT)
5 But some of the Jews (in Thessalonica) were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd …
10 That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.
- It’s not uncommon for people to use the cover of night to escape from harmful situations.
Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them.
Refer to the map.
23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.
- Jacob is coming back into the Promised Land.
This is more than just meeting up with Esau.
Jacob is coming back home to fulfill a role assigned to him by God.
24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled
- The cover of darkness did not hide Jacob from God.
Psalm 139:11-12 (NLT)
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
Note: The man came to Jacob, Jacob did not go to the man.
Jacob had fought with others throughout his life.
Esau
His father Isaac
His father-in-law
His wives
Now he is wrestling with God, the one who controlled his destiny as he was re-entering the Promised Land.
- God is confronting Jacob.
with him until the dawn began to break.
Although initially, Jacob may not have known who he is wrestling with, he does figure out that “the man” is in fact, God. (Genesis 32:30, in multiple translations, “I have seen God face to face”.)
An angel of the Lord, also identified as God, a preincarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jacob was 97 years old, but was physically strong and had a great deal of endurance.
For a period of time, Jacob is able to defend himself from his attacker.
This fight took place in the dark.
- Big changes were about to take place in Jacob’s life.
Romans 13:12 (NLT)
The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.
Colossians 1:13 (NLT)
For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,
25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket.
God was going to “win” this match.
The “man” saw that he would not win until he supernaturally touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket.
- When our hip is out of its socket we are seriously handicapped.
Jacob was no longer a physical threat.
26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”
Relax your grip. The fight is over.
Even after being disabled, Jacob clung on to his opponent.
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Jacob wanted more than Isaac’s blessing. He wanted God’s blessing.
- Jacob wanted a blessing from God.
27 “What is your name?” the man asked.
In the Old Testament, one’s name is linked to his nature.
- Jacob had to see himself for who he was.
He replied, “Jacob.”
Holder of the heel
Deceiver
Supplanter – A supplanter takes the place of someone or something that was there first.
28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God
Israel – He strives with God and prevails, he struggles with God, or God fights. Later, the people of Israel will struggle with God.
- Jacob’s life had to be radically changed.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Up to this point, Jacob was a brazen trickster who deceives members of his own family: his father Isaac, his brother Esau, and his uncle Laban. Now we see Jacob as God’s chosen, from whom the entire people Israel derive and for whom they are named.
and with men and have won.”
Esau
His father Isaac
His father-in-law
His wives
This was the end of a lifetime of struggling with others.
29 “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.
“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied.
There is no evidence of Jacob getting an answer to his question.
Judges 13:17-18 (NLT)
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.”
18 “Why do you ask my name?” the angel of the Lord replied. “It is too wonderful for you to understand.”
Then he blessed Jacob there.
- As a result of this struggle, Jacob was both “Crippled and Blessed”.
Crippled in his natural strength and bold in his faith.
Self-sufficiency is incompatible with the work of God.
30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”
Hosea 12:4 (NLT)
4 Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won.
He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him.
There at Bethel he met God face to face,
and God spoke to him—
Exodus 33:20 (NLT)
But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.”
Others did “see” God.
Exodus 4:24 (NLT)
On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted him and was about to kill him.
Genesis 3:8-9 (NLT)
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man (Adam) and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
Genesis 18:1 (NLT)
18 The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day.
Isaiah 6:1 (NLT)
6 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I (Isaiah) saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.
- Jacob saw God face to face, yet his life was spared.
31 The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip.
Jacob’s encounter with the Angel of the Lord was actually a type of conversion. His old nature was stripped away – no longer would he be known as ‘the supplanter’, but as ‘one who struggles (and prevails) with God’.
- The God of Abraham and Isaac was becoming the God of Jacob.
32 (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.)
This is not mentioned elsewhere in the O.T. and is not a part of the Mosaic Law.
