Jacob & Wrestling Prayer
The Bible is full of characters. People whose lives would get many viewers if they were on a reality TV show. Jacob is one of these. A swindler and usurper, Jacob deceives his own father to steal the blessing of his older twin brother, Esau. In haste and fearing for his life, he takes off to his uncle's place where he ends up meeting and falling in love with his cousin. Unfortunately, tradition prevails and when he wakes up on the morning after the wedding, he is in for a surprise. As the Bible puts it: "In the morning.... It was Leah!" He does get to marry the younger sister Rachel as well but jealousy and a competitive spirit mark their home. Between the sisters and their servants, Jacob fathers 11 sons and 1 daughter. But there is trouble with his uncle's sons.... they think Jacob is tricking their Dad out of their inheritance as Jacob's flocks increase more than their. So he is on the run again, this time he goes back home.
But there is a problem, as he goes back home, he needs to confront reality.... Esau. So, in preparation, out of fear he prays to God, "O LORD please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau" (Genesis 32:11) and sends gifts for Esau. Then he gets ready:
Genesis 32
22The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone.
Jacob was now on the opposite side of the river than his family.
Alone.
On a journey 20 years since he first left home. What happens next is most unusual:
24Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” 29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
Wow! What an experience! And it has a long-term impact:
- He walks away limping because of his hip - when the wrestling was going on and on, the man saw that he wasn't winning, he injured Jacob's hip.
But that wasn't enough to deter Jacob.
The text seems to imply that at some point in the wrestling, he realized who it was that he was grabbing onto. "The man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!" But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." Somehow Jacob knows that the One he is wrestling with has authority to bless him. And that's when something very significant happens, before he is blessed by God, his name is changed: from Jacob - "supplanter" - to Israel - "the one who has striven with God. It is a much different name that Jacob.
It shows the personal and intense relationship that Jacob had with God. And how he is shaped and changed by this interaction. He is very different from the smooth-talking, sneeky Jacob we have come to know. Now:
- instead of manipulating, he is direct;
- instead of deceiving, he tells the truth
- instead of taking from others/being the weak one, he displays a tremendous amount of strength and receives both name and blessing for himself.
Jacob's wrestling with God raises some questions for me:
-How might my prayers change if I felt free to tell God what I really think? ask Him for what I really want?
-How might my faith change if I realize that it is okay to struggle but I need to not give up?
-How might my life change if I interacted with God so personally.... not keep Him at a distance? You can't wrestle someone at arm's length. It just doesn't work.
Honest, tenacious, dynamic engagement with God. This is the life of faith that Jacob models.
But there is a problem, as he goes back home, he needs to confront reality.... Esau. So, in preparation, out of fear he prays to God, "O LORD please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau" (Genesis 32:11) and sends gifts for Esau. Then he gets ready:
Genesis 32
22The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone.
Jacob was now on the opposite side of the river than his family.
Alone.
On a journey 20 years since he first left home. What happens next is most unusual:
24Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” 27So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” 29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
Wow! What an experience! And it has a long-term impact:
- He walks away limping because of his hip - when the wrestling was going on and on, the man saw that he wasn't winning, he injured Jacob's hip.
But that wasn't enough to deter Jacob.
The text seems to imply that at some point in the wrestling, he realized who it was that he was grabbing onto. "The man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!" But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." Somehow Jacob knows that the One he is wrestling with has authority to bless him. And that's when something very significant happens, before he is blessed by God, his name is changed: from Jacob - "supplanter" - to Israel - "the one who has striven with God. It is a much different name that Jacob.
It shows the personal and intense relationship that Jacob had with God. And how he is shaped and changed by this interaction. He is very different from the smooth-talking, sneeky Jacob we have come to know. Now:
- instead of manipulating, he is direct;
- instead of deceiving, he tells the truth
- instead of taking from others/being the weak one, he displays a tremendous amount of strength and receives both name and blessing for himself.
Jacob's wrestling with God raises some questions for me:
-How might my prayers change if I felt free to tell God what I really think? ask Him for what I really want?
-How might my faith change if I realize that it is okay to struggle but I need to not give up?
-How might my life change if I interacted with God so personally.... not keep Him at a distance? You can't wrestle someone at arm's length. It just doesn't work.
Honest, tenacious, dynamic engagement with God. This is the life of faith that Jacob models.
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