GOD WRESTLES WITH JACOB

Genesis 32:1-33:11, Key Verse 32:28

“Your name will no longer be called Jacob but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

As you know, Abraham was a man of faith. Isaac was a man of giving in. But Jacob was a man of struggle. In Paddan Aram, he struggled with his uncle Laban for 20 years. First, he struggled for the sake of a woman. In the course of his struggle, God blessed him with not only Rachel, but with 4 wives and 11 sons. Second, he struggled for wealth. He worked hard and used all his skill, but still he would have failed. But God protected and blessed him and he won. Again, victory was costly. He had to leave Paddan Aram. He fled, but his father-in-law caught him. 

But God was with him and Laban let him go peacefully. So Jacob left behind him his angry father-in-law and former boss and continued his pilgrimage back to Canaan and his father's house. God was working in these events to train Jacob and to bring him back to the land God had given his forefathers. More than this, God was waiting for the opportunity to change Jacob into a spiritual man. Jacob had struggled with man and won. Now he had to struggle with God.

Part I: The God of Manhanaim (32:1-21)

After departing from Laban, Jacob was going back to his homeland, but as he came closer to the land, a great burden seized his heart – the burden of facing his brother Esau. It was 20 years ago when he had deceived Esau and stolen his blessing, but now he had to face the consequence of his sin. As he went on his way, two camps of God’s angels met him. Jacob should have said, “Wow!” and had confidence of God’s protection. But he simply named that place “Mahanaim”, which means, “two camps”, and went on. Even though he met not only one or two angels, but two camps of angels, nothing happened in his heart because he was completely preoccupied with the thought of seeing Esau’s angry face. 

In order to know if Esau still was harboring a grudge against him or not, Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to Esau. But the messengers brought him back a terrible answer from Esau. Look at verse 6. “When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” “With 400 men!” “Why with 400 men?” Jacob thought that surely Esau was coming with 400 men to destroy him and his whole household. How did Jacob deal with this coming disaster? He did three things. 

First, he divided his group into two to save the second in case the first would be attacked (7). Second, he prayed to God for help, which he had never done for the last 20 years (9). Jacob’s prayer is so good and makes many excellent points and even talks about God’s promises to Jacob. However, the prayer didn’t comfort him or bring confidence in his situation. His heart was still filled with distress. Third, he sent many gifts, 540 animals in all. He was gift bombing. This tactic was Jacob’s best attempt to solve his problem. Probably for a short time he felt at ease and thought, “Yeah, it will work…I know it will work.” 

As you know, Jacob was a man of noble character, he was faithful and hard-working and strove to get what he wanted. But this character and value system drove him to be a fighter, deceiver and a liar. He hurt others as he strove to get his blessings. When he got what he wanted, he felt good, but others felt hurt and angry with Jacob. Jacob was destined to face the consequences of his actions. So far he was like a hit-and-run baseball player. But now he had to pay the price of his own past life, the price of his sin, and it was coming in the form of Esau’s wrath.

Part II: The God of Peniel (32:22-31)

After working hard to avoid the consequences of betraying Esau, how did Jacob feel? Look at verses 22-24. “That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Although Jacob tried 3 different tactics to relieve his anxiety such as splitting the groups, prayer, and gift bombing, he still could not find peace. In verse 22, Jacob “got up”, showing that he had tried to go to bed, but he could not. 

So what did he do? He took his wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River. He wanted to be alone. Now even all his possessions and his big family were burdensome. In the past, they were the symbol of his success in the world, but now it became only a source of burden. So there was Jacob, all alone, embracing his agony and fear by himself. It was the time for him to stand before God. Verse 24 reads: “So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Who was ‘a man’ who wrestled with Jacob? It was the LORD. When Jacob was in deep agony, when Jacob was fighting this lonely battle all by himself, God visited him and wrestled with him. 

It was time for Jacob to give up, collapse and surrender. But once the man showed up, Jacob wrestled with him until daybreak. Jacob never wanted to lose or give in to anything; it was Jacob’s character. Jacob was the only person with whom God had to wrestle with even in the form of human flesh because he was a difficult type to change. Jacob had been driven to the corner many times before, but still he had never given up. Now he was driven to the corner again. But still he did not give up on himself. In great fear and anxiety, in great agony and distress, he was fighting and struggling, even with God. He was a slave to his own cursed nature. He could not but struggle. We all want to give up on this kind of person.

But how did God help him? Look at verse 25; “When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.” The LORD had to touch Jacob’s hip and wrench it in order to break him down. Jacob’s wrenched socket represents his broken stubbornness and strong will power. Then finally Jacob collapsed. It was only by God's grace that Jacob could stop his fighting and surrender before God. So many people are like Jacob, blindly pursuing worthless things. God drives them to the corner where they have to surrender and give up on themselves and on their lives in this world. God wrestles with them until they collapse and surrender. When they are released from the grip of their cursed sinful desire and nature, God changes them into spiritual and humble men and women of God. 

After this, the man said in verse 26, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Jacob was familiar with blessings—his father’s blessing, a beautiful wife Rachel, sons, and worldly wealth. But now he realized that such things were not true blessings. He begged God for a totally different kind of blessing. Hosea 12:4 says that at that time, Jacob wept and begged for God’s favor. He realized that true blessings come from God in the form of internal spiritual blessings not external physical ones. How did God respond to his tearful cry? Look at verses 27-28. “The man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered. Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.’" 

Why did God ask Jacob his name? Did not God know his name already? What was the point of asking a question that was so obvious? This kind of question God often uses to bring things to the surface. When Adam was hiding among the trees, God said, “Adam, where are you?” When Cain committed the horrific crime of murdering his brother, God asked, “Where is your brother Abel?” In all three cases the LORD knew the answer, but he asked the question to make them think. The question “what is your name” really was asking, “who are you?” God was bringing to the surface Jacob’s lifelong problem. He responded, “Jacob” but at that point the meaning of his name struck him harder than it ever did before. 

Why? It was because “Jacob” means “he grasps the heal”—he was a “grabber” which figuratively means a “deceiver.” There, at the Jabbok River, Jacob realized his sinful character to grab things from others; there he finally found his true self. Before Jacob might have thought that he was a pretty good guy with a good work ethic. But now he found himself nothing but a grabber and deceiver. His sinful nature had been working in him so powerfully that Jacob could not but be a deceiver and an extraordinary selfish person. Jacob must have despaired at that moment when he saw that he was a hopeless and helpless sinner. 

Jacob finally broke down at the feet of God. Then God blessed him saying, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” God's blessing upon Jacob was to change his name into Israel. Its meaning is that God took away his cursed sinful nature of Jacob—greedy and selfish struggling with men, and gave him a new blessed nature of Israel—struggling with God. God freed him and gave him a new name, “Israel,” a new personality to struggle with God. It is amazing grace to be free from one’s innate nature and be a new person with a blessed character. 

What is the true blessing God wants to give us? Being rich is blessing. Establishing a dream family is another. Worldwide fame is still another. So all people are chasing after these things, and when they finally acquire what they have pursued, they feel proud and victorious, but when they do not have, they feel insecure and unhappy. But as we see Jacob’s plea to God, “I will not let you go unless you bless me,” these things are not true blessings. True blessing is not what we grab by our own struggles; rather, it is from God. It is not of what we have, but of what we are. 

Abraham, the grandfather of Jacob had no son, so to him, having a son was God’s blessing. So he pursued it expecting that if he lived for God, God would give him many sons. But God said to him, “I am your very great reward!” (Gen 15:1) What Abraham wanted was a son as the reward of his life of faith, but what God wanted to give to him as his reward was God himself, meaning that Abraham’s inner person would be changed that he would be like God in thoughts, words and actions. Now, in today’s passage, when Jacob begged God for true blessing, God changed his inner person from the person of Jacob into a person of Israel. 

Yes! The true blessing was about his inner person change. Usually many people don’t like who they are or what they have become. They wish they were different. They want to start all over again as a new person, if it were ever possible. But nothing can change us. Nothing can set us free from who we are. But in today’s passage, God set Jacob free from his inborn nature of grasping character and gave him a new character of struggling with God. Jacob experienced freedom from the bondage. How happy he was! God’s real blessing is to be a changed person, free from bondage to sinful nature.

As we serve God’s flock as Bible teachers, we go through many ups and downs; we taste many glorious victories and painful failures. But through all these, God is molding our inner persons to be God’s holy children. God is molding us to be real good Bible teachers who live for others like Jesus. We were selfish, self-centered, and self-seeking; we were worldly and sinful, but as we follow Jesus and serve His flock, He changes us into holy, righteous and sacrificial shepherds like Jesus. Right now, our thoughts, words and actions are not like those of Jesus Christ; in many ways, we are not like God’s holy children, but when we remain in Jesus, he cleanses and purifies us from all undesirable things in our hearts and lives so that we can be real princes and princesses of the kingdom of God. On that day, God’s glory will be revealed in and through us very well. This is the real blessing God wants to give us.

Look at verse 29. In his amazement, Israel asked the LORD, “What is your name?” But the LORD was not impressed by this question and just blessed Israel instead. In verse 30, Jacob recognized that because of his terrible character, he should have been thrown away by the Holy God, but he was spared and shown grace, so he called that place “Peniel,” which means “face of God.” Look at verse 31, “The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel and he was limping because of his hip.” This verse shows us the beautiful rising sun on Jacob’s heart after meeting God personally. The presence of God rose in his heart and shined on his life like the sun. When he met God personally at the Jabbok River, and when he was changed into Israel, all burdens and fear disappeared in his heart; darkness was defeated, and the bright sun rose in his heart. He was wounded in his hip, but this battle scar was the sign of his struggle with God. Israel’s descendants honored Jacob’s struggle by not eating the tendon. 

Part III: The Meeting with Esau (33:1-11)

So what happened to Esau and Jacob? Jacob encounter with Esau did not turn out sour, but very sweet. As Jacob bowed down to Esau, Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. How old were they at that time? Both of them were 60 years old. Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” Esau asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” Then Jacob introduced the Zilpah, Bilha, and all their children, as well as Leah and her children, finally Rachel was presented to Esau with Joseph (7). 

Surely Esau was happy to see his brother’s fruitfulness, however, there was one question remaining, “What do you mean by all these droves I met?” Jacob explained that they were a gift for Esau. Esau and Jacob went back and forth, “you take…no you take…no, please I insist, you take it.” Finally, Jacob said, “Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” What an amazing statement it was for the blessing craving Jacob to say, “I have all I need.” It is no mistake that Jacob was content in his life once he met God at the Jabbok river and said, “I have all I need.” 

*Conclusion: Through today’s passage, we learned that God helped Jacob to discover himself. For the first time Jacob found himself as a selfish deceiver. Jacob was ready for a new name and a changed character. One who struggles with men becomes proud and fearful if he wins; he despairs if he loses. But one who struggles with God lives life on a different level. Not only was Jacob's name changed into Israel; his inner life and character were also changed. He began a new life as a spiritual man. He walked with a limp, but his face was shining like the face of God. My God is the God of Jacob, who drove me to the corner so that I could give up on myself. When I gave upon my life, God began to change me into a spiritual person. May God help each of us not struggle with men but struggle with God so that we all may be changed into spiritual and humble men of God!