ETB Genesis 32:22-32

Session #7 - p.64 - Wrestled

Just ten verses in this week’s passage. God’s Word is inexhaustible, but I am not so forgive the brevity.

I disagree with the first phrase in our quarterly this week which says “Life is mostly routine.” I more of the proponent that “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.” The things that come into our lives break up the routine and very rarely create them. I do understand the intent of the statement being we often get in a rut or routine and it takes something significant or external to get us out of it.

I today’s passage, Jacob’s pattern is broken both in a literal and spiritual sense. God also gives him a new name to reflect this change.

In our culture, names don’t typically carry the significance they did in biblical times. Nevertheless, our names often convey significance in other ways. In the Old Testament world, names expressed character and essence. In Session 3 we saw Jacob live up to his name of “deceiver.” [LifeWay Adults (2024). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide, Spring 2024]

What are some other names that you have been called, or called others, based on your observations of them?

Kaye House broke her foot and was in a cast recently. After awhile she starting coming back to choir in a walking cast. She was impaired physically, but her mood was very joyous (as usual). She moved with a limp physically but it looked more like a hop to me. When we were leaving the room she stopped to let me go by. I said, “Come on, Skippy,” because that was how I saw her moving, it was much too joyous to be a limp.

Understand the Context

Following his final confrontation with Laban at Mizpah (Gen. 31), Jacob continued his homeward journey. As he traveled, God’s angels met him, and Jacob named the place Mahanaim (32:1-2). The name means “two camps” and might have referred to Jacob’s camp and Esau’s camp or to the camps that Jacob set up for his family (32:3-8). Regardless, Jacob would soon experience two meetings—one with God followed by one with Esau.

To this plan, Jacob added prayer. Verses 9-12 of Genesis 32 contain Jacob’s first recorded prayer. In fact, it is the most extensive prayer in the book of Genesis. Jacob acknowledged his unworthiness and recognized that he had no claim on God’s mercy. He also admitted his fear of meeting Esau. [ETB:ALG Spr'24]

Opening Up Genesis The Crisis

In front of him was Esau, who, for all he knew, was on a mission of revenge. And behind him was Laban, who was also none too pleased with Jacob. If he went forward, Jacob was marching into a potential minefield. But, because of the bridges he had burned between himself and Laban, he could not retreat. So he was stuck. He was afraid (32:7). And, in verses 9–12, he did what many of us do when we are stuck and afraid—he prayed.

That’s kind of our pattern too isn’t it? Make plans and then pray, when God calls us to do the other way round so that our plans will be profitable.

Proverbs 16:3 “3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

As we read through our passage text today, think about the changes in Jacob life and situation that reflect his encounter with God.

Explore the Text

Genesis 32:22–24 ESV

22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.

v. 22-23

two wives, eleven children

This is Moses recording an inventory of Jacob’s family. It is in no way condoning polygamy. This is a historical statement, not a doctrinal one. But it is also a cultural statement as it is only acknowledging the two “legalized” marriages with Leah and Rachael and is only referring to the sons that have been born, some of which were born of the “female servants.”

Jabbok

The book and several other resources point to the similarity in this word and Jacob’s name. This term, meaning “flowing,” identifies a river near the area where Jacob wrestled with God. Today, the river is called Nahr ez-Zerqa, which means “blue river”.

sent them across the stream

This is part of the preparations that Jacob was making in response to the report from his servants about Esau, or in conjunction with the appearance of the 2 angels. The text is not clear on the timing or the motive of sending his “possessions” over the river first. This may have been another record of history and background information for the next verse.

v.24

Jacob was left alone

Toward the beginning of Chapter 32, Jacob is recorded praying to God (Gen 32:9-12). Verse 22 starts with “that same night.” Sometimes in Hebrew stories, chronological order is sacrificed for importance or impact. Because the wording is unclear, the prayer may have actually followed not only the preparations and dividing of the “presents” but could have been during this “alone time.”

Sometimes the one who is left feels alone, as Elijah did in his contest with Baal’s prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:22). The word rendered alone also conveys the idea of separation and isolation. Jacob’s encounter with God near the ford of the Jabbok River reminds us that a time will come in each of our lives when we must face Him alone. We cannot lean on anyone else’s faith. We must decide for ourselves how we will respond to Him. [ETB:ALG Spr'24]

The last time Jacob was this alone was on his way out of the same land. That time he encountered God in a peaceful way during a night vision. This time the isolation leads to a more dramatic and physical encounter with the Lord.

Opening Up Genesis The Encounter

As night fell, Jacob sent his family away (32:22–23), probably so that, if Esau found him overnight, his family wouldn’t have to perish with him. But, in his solitude, it was not Esau who hunted him down, but God!

a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.

MacArthur says that Jacob was 97 years old at the time of this wrestling match. The length of time this duel went on and the physical endurance speaks to not only how strong Jacob was, and had always been, but the mental strength of seeing task through to its end no matter how demanding.

Bible scholars have typically identified this man as a Theophany or as an angel carrying God’s authority (see Hos. 12:1-5). Of the various Hebrew words for “man,” the word used here denotes man as an individual, in contrast to mankind in general. In some contexts the term can also be rendered “champion.” [ETB:ALG Spr'24]

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive B. A Place of Confrontation

Look again, if you please, in verse 24. And the Bible says he “was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him.” (Genesis 32:24) That doesn’t say he wrestled with a man. The man wrestled with him.

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive B. A Place of Confrontation

It was a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is Jacob wrestling with Christ, but the emphasis is not on Jacob wrestling with Christ; it is Christ wrestling with Jacob, because, you see, it was the Lord that initiated this wrestling match. And it’s not what Jacob was trying to get from the Lord; it’s what the Lord is trying to do with Jacob. And if you don’t understand that, you’ll miss the emphasis. It was the Lord that started this particular battle. And so the Lord is wrestling with Jacob.

Whenever a change is needed in our lives, we usually do not start it. We like our patterns and habits. God however is always trying to “transform” us into the likeness of His son, and so He initiates that change. For us it is through His word, His people, or His sovereignty. For Jacob, that change was initiated with a wrestling match.

I have often wondered why it was done this way - with a wrestling match - and still do not have a foundational answer. Lots of possibilities and good practical applications, but nothing dogmatic.

The Hebrew verb translated wrestled provides a wordplay on both the Jabbok River and the patriarch Jacob. The name Jacob, meaning “cheater” or “deceiver,” conveys the selfish nature that he exhibited prior to his transformation at the Jabbok.

Physical strength had characterized Jacob’s life to this point. However, in this wrestling match, he received a blow to his hip that dislocated the joint. Jacob’s resulting physical weakness led to moral and spiritual transformation. [ETB:ALG Spr'24]

Not only does this encounter change Jacob’s body, but it also changes his name.

Genesis 32:25–29 ESV

25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.

v.25

he did not prevail

There was a lot of variations on the meaning of this phrase.

The Hebrew verb without the negative “not” suggests the capacity or ability to accomplish something. This would apply not only in a physical sense, but also in an ethical or religious sense. So, with the negative, it indicates a lack of composure or control. For example, Moses later used it in Genesis to describe Joseph’s inability to keep his emotions in check during his encounter with his brothers (Gen. 45:1). It also highlights the inability of Moses’s mother to hide her young son (Ex. 2:3).

In a religious or moral sense, the term appears in Deuteronomy 17:15 where the Lord commanded His people not to set a foreign king over them. When used in the sense of wrestling or battling, the verb without the negative is often rendered “overcome.” In some sense, the man, though more powerful than Jacob, did not prevail in the wrestling match. [ETB:ALG Spr'24]

So why was Jacob “declared” the winner of this match up? I think the best answer I read comes in part from the next verse.

Who wanted the match to end first? Who wanted to stop wrestling first? Jacob’s determination seems to have outlasted this man’s and thus “he prevailed” not with physical or mental power but with “will power” or tenacity. Even when the hip was out of joint, Jacob still held on and would not quit.

Everything in us was created by God and is intended to be used to glorify Him. Jacob had been using this tenacity and strong will to get what he wanted from the world - 14 years work for one wife - this time however he used it correctly in striving against something in this world for the gain of something of God.

Jesus tells a story of a widow going before a pagan judge over and over until he gives in to her demands. She used her abilities wisely also.

Have you every been that tenacious in asking God for something?

Jacob may have been a schemer all his life, but he is finally using that drive and intelligence for the right purpose - to gain “right-ness” before God.

Jacob did not win, but like our justification, he was “declared” the winner because he eventually asked for the right thing in the right way with the right heart. Salvation comes no other way but through Christ in humility, but its blessing is an incredible “win.”

v.26

the day has broken

Probably some intentional word choice. Jacob was now “broken” but was not stopping. The man did not say he was tired, or was not going to win, but His task to change Jacob was completed. Why wait until dawn? Ending the match too soon may not have had the impact on his opponent that was needed. Waiting until “day break” to “hip break” was the perfect timing for the most spiritual and emotional impact.

I will not let you go unless you bless me.

We see now some of the reason for Jacob’ s tenacity, he was working toward a personal benefit. If it were a cartoon, Jacob’s eyes would be dollar signs. Schemers and con artists will fight harder for profit than for anything else. He was still being a “Jacob.”

v. 27

“What is your name?”

Not information that the man needed, but forced Jacob to acknowledge his character and his pattern of life. Maybe even to admit to the reason he was not wanting the wrestling match to end.

One of the books I read pointed to the fact the last time this question was asked of him was when his father asked and he lied by saying “I am Esau.”

In the biblical world names were more than monikers. They possessed deep significance. A person’s name expressed the individual’s essence or nature. To know someone’s name meant to know the person’s character. Names might also convey destiny or hopes for a child’s future.

The Lord sometimes initiated a name change to reveal a transformation in character or destiny (see Gen. 17:5; Matt. 16:17-18). That is true with Jacob in this passage. [ETB:ALG Spr'24]

v.28

Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel

Jacob’s divine opponent may have allowed the wrestling match to continue, but He still had authority over Jacob’s life. Demonstrating this first through the physical change, now his power is extended to changing the patriarch's name from Jacob to Israel.

Suggested meanings of “Israel” include “God strives,” “God heals,” “God rules,” or “he strives against God.” After his encounter with God, Jacob limped physically as a reminder of his struggle with God. But, more importantly, God gradually began to transform the way Jacob lived. Jacob’s struggle with God created a new moral strength and loyalty to God that guided the rest of His life. [ETB:ALG Spr'24]

Jacob received that name at birth because of what his parents observed in him at birth, holding onto his twin brother’s heal. The rest of the accounts in Scripture show us how he continued to live up to that name and its negative connotations.

God now gives him a different name, it is not one that he can live up to naturally but he is to use it and people are to call him by it. Everyone that knows this new name will expect him to ‘be’ this new person. All of those who knew him as Jacob will now expect to see a change. Israel will have to consistently fight his old patterns to replace them with those that God sees within him.

When we except Christ as our savior, we also get a new name. When we meet people, we should let them know who and whose we are. Those that knew use before will look for and expect to see a difference. We must also daily fight against our old patterns and habits to replace them with new ones that reflect our commitment to Christ. Paul wrote it as a continuing action in his letter to the Romans

Romans 12:1–2 “1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present [and keep on presenting] your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your [continuing] spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be [continually] transformed by the {continual] renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

v.29

Please tell me your name

Lots of speculation, both positive and negative, on the reason Israel asked this. I’m going to go with the more positive possibility in that he wanted to ensure that he honored God by in the way he wanted. He does know who it is as he re-names the place with “El” - God. The last time at “Bethel”, God identified Himself as the “God of your fathers.” As a reflection of his new name, Israel was asking a question for information instead of “making his own plans.”

Part of the reason I think this was a positive intention is when the prophet Hosea speaks about this incident he records something that Moses did not originally.

Hosea 12:3–4 “3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. 4 He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor.

And there he blessed him

Context suggests that the angel, the last one speaking, did the blessing upon his questioner, Israel. It could have been the other way around also as Jacob “honors” his opponent by changing the location’s name to match his opponents.

Genesis 32:30–32 ESV

30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.

v.30

yet my life has been delivered

A person who remained alive after seeing God was overwhelmed with awe and gratitude (Deut. 5:24; Judg. 6:22-23; Isa. 6:5). Such individuals realized that sinful human beings cannot survive seeing God’s face or being in God’s presence without His grace or merciful intervention. Jacob’s survival foreshadowed his face-to-face encounter with Esau (Gen. 33:10). [ETB:ALG Spr'24]

At some point, Jacob in becoming Israel, realized that the wrestling match could have, and should have, ended with his death. The type of deliverance and epiphany has lead to many a man to cry tears of joy and gratitude. The names of Bethel and Penuel continue to be used through much of the Old Testament as a reflection of Israel’s choice to honor God and what He did in those places.

How did you react when you encountered God for the first time (like Bethel) or after He changed you (like Penuel)? Are there “places” that continue to be special to you?

I remember the dorm room I gave my life to Christ in, and when Laura and I went to Oklahoma one year I showed it to her. I also remember the parking lot where I first talked to the woman God had chosen for me, and other places where He divinely interacted with me. Sometimes I did not recognize His participation until later (like with Laura) but it was definitely His work.

There are now other places in my life before Christ that I can point to and say “my life has been delivered” because there were times that could have ended much differently had it not been for God’s gracious influence. I still have reminders of the times and places, and Israel had one too.

v.31-32

he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip

Although the match resulted in Jacob’s “victory,” that victory came with a painful injury that would always remind him that we prevail with God by yielding to Him (Heb. 11:21). No longer a deceiver, Jacob was a new person, beginning a new spiritual walk as “Israel” [ETB:ALG Spr'24]

Last week we talked a little about some blessings that do not look like one at the start but later as God works we can see the true benefits. Jacob would probably always limp from that day until his death. Although his physical strength that he had relied on most of his life is no longer something he can depend on, it is replaced now with a deeper dependence on the Lord.

Apply the Text

Genesis & Exodus Commentary

The message of the encounter for Jacob, and for his descendants, the Israelites, and also for us, is that the blessing of God is the work of God. He wants to fight for us, but he might have to fight us to get us to the point of surrendering our wills to him. Self-sufficiency, trying to achieve the blessing by our own strength, will not be successful. If we persist in thinking that it will, God may have to “cripple” our self-sufficiency to make us trust him more.

Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament Volume 1 (Genesis–Job) Genesis 32:32

the degree to which your kids and grandchildren see you limp through life, leaning on God and drawing from Him strength and character and depth is the degree to which they will value your legacy. They won’t remember how successful you were in climbing the corporate ladder, how big your bank account was, how skilled you were mechanically, or how gifted you were musically. What they will remember is what they learned as they watched you limp.

With a slight rewording {we/You] to fit our group time , I close with a of a prayer that was found in the breast pocket of a Civil War soldier that was shot at Gettysburg:

Courson’s Application Commentary, Old Testament Volume 1 (Genesis–Job) Through Prayer Jacob Made Discovery

I asked for strength that I might achieve.

He made me weak that I might obey.

I asked for health that I might do great things.

He gave me grace that I might do better things.

I asked for riches that I might be happy.

He gave me poverty that I might be wise.

I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.

He gave me weakness that I might feel a need for God.

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.

He gave me life that I might enjoy all things.

I received nothing I asked for.

He gave me everything I hoped for.