Wrestling with God

Introduction

Did you know that it is possible to enter a fight with God and come out victorious? God is the King of the Universe, absolutely sovereign over everything. He determines our days and gives us each breath. He upholds every atom by his word. We, on the other hand are weak pieces of dirt that only go on living because God says we can. We are ignorant, powerless in the face of God, and helpless without him. And yet Jacob in our text is said to wrestle with God and prevail. How can this be possible? And how can this be a good thing? Before you accuse me of heresy, let us dive into the text and understand what that difficult phrase actually means.

Acts 1 &3

This story is divided into three acts, two that centre around the meeting with Esau and one between them that centres around meeting God. What this effectively does is communicate that this central act is the most important and climactic moment in this story and the parts before and after it contextualize that moment. It is not an exaggeration to say that this moment in time is the most important point in Jacob’s life. The budding faith that we saw beginning to grow last time when Jacob fled from Laban according to the command and promise of God is now being put to a sharp test as Jacob encounters the one person he fears more than Laban; his estranged brother Esau. This is the final boss, the climactic moment where everything is put on the line and we. It’s Jacob’s Mount Moriah moment, but rather than being told to sacrifice his son in faith he is facing the possible annihilation of his entire family and his only choice is to embrace this new found faith in God and his promises.

Act 1: God’s Camp awaiting Jacob’s enemy

Act 1 of the story spans from 32:1-21 and begins with a part of the story that few even notice, although it is a very important part of the story. As Jacob is leaving behind the land of Paddan Haram under the promise that he would never come there again to attack, and turning back with his whole possessions would certainly look like an aggressive move. This establishes that going back is not an option for Jacob. But right away we are told that as Jacob travelled the angels of God met him.

Angels a sign of favour and provision of respite

The purpose of these angels is somewhat debated, but as we look at the presence of angels in Genesis ever since Abraham we see them play two roles: the role of warrior displayed in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the role of messenger and helper shown in the appearance of angels with God at Mamre and the angels that helped Abraham’s servant in Genesis 24. Here the language and place of these angels takes on both of these roles to an extent. The angels actively meet Jacob and the encounter reminds him of God’s presence with him. it is a comfort similar to the revelation he recieved at Bethel 20 years earlier, which was a renewal of the promise. This time, however, the comfort comes in the form of an angelic army. When Jacob says, “this is God’s camp” the word “camp” has military connotations. He calls it Mahanaim, which means two camps, referring most likely to his own camp and the war camp of angels close by. The mighty hand of God is made known right before an encounter with Jacob’s greatest enemy, similar to Moses encounter with God in Exodus 4:24-26 and Joshua’s encounter with the commander of the Lord’s armies in Joshua 5:13-15. In that case, and in Jacob’s case, the emphasis is not that God is on their side, but rather than God is on his own side and those who would have his protection must trust and obey him. An angelic army serves as both a comfort and a warning.

Initiating contact with Esau

Jacob knows that he is going to encounter Esau and rather than trying to sneak around he had better lay a good impression right off the bat. He sends servants to Esau and note the words he carefully chooses in this message in verses 4-5.

Genesis 32:4–5 ESV

instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favor in your sight.’ ”

The words he uses are words of lowliness and humility, demonstrating already a humbled disposition when compared with his previous attitude. He calls himself servant and seeks favour in his sight, hoping that the years have erased the enmity he had provoked all those years ago. Jacob’s exile in Paddan Haram has been as much a personal journey as a physical one. He left because of the mess he had made in his family through his deceit and now he is being forced to face the consequences of his actions head on and prove whether he really has changed or not. Until now his life has been defined by the character qualities described by his own name “Jacob”. He is a heel grabber, a trickster, a deceiver, and all the trouble he has encountered has been a result of his deceit and lack of faith in God. His trickery demonstrated a man who relies on himself and his ability to manipulate to get what he wants. That is what the name “Jacob” means, and now he must face as that he was. If he is to survive this ordeal, he must trust God and reject who he was and embrace who God wants him to be: an image bearer and representative of God’s grace and love.

The stakes are heightened when Jacob receives the news that Esau is on his way with an army of 400 men. Jacob is rightfully afraid as this seems like a sure sign of hostility from his brother, who is clearly prepared for war while he is not. He divides his camp into two for the simple reason that it may minimize loses. Then he does something he has never done before, at least not recorded in the text. He prays. His prayer is one of genuine faith that goes on to prove he has changed and is rejecting his life as a deceitful man.

Prayer of Faith

The prayer in 32:9-12 contains three distinctive features:

Humility

First, the prayer demonstrates humility. Any prayer without humility is no true prayer, because God will not listen to the proud in heart. James 4 tells us that God does not listen to those who pray to him with selfish motives seeded in a prideful heart, and in James 4:6 James bases this on the known scriptural truth that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Jacob demonstrates humility by rejecting an entitled attitude towards God. Rather than demanding God’s blessings, which he previously sought to obtain through trickery, he admits that he is unworthy to receive the covenant love that God has shown him. His plea for deliverance is the humble cry of a child who is afraid of the dark. This humility is what God’s accepts in prayer and life.

Trust

Next, Jacob shows a trust in God that is starkly contrasted with his attitude before now. When looking for a wife, he did not seek God’s providence or submit to godly standards, but rather relied on his eyes and was tricked himself by Laban. When God blessed his flocks, he was quick to point to his own ability rather than emphasize God’s grace. Now he turns to God as one who is helpless and unable to trick his way out of the current danger, and in faith he comes to God for help. God takes great pleasure in those who rely on him and not on themselves. The common saying, “God helps those who help themselves” is complete garbage. God helps those who, in faith and humility, come to him for grace, grace he willingly provides.

Based on the Promises of God

But faith in faith itself is not good enough. To come to God in true faith means to come to him believing his word and the promises it contains. This is exactly what Jacob does, going to God with promises he had made to him at Bethel and in the field the day he was told to leave Paddan Haram. Essentially, Jacob is praying with an open Bible. He is praying remembering what God has said, trusting in his character as one who keeps his promises, and making him the object of his faith. Jacob’s prayer here proves he is no longer a deceitful Jacob, and this will be important later as we look into act 2 of this story.

Appeasing Esau

But faith without action is no true faith at all. While God doesn't help those who help themselves, the saying “let go and let God” is also problematic. Jacob’s faith doesn’t stop him from doing what is in his power to appease Esau, and so he sends these two gifts. And this is how act 1 ends.

Act 2: Wrestling with Man and God

Act two covers 32:22-32. This is the centre of the story and the most important moment in Jacob’s life. What happens here not only has great significance in his life, but in the rest of the Scriptures. Our understanding of the great story of redemption depends greatly on this key moment.

Jacob brings his family and his possessions across the Jabbok and stays on the other side alone. His loneliness in this moment represents his helplessness in this moment. His past sins have caught up with him in the form of a 400 man army and there is nothing he can do about it. He has no allies, no army, and nowhere to go. He is utterly helpless and alone. It is then that a man jumps him in the night and the wrestle. The man does not overpower Jacob and so he touches his thigh, putting it out of joint and making it impossible for Jacob to fight on effectively. As the sun begins to come up the man, whom we are told later is some manifestation of God himself tells Jacob to let him go since no man can see God’s face and live. Jacob refuses until he will bless him. Jacob has become aware of the heavenly nature of his wrestling opponent but he would rather die in his presence as day breaks than leave without a blessing. In desperation, Jacob demands the blessing with his own life on the line. God asks Jacob what his name is, Jacob responds, and God tells him his name is now Israel, the name that will be inherited with his offspring until even the present day. Jacob asks his name, God does not say because Jacob already knows as is evident in Jacob’s response after the fight. There are a lot of ideas about this fight and what it means, lets go into each aspect and put it together.

What the wrestling represents

Wrestling with men and God

First. what is the purpose of the fight? We are told that Jacob is renamed because he has wrestled with man and with God and has prevailed. This is not talking about this literal wrestling match, but it is metaphorical. How do we know this? First, God is not a man here. Jesus became man at the incarnation, but here. Although God at times takes the form of a man, such as he does here, but he is not incarnated like Jesus Christ. So this must be talking about more than this actual fight. Second, if this isn’t metaphorical than the fight would be pointless. God isn’t in the habit of taking people on in hand to hand combat without any point. And third, because this perfectly describes Jacob’s life up to this point. He has been a man who ticks people off and gets himself into trouble, both from man and God. This wrestling match doesn't happen in the middle of the crisis with Esau for no reason. His whole life has been one of rebellion and manipulation. He struggled with his brother, his father, and his uncle even as he struggles in this fight. All along the way, his lack of faith and self-confidence has contradicted God’s plan for his life. Constantly he has fought against faith and trust and has fought against God. He has pushed and pushed against both man and God, and yet we are told that he has prevailed. How can that be?

Put out of joint

If this fight is a picture of Jacob’s life, what does his hip being put out of joint represent? And why does God say he has prevailed when he has clearly lost and if he doesn't concede he will die. Well victory is dependent upon what you seek to obtain. What has Jacob been looking for his whole life that has led him to fight God now? Why did he buy his brother’s birthright with stew? Why did he trick his father into blessing him? Why did he marry the daughters of Laban and stay there for 20 years? What was he after all this time? The answer becomes clear in verse 26. He is seeking the blessings of God. Is he looking for material possessions? I don’t think so because, as he tells his brother, he has plenty at this moment and yet he is after something even more that he is willing to die to obtain. He seeks not the physical blessings, but the state of being blessed in covenant with God. In short, he is seeking to know God and at this most climactic moment in his life this finally becomes plain. This truth uncovers a common state in every human being. There is a great contradiction in every human heart. In sin, we are wired to run from God, relying on ourselves, looking out for ourselves, and worshipping ourselves. We build cities like Cain, partake in shameful acts like Ham, disregard God’s glory like the builders of Babel, and are violent like Lamech. And yet, deep in the heart of every human being is a desire that nothing in this world can yet fill. Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre, despite being an atheist, admitted that in his study of existentialism he found that all human beings have a “God-shaped hole in their heart.” While I wouldn’t use those words, it’s plain to anyone with enough honesty and self reflection that they are looking for God, even if they’re seeking of God is completely contradictory to their ongoing rebellion against him. We are image-bearers, created to reflect the creator, and no matter how distorted that image is or how deeply we’ve buried the desire to seek him, it is still there. But there is a big problem, even in seeking God we are constantly trying to seek him the wrong ways because of our sin and due to ignorance. The way we naturally go about seeking God is tainted by sin and focuses on our glory rather than on his. The doctrines of works righteousness promoted by most religions feigns a journey to God that still gives man the glory. And so each human being is engaged in this struggle to know God and receive his blessings while still worshipping themselves, and those two ends cannot coexist. if you are to know God and his blessings, you must bow the knee to him. If you would have God as your Saviour and friend, you must also have him as your master and Lord.

So if Jacob wants to know God, what does God want? Gloriously, he wants the same thing. So why does the struggle exist? Because we cannot know God apart from faith, and this is where the conflict comes from. Man’s war with God is also a war with the deepest part of themselves that wants to know God. We need faith, pure, submissive, trusting, humble faith. Sin is the opposite of faith, and the sinful nature has put us in the horrible predicament of being unable to achieve what would truly make us happy because we won’t let go of the sin that makes us so miserable. This is what Scripture means when it speaks of the fool who says in their heart that there is no God. It is foolish because not only is there a God, but we all know it in our inherent nature and although we are born hating God, we cannot get around the fact that we need him. What can break down such unbelief, such pride and blind selfishness?

The painful finger of God. The finger that destroys our pride, our self-reliance, and our rebellion and brings about humility. God is most gracious to a sinner when he takes away any other foundation so that they may cling to the rock of ages. God breaks Jacobs hip, and he has broken his life. He is put him between a rock and a hard place, Esau in front and Laban behind. He has no more tricks up his sleeve, no where to turn, no one to manipulate, and all he can do is cry out to God for mercy even if it costs him his life. To come to God rightly means to come in desperation, to wrestle with God and to prevail, not by beating him, but by being beat. In this fight, Jacob won by losing, for only in losing can he gain what he truly desired.

Blessing and a new name

When God asks Jacob what his name is, he obviously isn’t doing it for information. God know, and Jacob knows that he knows, but for Jacob his name is also descriptive of who he has been. A heel-grabber, a deceiver, and a trickster. When Jacob answers, this is symbolic of him admitting who he has been. Once he does this, God gives him a new name, just like he gave Abraham a new name. Israel means “one who struggles with God.” because he struggled with man and God and has prevailed. When it says he prevailed over God, this is not to say that he, by his own brute strength, defeated the Lord of Glory and Creator of the universe in hand-to-hand combat. Such a claim would be ridiculous beyond measure. Jacob’s victory does not imply God’s defeat, rather it highlights that Jacob has finally obtained what he has been looking for all his life: the blessings of God. He finally does this, not by deceit and trickery as his name “Jacob” suggests, but by humbling himself in prayer and asking in faith. This is how he wins in a fight against God. Jacob wins, not by defeating God, but by being defeated and yet receiving the spoils of victory by grace with God as a friend and not an opponent. With that, the fight is finally over. Look at Hosea’s description in Hosea 12:3-6:

Hosea 12:3–6 ESV

In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us— the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial name: “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

Notice how “he strove and prevailed” is followed by “he wept and sought his favour.” These two events are not separate or contradictory. Indeed, he strove and prevailed when he wept and sought favour. That is how be prevailed! Faithless Israel in Hosea’s day is then told to follow his example by repenting and returning to God. Jacob has prevailed, he has struggled with God and he got the blessing he sought, which God was happy to give him when it was sought in humility and even with tears.

Transformation: A faithless deceiver

This is the story of the transformation of a faithless deceiver into a faithful man of God. And it tells us something very clearly: in order to know God, you must fight. No one will inherit the Kingdom of God casually or stumble into it’s gate by accident. It is the difficult road, the straight and narrow, the way of hardship and suffering, a journey of humiliation and loss. Paul said in Philippians 3:14 that he lived his life as a life that pressed on towards the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The phrase “press on” in Greek means to run after something decisively with earnest and even violent intentions. It means to fight for it. Two great, paradoxical and yet complimentary truths about knowing God is that it is completely a free gift of God in Christ and yet it is so unimaginably costly. Over 20 years God broke Jacob into pieces, from long days in the field, being tricked to marry Leah, having his wages changed, having two wives fighting with each other, having his father in law hunting him, and now finally being cornered by his vengeful brother. He is finally a broken man. Not only is his hip out of joint, his soul is as well. But for all this hardship he gains what he seeks, the promise. The blessing. The new name that signifies his victory in the struggle when he finally concedes and submits to God.

Act 3: Reunited

The story ends with the surprise that Esau has forgiven Jacob. God’s protection is verified, even though Jacob still doesn’t trust him and still lies to him in the end by telling him he will join him but then going to Shechem and buying property there. Jacob’s faith is not complete at the end of this story, but there is no doubt he is changed forever and the struggle he had with God that night will signify the struggle his descendants will have with God for the next 1500 years or so. It will be a constant struggle of their sin against the holiness and character of their God and his Word. They will be offered the blessings of God through obedience, and they will continue to look for joy, satisfaction and protection in sin that only brings the curses of God. While some reading the OT have accused God as being petty or vengeful, but in reality God is wrestling to give them what will truly give them blessings. The blessings of God are not the things he promised to give them if they obeyed, those are more like a trail of jelly beans leading them to the true source blessing. The true blessing is God himself. This is precisely what Jacob discovers when he is finally broken by God’s gentle hand. He doesn’t need blessings from God, he needs God and only God.

Conclusion

Where does this struggle come from? It comes from a lie that we naturally believe in our cursed nature. The lie that we can be gods and be satisfied either in rejecting God or seeing him as an equal or even below us. But below this lie we know that we need God and God graciously draws near to us. So this conflict rages on as a conflict against God and against the truth that we already know beneath those lies. Those who know God are those who have wrestled and obtained victory through defeat and death to self. They’ve had the joint of pride touched so that they cannot stand up arrogantly and have only the option to cling to him to the death of their flesh and say “bless me! Bless me! Bless me or I die! Bless me because there is nothing else! Bless me, not with health and money and prosperity and friends, bless me with you!” It is to be brought to the very end of yourself so that there is nothing to cling to but God.

When Christ came, Israel was broken. Their hip had been touched as they waited under the tyranny of a Roman occupation. His Gospel message did not appeal to the religious elite or those who thought of themselves as righteous, it appealed to those who were broken in their hearts. When Jesus rejected the prideful, it was not because that’s just the one sin God cannot stand, it’s because the prideful could not know God until they were broken down and humbled like Saul when he was blinded on the road. The Gospel is the blessing for those who have overcome the fight with God by finally giving up this pride. When a sinner comes to the place where they can say with tears, “bless me or I die,” the Gospel of forgiveness from sins and eternal life in Christ is that happy blessing so readily available by faith. So many come to God for his promised blessing of eternal life, but they come with conditions. I will come to Christ if I can keep living with my boyfriend or girlfriend. I’ll come to Christ as long as I can disagree with those teachings in the Bible that I’m not comfortable with. I’ll come to Christ but I don’t want it to change my life all that much, I want to still prioritize me career, my family, my goals and dreams over the glory of Christ. I’ll put aside Sunday, but that is it. Such an attitude will result in no experience with Christ and no true blessing from God. You must wrestle with God, not to overcome him but so that he may overcome you and bless you. Has God overcome you? Have you been brought to the place where all you need is him? Have left behind Jacob, the self-centred trickster, and embraced one who has fought with God, had your pride, your self-righteousness and self sufficiency demolished, and prevailed? If you have, you will be able to say, in awe and reverence, “I have seen God face to face and yet my life has been delivered.”