Wrestling with God

Genesis 32:24–32 NASB95

Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.

INTRO: How many of you like wrestling? You watch the WWE or WWF? My grandfather was really into wrestling… well, wrastling… that’s how you say it in the south. When I was a kid, we watched all those crazy men run around screaming in their funny underwear. A classmate of mine at Fruitland was a big fan of Ric Flair… either that or he was secretly Pentecostal! (WOOOO!)

Either way, for those of you who are wrestling fans, I am sure you know that wrestling has Biblical roots. Granted, the whole sport has taken on a life of its own, but today we are actually going to talk “wrestling”.

Before we get into our selected text, I want to give you a bit of background: Jacob was the son of Isaac, the grandson of Abraham.

Jacob had a twin brother named Esau. But unlike most the twins I’ve known, they did not have that close bond where they really wanted to be around each other, play together, etc. No, these boys were fighting even before they were born!

And Jacob had a bit of dysfunctional family life. He was somewhat of a con-artist, taking full advantage of his brother’s hunger to talk him out of his birthright.

Of course, Isaac and Rebekah were not perfect parents - they played favorites with the boys, and Rebekah talked Jacob into deceiving Isaac in his old age and stealing the blessing that he planned to give Esau.

Jacob ended up leaving to find a wife, but his main purpose was to escape the anger of Esau who was ready to kill him.

As he journeyed, he was camped in a place where God visited him in a dream. You can read about it in Gen. 28. Basically the dream was about a stairway or ladder that angels ascended and descended on. In this dream, God told Jacob that He was Yahweh, the God of Abraham and Isaac and that Jacob would inherit the blessing that God had given his forefathers- the promise of both land and descendants and the promise of God’s presence and blessing.

Following this, Jacob met Rachel and was on the path to marry her. Then, he was hoodwinked by his father-in-law, Laban who gave him his daughter Leah instead of Rachel! (Talk about a shock when daylight came!)

Now, all of this is interesting and indeed helps us to understand a little about the person Jacob was. By the time we reach chapter 32, Jacob had worked 20 years for Laban and now had married both his daughters. He left Laban and was headed to the land God had promised him. But, even after making peace with his father-in-law, now Jacob faced news that Esau was headed to meet him… Esau and about 400 men.

So, as you might imagine, Jacob was on an emotional roller coaster. He has gone from anger and indignation with Laban to fear and dread with his brother. He prayed to God (Gen 32:9-12), and schemed to bribe Esau in hopes that he would relent from any revenge he was planning.

I don’t know about you, but Jacob’s life up to this point seems pretty exhausting. And the night before he would see Esau, I believe Jacob needed some peace and quiet, which is why he sent everyone across the river and he himself stayed back.

Little did Jacob know that this would be perhaps the most unusual night of his life.

If you picked up a bulletin, I want to invite you to follow along in the sermon guide. As always, I encourage you to dive in deeper this week using the provided discussion questions.

Let’s learn together the 3 results of “Wrestling with God” (And please- do not change into your wrestling attire)

The first result we see is that

Wrestling with God is Humbling (24-26)

This might sound obvious. Have you ever played basketball with someone who was way better than you? Or arm-wrestled with someone who is stronger? I have this experience every time I go play golf… and it doesn’t usually matter who I’m playing with, it’s always a humbling experience.

But in Jacob’s case, we ought to understand something about this ‘wrestling’. First, we need to identify the “man”. We understand him to be the pre-incarnate Christ, also called the angel of the Lord. There is some debate around this, but based on the context and other parts of Scripture, this is the best interpretation.

Secondly, God initiated this wrestling match. This was not, however, an attack Jacob, nor was his intent to harm him. Remember WHO God is!! If that were the case, we wouldn’t even have this recorded here.

Granted, Jacob probably was feeling pretty attacked. He was already overwhelmed by his circumstances. I am sure he was feeling pretty sorry for himself… We are pretty good at throwing pity-parties too, aren’t we?

Yet, remember that God had already shown up in a dream, He had prospered Jacob, protected him, etc. But Jacob had not yet rested in God. He had not yet surrendered to God’s promise, so he wrestled. This wrestling was Jacob defending himself against the indictments, against the truth. After all, to truly trust God would mean to admit his sin, to acknowledge his weaknesses, and to put God in His rightful place on the throne of his life.

Now, we could use our imaginations and try to figure out what this looked like- what was said, we don’t know. But here is what we do know:

It was personal. God was personally there and involved.

This can be contrasted with the idols that Laban, Jacob’s father-in-law worshiped that just sat there… They couldn’t interact. It can be contrasted with the idea of a distant, impersonal god.

This was a physical confrontation meant to be a wake-up call for Jacob. It was a pivot-point in his life.

Would he respond to God? Would he harden his heart against Him?

Well, at some point in the midst of this wrestling match, God hinders Jacob’s ability to wrestle. He can no longer defend himself and all he can do is hold on. He can only cling to the Lord. Jacob could not deceive God as he had his father. He could not swindle him as he did Esau. Nor could he outwit him like he did Laban. No, the only thing Jacob could do was hold on and ask for a blessing.

Perhaps some of you have been wrestling with God over sin in your life. Maybe you have been defending yourself so much that you have lost sight of WHO God is. You have made your will the ambition, and spend the rest of the time avoiding the conflict surrounding your life. Friends, if it’s God’s will, he will hinder your ability to wrestle. And you will have to choose whether to hold on or to give up.

Can I encourage you to hold on. God desires to do great things in you and through you. But you have to see Him for who He is- to acknowledge His Lordship. As John the Baptist said,

John 3:30–31 NASB95

“He must increase, but I must decrease. “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.

Wrestling with God is humbling. As we continue to look at this wrestling match, we see that:

Discuss: What areas of your life do you defend or avoid addressing? Are there pieces of your life you have not surrendered to the Lord?

Wrestling with God is Transforming (27-28)

In v. 27, the Lord asks “What is your name?”

A more literal translation is, “What are you called? or What are you known as?”

Do you think that God did not know his name? Of course he did! But there is more going on here than a formal introduction.

In the Hebrew world, people were named very specifically and their names have a Hebrew meaning. Esau means “hairy” and was named so because he was born hairy. (How would you like that name? I wonder what your name would be...) Jacob, means “Heel” or “heel grabber” because he was holding onto Esau’s heel when he was born. You can read about this in Genesis 25.

Jacob lived up to his name- living his life in pursuit of his own desires even at the cost of relationships. After he deceived Isaac to receive Esau’s blessing, Esau commented on how he lived up to his name (Gen. 27:36), helping us to understand Jacob’s name to connote that of a swindler or deceiver.

Everything that Jacob had in life, he had seemingly worked out on his own- or at least he gave himself credit for them.

He had Esau’s birthright and blessing - both gained through trickery

He “earned” his wives and his livestock by striking a deal with Laban.

You know what this sounds like? It sounds like Jacob was living the “American Dream” - self made and proud of it.

But when the Lord asks his name, Jacob is forced to acknowledge his true self. (What are you known for?) He was known for deception and self-exaltation at the expense of others. He had to face his past; How he had sinned against his own family and then ran away to escape the consequences. He was faced with the reality that he had placed himself above God.

All of this reality was brought to light in Jacob in this moment.

But notice this- God said “That’s no longer who you are.” In ME, that old reputation; that old name is to be traded out for a new name which is given by God!

His new name would be “Israel” which is best translated to mean “Governed by God”

Let that sink in. Jacob walked away not in victory over the Lord, but in victory through the Lord! The Lord said, You have wrestled with the Lord and prevailed or endured. In other words, Jacob came to the place where he had to deal with God’s call. Quite literally, he had to contend with all that God brought against him. And when he recognized that the only way he could go on would be by the mercy of the Lord, there the Lord had mercy on him. And he was transformed!

Friends, this is such a beautiful picture pointing toward the transformation that takes place when we are confronted by the Holy Spirit; when we come to the place where we acknowledge our sinfulness and our depravity- where we cling to the Son of God and confess His Lordship over our lives. THEN, we are transformed. Paul says, that in Christ, we are a NEW CREATION (2 Cor. 5:17) The old has passed away! We have been given a NEW NAME!

Praise the Lord that He initiated that wrestling match with me 32 years ago- that He humbled me and transformed me!

Discuss: Describe how you were transformed by the Lord. What were you known for before your were confronted by Him and how has that changed?

Finally, we can see that

Wrestling with God is Sanctifying (29-32)

We don’t know the exact nature of the blessing Jacob received. Perhaps a confirmation and restatement of the promise to make of him a great nation- the blessing that was given to Abraham and Isaac before him that promised land, a heritage, and God’s provision and presence.

Yet, Jacob named that place Peniel, which means “the face of God” because he saw God face to face and lived. (v.30) He was blessed to have such a personal and transformative encounter with God.

What we can observe is that Jacob, now called Israel, left that place with a very real reminder of his encounter with God… verse 31 says that he had a limp. Every step he took was a reminder of how he was humbled before God… how he had resisted God’s rule in his life for so long, but now he has been transformed!! He is now “governed by God”! No longer is he self-exalted, but now he proclaims “My king is Yahweh!” There is none higher! None greater! None who can compare!

We used to sing that old hymn ‘He’s my king who reigns forevermore, He’s my king to worship and adore, oh i really love him, there is none above him, wonderful is he this mighty king of glory..’

I don’t know if Jacob was singing or whistling as he went on to meet Esau, but he went in confidence that the Lord of all creation was with him. Esau may have anger in his heart, but Jacob was a new man and he walked toward his future in full confidence in the Lord.

You and I can walk in this confident blessing as well. If you have surrendered your life to Christ, you have been transformed! Sealed with the Holy Spirit! Held in the mighty hand of God.

You and I can walk, as Paul says, in a manner worthy of our calling, which is “CHILD OF GOD”! Not because we are adequate, but that in His mercy, He calls us His own.

Scripture reminds us time and again of the blessed assurance we have in our salvation. We are told that we have been bought with a price, we have been redeemed and restored. As John writes in his epistle,

1 John 5:11–13 NASB95

And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

As we close our time together this morning, I want to know, have you wrestled with God? What has that revealed? Have you been humbled and transformed? Do you walk in confidence with a new name in Christ?

If you’ve never had that personal encounter with Jesus Christ, I want to invite you to come forward during our song in just a few minutes- I’d love to share with you how you can be transformed through the power of our Lord.

PRAY

Discuss: Discuss the assurance of your own salvation. How does your identity in Christ strengthen your faith?