Genesis 32.24-Jacob's Wrestling Match at Night Symbolizes Jacob Under Divine Discipline
Thursday August 31, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 32:24-Jacob’s Wrestling Match at Night Symbolizes Jacob Under Divine Discipline
Lesson # 197
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 32:24.
This evening we will continue with our studies of Genesis 32.
On Sunday morning we noted the first part of Genesis 3:24 where we saw Jacob alone in prayer prior to his encounter with Esau and entrance into the land of Canaan, which was in obedience to the Lord’s command.
On Tuesday we noted the second half of Genesis 32:24 where Jacob wrestles the God-Man, the preincarnate Christ.
Last evening we studied Genesis 32:24 by noting that Jacob’s wrestling match with the preincarnate Christ was symbolic of his struggles with both God and men.
This evening we will study Genesis 32:24 by noting that Jacob’s wrestling match with the Lord at night symbolizes the divine discipline that Jacob underwent in the form of fourteen years of hard labor for his deceitful uncle Laban.
Genesis 32:24, “Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.”
Genesis 32:25, “When he (the Lord) saw that he (the Lord) had not prevailed against him (Jacob), he (the Lord) touched the socket of his (Jacob’s) thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.”
Genesis 32:26, “Then he (the Lord) said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.’ But he (Jacob) said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’”
This wrestling match between God and Jacob is a “microcosm” or “symbolic” of Jacob’s struggles in life with men, which in reality were with God.
The wrestling match with Jacob did “not” teach any spiritual lessons to Jacob but rather the divine discipline that he underwent in the form of twenty years hard labor for his deceitful uncle Laban taught Jacob many spiritual lessons, which are symbolized in the wrestling match with the Lord.
Jacob’s problems with Esau, Laban, and his wives were in reality problems with God since God permitted these people to come into his life to draw him closer to God.
The first manifestation of this wrestling match was in the womb of his mother Rebekah where both he and his twin brother were crushing each other (See Genesis 25:22).
The actions of Jacob at birth grabbing the heel of his brother Esau was the second manifestation of this wrestling match (See Genesis 25:26).
Another manifestation of Jacob’s struggles with men was when he exploited Esau’s hunger by getting him to exchange his birthright for a bowl of red lintel soup (See Genesis 25:28-34).
Then, there was Jacob at the instigation of his mother Rebekah deceiving his father Isaac who was blind at the time in bestowing the blessings of the birthright to himself rather than his brother Esau (See Genesis 27).
This was followed by Jacob’s problems with Laban who was brought into Jacob’s life to discipline him so as to break his sinful patterns of deceitfulness and treachery (See Genesis 29:21-28).
This discipline came in the form of Laban deceiving Jacob by sending Leah and not Rachel into his tent on his wedding night when he had just worked seven years for Rachel.
Just as Jacob deceived his father in order to cheat his older brother Esau from receiving the blessing of the birthright, so now Jacob was deceived by Laban so that Jacob slept with Laban’s oldest daughter Leah rather than the younger daughter Rachel.
Jacob sowed the seeds of deception by obeying his mother Rebekah and deceiving his blind father Isaac into cheating Esau out of the blessing of the birthright.
Jacob has reaped the seeds of deception which he sowed by being deceived by Leah and Laban.
This discipline succeeded as manifested in Jacob’s thoughtfulness and consideration of Esau’s feelings and his desire to offer Esau restitution for cheating him out of the blessing of the birthright (See Genesis 32:13-20).
Jacob’s wrestling match with God and man also manifested itself in the love life of Jacob where he chose Rachel to be his wife because of her physical beauty rather than based upon her character (See Genesis 29:10-20).
This physical attraction blinded Jacob as to the true identity of his right woman, which was Leah who was not a beautiful as Rachel.
As a result of this poor decision Jacob had to deal with Leah and Rachel competing with each other in order to gain his affection and love (See Genesis 29:31-30:24).
The fact that the wrestling match took place at night is a picture or symbolic of the divine discipline he underwent in the form of his fourteen years of hard labor for his deceitful uncle Laban.
This discipline was a demonstration of the Lord’s love for Jacob.
The Lord Jesus Christ disciplines the believer in the sense that He rebukes, punishes and trains the believer because He personally and affectionately loves the believer.
Revelation 3:14, “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this.”
Revelation 3:15, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.”
Revelation 3:16, “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”
Revelation 3:17, “Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”
Revelation 3:18, “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”
Revelation 3:19, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.”
“Love” is the verb phileo (filevw), which means, “to personally and affectionately love someone” and expresses the Lord Jesus Christ’s personal affection, care and concern for the believer by disciplining him whether for training when obedient or punishment when disobedient.
“Reprove” is the verb elencho (e)levgxw), “to reprove, chasten” and “convict” of sin in order to “instruct” the believer and restore him to fellowship.
“Discipline” is the verb paideuo (paideuvw) and was commonly used in Greek literature to mean the “upbringing” and “teaching” and “disciplining” of children.
Such “upbringing” consisted of teaching general knowledge and various kinds of training aimed at developing discipline and character.
The Lord reproves us because He is trying to develop His character in us.
Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
Revelation 3:21, “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
Revelation 3:22, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Revelation 3:20-22 teaches that the Lord disciplines us not only because He loves us and but also because He wants to reward us.
God disciplines His disobedient children by permitting adversity, trials, and irritations to come into their lives that are beyond their capacity to handle in order to get their attention and to focus upon their number one priority in life as children of God, which is conformity to the Father’s will.
The divine discipline was successful in getting Jacob to recognize that his number one priority in life was conformity to the will of God.
God disciplines His disobedient children by permitting them to reap the fruits of their bad decisions so that they might learn that conformity to His will is the only way to true joy and happiness and blessing in life (Ezek. 16:43; Gal. 6:7-8).
Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
Galatians 6:8, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
God permitted Jacob to reap the fruits of his bad decisions with Esau and his father Isaac so that he might learn that conformity to His will is the only way to true joy and happiness and blessing in life.
The Holy Spirit disciplines the disobedient child of God by rebuking them with the Word of God as it is communicated by the pastor-teacher in the local assembly and the purpose of such rebuke is to conform the believer to the will of his heavenly Father, which results in blessing and true happiness.
Hebrews 4:12, “The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and is a critic of thoughts and intents of the heart.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
Jeremiah 32:33, “They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction.
The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the pastor-teacher who is the delegated authority in the local assembly, to reprove and rebuke the children of God from the pulpit with the Word of God as an expression of His love.
2 Timothy 4:1, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom.”
2 Timothy 4:2, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”
2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.”
2 Timothy 4:4, “and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
Just as any good father disciplines his children because he loves them, so God the Father disciplines His children because He loves them.
If God did not train us when we are obedient and punishes us when we are disobedient, then we would be illegitimate children, thus divine discipline in the sense of punishment and training is the mark of a child of God.
Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews 12:2, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:3, “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Hebrews 12:4, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.”
Hebrews 12:5, “and you have forgotten the exhortation, which is addressed to you as sons, ‘MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM.’”
Hebrews 12:6, “FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”
Hebrews 12:7, “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”
Hebrews 12:8, “But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”
Hebrews 12:9, “Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?”
Hebrews 12:10, “For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.”
Hebrews 12:11, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
Hebrews 12:10 teaches us that ultimately, God disciplines us because He wants us to share in His character and integrity, which is meant by the phrase “share His holiness” and to produce “the fruit of righteousness” according to Hebrews 12:11.
Righteousness deals with proper conduct towards both God and man whereas holiness deals with the character that is result of proper conduct towards God and man.
We are not to get angry or bitter when God disciplines us through the Word, or adversity and underserved suffering but rather we are to listen to what God is trying to say to us and to learn the lesson that He is teaching us so that we might acquire the character of our heavenly Father.
Jacob received discipline without getting bitter and complaining and instead recognized and submitted to God’s authority.
Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof, for whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.”
Job 5:17-18, “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal.”
Proverbs 15:32-33, “He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding. The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility.”
The divine discipline in the form of fourteen years of hard labor for Laban had humbled him and forced him to avail himself of the divine provision of prayer and claiming the promises that the Lord had made to him at Bethel.
The fact that the wrestling match took place at night is a picture or symbolic of the divine discipline he underwent in the form of his fourteen years of hard labor for his deceitful uncle Laban.
Whereas the daybreak Genesis 32:26 symbolizes or is a picture of Jacob no longer under divine discipline but rather experiencing fellowship with God, which is called by the apostle John in 1 John 1:5-10 as “walking in the light.”
We will note this on Sunday morning.
