Day 22
“And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 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. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 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.” 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. 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.””
Genesis 32:24-30 ESV
You and I may have a few questions.
Why are we reading in Genesis if we’re supposed to be talking about the incarnation of Jesus?
Why did God, as a man, show up and physically wrestle with Jacob all night long?
What is the point?
This little snippet found in the first book of the Bible has always been so interesting to me. Probably, in no small part, because wrestling was/is my favorite sport. I’m not a “team sports” guy. I mean, I’ll play a pickup game of basketball or baseball or whatever, but the one-on-one challenge of combat, pitting yourself against one other person with a clear goal and no excuses… that, to me, is fun. Even so, the idea of heading out into the wilderness and lock into a grapple with God incarnate is a little daunting. Which brings us to the first question: Why are we reading in Genesis if we’re supposed to be talking about the incarnation of Jesus? This is one of those Holy Mysteries; the old covenant appearances of the physical embodiment of God.
When God appears as a man in the Old Testament; to Abraham (Gen. 18,) to Joshua (Josh. 5,) to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Dan. 3,) and others, this is a preincarnate appearance of Jesus, called by Bible scholars as a Christophany. In most of these instances, God is appearing in the form of a man and speaking to people. This situation is unique as God, preincarnate Jesus, doesn’t just speak to Jacob but actually comes out of nowhere and starts an all night wrestling competition with him.
That’s…different.
I also find it interesting how we are not given any insight into the mind of God in this situation. The outcome of the Lord blessing Jacob could have come in a much more direct manner. Also, it is evident that He could have ended the match at any moment if He could put Jacob’s hip out of socket with just a touch. Apparently God knew what Jacob needed, and this was the divinely appointed way of giving it to him. The wrestling match, the hip out of socket, the blessing and change of name; this was all intended by God. Why? We’re not given any reasoning ahead of the altercation, but we can work backwards to understand; using the ends to clarify the means.
Before Jacob’s interaction with Jesus, he was one way. When he left with a blessing and a new name, he was quite literally a different person. Jacob became Israel and from him an entire nation was descended - a nation that persists to this day! From his line not only would we see the nation of Israel, but the line of Judah, which led to the line of David, which led to Christ, Himself, and through Christ, all nations will be grafted into the family of God.
So, what was the point.
Honestly, I’m not 100% sure what the direct application is. There are principles and wisdom that we can glean from the very first wrestlemania, but we have to remember that we are not Jacob. We are not David. We are not Moses. These were real human beings who had real experiences with the real God of all creation. We can learn things from their lives, but their lives were not primarily for our educational benefit or to be the avatars of ourselves into the Biblical text. There probably isn’t another person ever who is going to have a literal wrestling match with God… this side of eternity, at least! But every one of us must reckon with the truth of the Gospel and put ourselves under submission to Him. We are all going to go through seasons when we feel like we are wrestling, spiritually, with God and we just don’t know all of the “why’s.”
What we can certainly take from Jacob’s strange battle is that, regardless of what we are experiencing, God does have His perfect reasoning which will ultimately end in blessing for each of us who is called according to His purpose.
And, His purposes stretch far beyond anything we could ever imagine!