Scripture: Genesis
32:24-31
Background: Several
years after his vision of the ladder to heaven, Jacob is returning to his
homeland. In the intervening years, he has acquired huge herds of animals,
gained two wives and their maids, and fathered 12 children (11 boys and 1
girl). But despite all the time that has passed, Jacob still fears his twin
brother’s wrath—a fear that seems justified at the report of Esau’s approach
with four hundred men. So Jacob sends ahead a lavish gift of animals to appease
his brother and places all he has on the far side of a stream, leaving him
along to wrestle with God—literally.
Observations:
Both Job and Genesis are filled with accounts of man’s encounters with God.
There have been dreams and visions. Voices from heaven. A whirlwind. Physical
appearances. But no where does the encounter with the divine become more
personal or tangible than here.
For while God is spirit, He can
somehow take on a very tangible form—otherwise Jacob would not have been
able to wrestle with Him. Indeed, God takes on such a human form that Jacob
does not realize at first with whom he wrestles. But when Jacob requests the
name of the “man,” the response implies that Jacob should know the answer (“Why
is it that you ask my name?”). And the following verse shows that Jacob does
finally recognize Him: “I have seen God face to face.”
But Jacob and God do more than wrestle, which shows close
physical contact. God here also changes Jacob’s
name. Since his birth, he has been called “the one who grasps the heel,”
a physical image of one who trips up and tricks others, usually through
deception. And Jacob has lived up to his name well: he tricked his brother out
of his birthright, stole his father’s blessing, and manipulated to obtain the
best of his uncle’s animals, fleeing each time the situation went south.
Now God changes Jacob’s name and
provides him a new identify to live up to. Yes, Jacob has striven with
men. Yes he has wrestled with God. And he
prevailed. Jacob didn’t need to live in the shadows as a deceiver any
longer, running from place to place. He could boldly face the new day as a
prevailer, as Israel
Yet such a personal encounter
with God did not come without cost. God touched the socket of Jacob’s
thigh and dislocated it, leaving Jacob with a limp as a reminder, an injury
which I suspect plagued him for the rest of his life.
Significance: An
encounter with the supernatural is no small thing. An encounter with the Living
God even less so. After all, His nature and power so supersede us that He is truly incomprehensible, unimaginable,
inexplicable, and completely beyond our ability to grasp.
Yet as Jacob’s wrestling reveals, God still condescends to
meet us on our turf. He knows where we are at, and though He could demand all
sorts of maneuvering on our part, He doesn’t. He comes to us. He shows up where we
are. He deals with us as we are now—even if that
requires a full-fledged fight.
And it’s not like He doesn’t know what He is getting into
when He steps forward to meet us! He knows who we are. He knows our history and
all we have done. He knows our weaknesses and our desires.
But God does not want to leave us there. He may meet us in
our current state, but He summons us to be more. He
calls us to leave our past behind and grow into the person He desires us to
become. To be more than conquerors in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yet be careful what you wish for! While such an encounter
with God sounds good and desirable—and it is—“good” does not equal easy…or
safe…or painless. God may condescend to meet us, but He will not lessen His
Glory or diminish His character for our comfort. Rather, we ought to expect such a God-encounter will change us, leaving a lasting
mark on our lives.
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