READ: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+32&version=ESV LISTEN: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Gen.32 Jacob Wrestles with God 22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 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. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 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.” 29 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. 30 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.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh. While I didn't mention it in yesterday's blog, Jacob had the angels of God come and minister to him in his time of distress in Genesis 32:1. We'll see this happen with other men of God later and even Jesus Himself throughout the Old and New Testaments. Jacob again believed there was some special connection between God and the physical place (like he did at Bethel) and called this place Mahanaim--the camp of God.
In verses 22-32. Jacob is going to have a face-to-face encounter with "a man" that most assume is either one of the angels mentioned in verse 1 of chapter 32, or possibly even the Son of God Himself. We'll see from Jacob's words later that he says he wrestled with God which is why most people believe this to be a Christophany. After Jacob had sent away all that he owned, he wrestled with this man until daybreak and when the man saw that he would not prevail, he touched Jacob's hip and made Jacob's hip come out of joint. Despite this handicap and the pain that he must have been experiencing, Jacob held on and continued to wrestle with this man. So that the man pleaded with Jacob to let him go as daybreak was upon them. Why it was important that this man not be seen in the daylight, I do not know, but Jacob believed this "man" had the ability to bless him and would not let go until he had received that blessing. The man asks Jacob his name and when Jacob had told him his name (remember the name "Jacob" means deceiver and one who grasps the heel), the man said he would no longer be called Jacob, but "Israel, for you have striven with God and man and prevailed." Jacob then asked the man to tell him his name, but the man would not answer and said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" Whether this "man" was an angel or God in the flesh or simply just a man, it is obvious that Jacob believed that he had wrestled with God that night, and the name he gives that place indicates this as he says that he had seen God face to face and been delivered. This is an astounding statement because we know that no man can look on the glory of the Lord and live, so perhaps this explains why the man wanted to get away from Jacob before sunrise--perhaps this was for the benefit of Jacob. We are then told something interesting and again given an indication that the book of Genesis was written sometime much later (possibly after the Law of Moses was given) where it says "to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh." We'll see later in the Law that the thigh is the Lord's portion of the sacrifice, probably for this very reason, and that it was given to the priests and the other Levites as something that was holy and meant to be their provision as the ministers of the Lord's covenant. Even in the sacrificial system there would be a constant reminder of this event where Jacob would receive a new man and a new identity as a name was a person's identity and Israel means, "He retains God" and "God is upright." We too should have a change in our nature and identity and receive a new name when we meet God face-to-face. Do we walk away bearing a similar testimony that "He retains God" and that "God is upright."? Is this what people see and think about when they see us? Are we permanently marked by the encounter in the way that Jacob walked with a limp from this day forward? There are times in our lives where we may be broken and they may be painful, but we may look back and them and realize that this is when the Lord was doing His work in our lives and giving us a new name and new identity and preparing us for what was to come ahead. Jacob still needed to go forward through the land of Edom and confront his brother Esau, but he want forward in the new identity that he had been given and with the confidence that he had the blessing of God. We'll take a look at Jacob's encounter with his brother Esau next time and how even though God had given him a new identity he is still up to his old tricks and called Jacob in that passage because he has not quite figured out how to live in light of his new identity. We too struggle with this when we become children of God and bear the name of Christ as Christians, but yet sometimes still rely on our ourselves and our "old nature" Even in all of this though, God worked to protect his chosen one and to work all things together for His purposes.
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Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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