Jacob Wrestles With God (On Repentance, Prayer, Blessing & Change)

(The Long Way Back Home, Part Two)

At the end of Genesis 31, Jacob, his wives, and his children have all officially separated from Laban, Jacob’s uncle. This separation was necessary because—as discussed in the prior post—sometimes our sanctification requires ending relationships and parting ways with family. That is because some people are not sanctifying, even if they are our blood relatives. Regardless, Jacob’s time in exile was not without purpose. While he was outside the Promised Land, the Lord multiplied Jacob into a large family, protected him from harm, and is now bringing him back. Jacob and company are now en route to the Promised Land, although just before they exited, Laban made one last offer to Jacob: to name his price and stay. The only point I will make here is that prosperity is not evil, but it is inherently more dangerous than poverty because it provides alternatives to God and equips a person with a feigned sense of self-sufficiency. Lucrative offers are often temptations in disguise, keeping you from where you ought to be.

Let us now go to the text. Genesis 32:1–8 says:

Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him. Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim.

Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. He also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now; I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.”’”

The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies; for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”

Let us first focus on the start of the chapter. Again, Genesis 32:1–2 says:

Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him. Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim.

Jacob’s experience in the wilderness of exile is bracketed by experiences with angels. The first, at Bethel on his way to exile, was the vision of God’s ziggurat in Genesis 28:12. Here, Jacob has his second experience with an angel on his way back from exile. These direct revelations from God not only reassure Jacob (who had no Bible back then) but also reassure all of us in modernity that God is trustworthy and fulfills His promises. After all, in Genesis 28:15, God tells Jacob:

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

Now in Genesis 32, God is fulfilling that promise in real time. The reassurance of God’s faithfulness is especially fitting, for let us not forget the original audience for these words: the Hebrews in the wilderness, liberated from Egyptian bondage. They were tempted to ask, “Can we really trust God and what He says?” God’s work in the lives of Adam through Joseph proved that the answer to that question is a resounding, “Yes!”

Genesis 32:2 says Jacob names the place where the angels met him “Mahanaim,” which means two camps. In other words, there is one place but two groups. Perhaps Jacob has in mind that it is both God’s camp and a camp of his tribe, complete with a heavenly shield. Jacob previously met God at Bethel, at the gate between heaven and earth. Now God once again enters through that gate and camps with Jacob. Psalm 34:7 says:

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.

Jacob’s recognition that he’s in God’s camp is relevant because the old trickster need not trick anymore. Jacob understands there is an unseen, superior spiritual reality that molds his earthly experience. As it says in II Kings 6:15–17:

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

And I John 4:4 says:

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

The take-home point here is that our reality is not the ultimate reality; rather, it is a subordinate one. Being mindful of spiritual things thus trumps earthly things because, speaking in strictly natural terms, things are not always what they seem.

Genesis 32:3 then says:

Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

What’s interesting is that, based on God’s command in Genesis 31:3, the Lord never tells Jacob to go to Esau; instead, he tells him to go back to the land of his forefathers. Now, this is going to be hard to convey in words alone, but ancient geography reveals that Jacob does not have to physically go through Esau to get back to the Promised Land. That is because where Jacob is headed (Bethel) is in the northern half of modern-day Israel. Where Esau lives (in the land of Seir) is in the southern region of modern-day Jordan. In other words, to get to his brother, Jacob has to travel about a hundred miles out of his way. So then, why does Jacob choose to send messengers to his brother?

Let us not forget that Jacob had to flee home in the first place because he conspired with his mother to deceive his father in order to steal a blessing from his brother. Esau was so enraged, he was out to kill Jacob. That’s how Jacob left home. Now, upon his return, before Jacob can settle in, he has to settle affairs with his brother. But again, why does Jacob take the initiative to contact Esau?

Well, speaking in general terms, I think it is because whenever someone is sanctified by grace, who they are changes. And one of the fruits of genuine faith is repentance. Repentance simply refers to a change of mind, which begets a change of heart, which begets a change of character. I think it is plausible to deduce, then, that because of an inward change of heart, Jacob has to go through Esau spiritually because—due to genuine repentance—he wants to restore a broken relationship. This is, of course, one of the true marks of genuine repentance: An inward sorrow over one’s own sin begets outward restitution and restoration of damaged relationships. Keep the idea of repentance in mind because I will soon provide seven traits of genuine biblical repentance.

Indeed, reconciling relationships is hard, and in the broken world in which we live, some relationships won’t be repaired, whether it’s because of my unforgiveness or yours. And sometimes, one party comes to repentance after the other has died. And then, sometimes people just get lost. Regardless, we have to ask the text: Why is Jacob trying to do the right thing? For his sake or for God’s? Because the text will reveal to the reader that if you are God-focused, you will persevere in doing right, even if it hurts. That is to say, true biblical repentance is focused on the Lord. Everything else—whether it’s my comfort, reputation, or position—is all secondary.

Biblically speaking, repentance is not a work. Meaning, a person cannot work themselves up to change their mind based on their own effort. After all, in order to change your mind, you have to put off one form of thinking and put on another. How will you know the right thinking to put on if you don’t have the Scriptures and the Spirit to renew your mind to divine truth?

Repentance is a gift of grace; it’s a fruit of faith. Be mindful that in the Old Covenant law, there was no means of repentance. Back then, restitution was by sacrifice. And in some cases of severe sin (e.g., murder), your restitution was your life. This means that in some cases in the Old Covenant, repentance wasn’t even an option. Truly, much can be said of repentance, but here I will now provide seven traits of genuine biblical repentance.

One, as mentioned, genuine biblical repentance is God-focused. As David says to the Lord in Psalm 51:4,

Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.

See also Philippians 2:3–4.

Back to Genesis 32. So, Jacob sends messengers ahead of him to Esau. What does he tell said messengers to communicate? Genesis 32:4–5 says:

[Jacob] also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now; I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.”’”

I previously mentioned Jacob being sanctified by grace, and one result is bearing the fruit of repentance. Here as well, we see additional fruits of grace: Jacob calls his brother “my lord” and refers to himself as “your servant.” In other words, Jacob demonstrates true humility and regards his brother as more important than himself. This echoes how Abraham dealt with his nephew Lot in Genesis 13. There, Abraham didn’t put his own interests first but invited his nephew to choose the best land for himself, while Abraham would take what was left. Both the examples of Abraham and Jacob instruct us that God never commands the elect to conquer or overcome power sources that we encounter in our lives. Instead, God frees us to act with humility and love, leaving those more powerful than us to deal with an all-powerful God.

Additionally, let us not forget that it has been years since Esau spoke to his little brother. Based on the silence of the Scriptures, it appears as if Esau doesn’t know about what happened to Jacob and vice versa. If this assumption is true, what is Jacob’s initial message to Esau? He basically says three things. One, that he’s been with Laban the entire time. That is to stay, not somewhere else amassing an army to come back and conquer. Two, that he’s wealthy with “oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants.” A wealthy man doesn’t need to poach from his brother. Three, that Jacob wants to reconcile in that he wants to “find favor” in Esau’s sight. Certainly, these three pieces of information are meant to fill in some information gaps if Esau wonders, “Why am I hearing from Jacob now after all this time? What’s his agenda?”

And how does Esau respond? In verses 6–8, the text says:

Why is Jacob greatly afraid and distressed? Perhaps it is because he doesn’t know how to interpret what Esau means by coming with four hundred men. After all, a party of four hundred is more than a subtle show of strength.

Regardless, fear is an emotion that is talked about much in the Bible. The Hebrew words for fear and distress in verse 7 communicate intimidation, a deep concern over an unfavorable circumstance, and being wrapped up in a troublesome position. In modern English, fear is often understood in a purely negative sense, but the type of fear the text talks about in Genesis 32:7 comes in three flavors. First, there’s rational fear, like fear of a lion on your front lawn. Second, there’s irrational fear, like fear of an ant on your dining room table. And third, there’s the fear of ignorance: meaning, you’re afraid based upon what you don’t know. Here, Jacob has a rational fear of ignorance because he doesn’t know if Esau’s men are coming to celebrate or to conquer.

Understanding fear is helpful for all of us because we will all be afraid, distressed, or both at some point in our lives. The question now becomes: What do you do with your fear? Are you paralyzed by inaction? Do you retreat? Do you ignore it and hope it goes away? Or do you cover your loins with fig leaves?

Well, when we look into what Jacob does, he takes his fear to God. In fact, Jacob’s prayer in Genesis 32:9–12 is the first recorded prayer in the Bible. In other words, the first prayer in the Scriptures is made by a man who is fearful and distressed, yet he prays to God for help. This fact is critically helpful because it reveals to us that Jacob does not allow his fear to control him. He does not give up but presses on in prayer despite his emotions. Even more, God is faithful to respond to a cry for help from one of His children. God not only responds to Jacob’s prayer for deliverance; He also creates a positive peace between the two brothers. Consequently, when all is said and done, Jacob and Esau part ways on good terms with no outward strife.

That being said, let us now read Jacob’s prayer to God. Again, let us remember that this is not only a prayer that is answered, but God does more than Jacob asks. Genesis 32:9–12 says:

Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’ I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’”

I will now make seven observations about this prayer.

The first observation is that Jacob addresses the Lord as “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac.” Jacob names God not only as the God of his fathers but also by His covenantal name, Yahweh. Our English Bibles translate Yahweh as Lord, and this word is always capitalized in the NASB. Thus, when Jacob prays, he starts with two things: one, an affirmation of God’s past faithfulness to promises to his forefathers. Two, he invokes the name of a covenantal God who is holy, true, good, and reliable. What all this means is that Jacob starts his prayer with faith: He trusts in a God who is trustworthy, and he rehearses God’s faithfulness at the start. Of course, God doesn’t need to be reminded of who He is, but we do. I can certainly understand why a person would therefore rehearse God’s former deeds: to stir up sleepy, dormant faith.

The second observation is that Jacob pleads God’s promises back to Him. Again, in Genesis 32:9, Jacob says, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you.’” Here, Jacob is rehearsing the promise God made to him back in Genesis 28 when he dreamt of God’s ziggurat. God cannot go back on His word, so it is profitable to pray God’s Word back to Him and plead with Him based on former promises. This does not suggest that God is our servant who bends to our requests; instead, it is an invitation for you to read the Word, know the Word, and study the Word so you can also use the Word in prayer.

The third observation is that Jacob adopts a posture of humility. He doesn’t demand that God “Give me what I want.” Instead, in verse 32:10, he says, “I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant.” In other words, Jacob prays with the understanding that grace is unmerited, and therefore, if he were to receive anything, it would be because the God of grace freely chose to dispense grace.

The fourth observation is that Jacob rehearses the good that God has already done for him. In the second half of verse 10, Jacob says, “for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.” God relates to people as individuals, and thus anyone who has walked with God for some time can testify that He has done something for you. Not for a broad group, but you in particular. Hence, use the memory of former graces to plead for new ones.

The fifth observation is that Jacob doesn’t get to his actual prayer request until the second half of the prayer. In verse 11, he says, “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”

The sixth observation is that Jacob speaks from his heart and is honest. In verse 11, he says, “for I fear [Esau], that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.” It makes no sense to pretend with God because the only person you are fooling is yourself. Jacob gets right to the point and tells God not only what he needs but also what he is feeling. Genuine prayer is always honest because it reveals that you trust God as a Father, even with those things that trouble, shame, or embarrass you.

Finally, the seventh observation is that Jacob again pleads God’s promise to him. In verse 12, he says, “For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’”

Recall that the reason why Jacob prays is that his messengers have told him that Esau and four hundred of his men are coming to meet him. This deeply troubles Jacob, so he is understandably afraid. Now, does Jacob’s prayer change God? No. But his prayer does change things, namely, Jacob himself. You see, God doesn’t need our requests, but we have to make them. Consequently, Jacob’s prayer primarily changes Jacob because in what happens next, Jacob doesn’t act like he’s afraid. That is, he neither runs away nor is paralyzed by inaction. Through prayer, a fearful Jacob is transformed into a man who plans and takes action. It is beyond my spiritual pay grade to get into Jacob’s heart and say, “He wasn’t afraid” after prayer. All we can deduce from what happens next is that Jacob does not allow his emotions to consume him.

So, as mentioned, Jacob takes action and begins planning. Genesis 32:13–21 says:

So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau: two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.” He commanded the one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’ then you shall say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’” Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, “After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.

Verse 13 says that Jacob sends a present ahead of his company to Esau. The Hebrew word used is minchah or “tribute.” Jacob thus sees himself as subordinate to his older brother and sends along a gift first, as a vassal would to a more powerful king.

The text also tells us that Jacob separates his company into droves with spaces in between them. There are thus gaps in between people and animals, so Esau will not encounter Jacob’s company all at once but in waves. This is strategic for several reasons. Sending a gift in droves would deter Esau if he were planning an ambush. That is, it would wear down his readiness, it would slow him down with a mixed multitude of people and animals, and it would be harder to distinguish Esau’s company from Jacob’s. And in all of this, Jacob is going to be last, in the back of the droves. This means the “me first” brother is now content to be last.

Yet, before he meets his brother, Jacob has another encounter with God. Verses 22–24 say:

Now [Jacob] arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had. Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

This Man—as we will soon read—is not just a man but a theophany: a visible and tangible manifestation of God. Furthermore, what’s intriguing about this verse is that the text says the Man wrestles with Jacob, meaning God initiates the match. Yet, even though God could easily crush Jacob, He condescends to Jacob’s level, even if he is a man of great strength (Genesis 29:2, 10). And verse 24 says the Man wrestles with Jacob all night until daybreak.

Verse 25 says, “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.” A hip dislocation means that a person—at best—has lost the ability to walk normally, if they can walk at all. Regardless, this reality means Jacob is now stripped of all natural power to fight effectively. It also reveals what was just mentioned: that if God can dislocate a hip with one touch, He is clearly holding back His true strength in wrestling with Jacob.

God’s condescension to Jacob’s level becomes more evident when we pull information from other verses: see Genesis 41:46, 45:6, and 47:9. These Scriptures tell us that Jacob is in his early to mid-nineties when he wrestles God. I will assume that the average ninety-year-old back then wasn’t in peak physical condition. And thus, when Jacob wrestles, is it possible that it isn’t merely physical? I will come back to this question shortly.

Verse 26 says, “Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.’ But [Jacob] said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’” In contrast to the former Jacob, who sought to gain a blessing by lying, deceit, and trickery, this version of Jacob is now forced to seek a blessing in the right way from the right Person: God Himself. Jacob cannot earn this blessing but has to literally cling to God and ask Him for a gift. You see, there are many who may use Jacob’s refusal to let go without a blessing as a vehicle to give fuel to their own wish projections. As in, “You have to refuse to let go of God until He blesses you with this!” But we cannot miss that the Jacob who held on to God was also the one who was crippled. He was broken down naturally before he was blessed spiritually.

I will now return to the question I raised before: if perhaps the wrestling match has more of a spiritual essence than a physical one. Again, the Man merely touches Jacob, and his hip is dislocated, which medically speaking requires a significant amount of force. The ease of injury implies that Jacob is no match for the Man. Hence, does the text suggest that the Man spiritually bests Jacob? I say all this to draw attention to the fact that there are two ways to look at Jacob’s encounter with God. One is Jacob-focused, in which we champion Jacob for what he does and the power of his faith: that he prevails over God and secures a blessing. The other way is God-focused, where clearly Jacob is no match for the Lord. The only reason Jacob prevails is that God allows him to. Hence, the real champion is God, who reveals Himself to a creature face to face; He could obliterate Jacob with a thought but instead empties Himself in order to lovingly teach His servant. God’s strength is made perfect in Jacob’s weakness.

Accordingly, perhaps you may find yourself in a season in your life where you are wrestling with God; you are wrestling with the pain of divine grace. Yes, there may be things that make you look weak, empty, needy, or broken. But this narrative reveals that this is how God often works: by taking painful, crippling, and disfiguring wounds and then using them as the means for you to receive the ultimate blessing in this life. And what is the purpose of such a lesson in God’s classroom? To learn to simply hang on to God, knowing there is nothing else you can do. If you think Jacob’s wrestling match was about a blessing, you’ve missed the point. He was crippled so that he would forget about everything else and hold on to the One who is of first importance.

In verse 27, the Man asks Jacob, “‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’” Does God need to know Jacob’s name? Of course not. The question is meant for Jacob’s sake. The question is meant for Jacob to lean into God’s question and discern, “What does your name—meaning your nature, character, and how you engage with others—tell you about you?” This question develops all the more importance when we see that God is about to give Jacob a brand-new, radically different name.

Consequently, in verse 28, God says, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” The new name that Jacob receives means “one who strives with God.” Unlike a slight name change (like Abram to Abraham), this is a radical name change that reflects a radical change in character. This echoes what the New Testament will call the “new birth,” in which a person is given a new nature and heart that both desires God and wants to serve Him. Subsequently, the history of the saints in the drama of redemption reveals that God’s people are not those who are sinless but those who—figuratively speaking—wrestle with God. You see, although Jacob has been given a new name, he will live out the rest of his life being both Jacob and Israel. Consequently, for you and me, once God saves us, that does not erase our former nature so that now we live a perfect life. By no means! On the one hand, the Christian life is one characterized by new life in which we have a heart of flesh to replace a heart of stone. On the other hand, our carnal nature still exists, and the resultant life is one in which we wrestle with our old self (see Romans 7:24–25).

Verse 29 says, “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.” In other words, Jacob gets a blessing but not an answer to his question. So just like Job, Jacob also wrestles with God, and both men in the end have unanswered questions. Yet, both also submit to the Lord and are drawn closer to Him. And let us also not miss that God’s revelation of His name is by gracious divine initiative, not response to effort.

As mentioned, when God asks us questions, He’s not asking for His own sake. He’s asking for our sakes so that we can truly think about the answer. We may ask God questions, and sometimes we may get an answer. Other times, God’s silence is His response. So, while asking God questions is biblical, the one thing we ought never to do is question God.

Verse 30 says, “So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.’” I mentioned before that Jacob did not encounter a mere man but God Himself. This is the verse that validates that assertion. When Jacob says, “I have seen God face to face,” he is referring to the same God who said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) and created the universe. So, Jacob both sees God face to face and wrestles a Man, as it says in Genesis 32:24. In other words, Jacob wrestles with a God-Man, God in the flesh.

Is there any further theological significance to the wrestling match? I think only if we look back to look forward. That is, Jacob fought with his brother Esau in the womb. He then fought his father for a blessing. He then struggled with Laban for years and is about to come face to face with his brother again. Now, finally, Jacob will see that those other people are not of first importance; God is. Jacob ought then not to struggle with men, but to fear God alone.

Furthermore, in the wrestling match, Jacob neither gives up nor runs away. Even when crippled, he hangs on to God. This begs the question: What is your response in times of trial, testing, or wrestling? Do you hang on to God or to something else?

So, God commands Jacob to return home. On the way, before Jacob confronts his brother, he has to come face to face with his Maker. After all, as Jacob says in verse 30, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” The Hebrew word for “spared” (nasal) means “saved” or “delivered.” Hence, if God has spared Jacob’s life, then Esau is not a consideration. When you fear God, you will have nothing else to fear. Hence, I do not think it is much of a stretch to see that God was testing Jacob’s faith and obedience to the call to return to the Promised Land. Perhaps, as verse 24 says, this is why God waited until Jacob was alone: to remove any and all distractions.

The cry, “My life has been spared,” echoes throughout the canon of Scripture: That is, saints from diverse times and locations are allowed to go through various trials. It is in said trials that God delivers those who cleave to Him; examples include the Hebrews who wandered in the wilderness, Jonah, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego.

Through this encounter, God reveals to Jacob that He is a refuge and strength in times of trouble. After all, how could the Lord show Jacob that if he didn’t go through trouble? As Psalm 46:1–3 says:

God is our refuge and strength, a very ready help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth shakes and the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.

Nowhere in the Bible does God promise us the red-carpet treatment. Instead, as evidenced in Jacob’s wrestling experience, God will use trials and difficulties to refine our faith and teach us deeper levels of dependence on Him.

The last verse we will dissect is Genesis 32:31, which says, “Now the sun rose upon [Jacob] just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.”

A man may prevail in wrestling with God, but it will also leave a mark. In Jacob’s case, he will never walk the same after his encounter with the Lord. Yet, the faithful do not regard such deficits as problems but reminders of our grace-filled encounters with God. Furthermore, Jacob is now Israel but still Jacob. He has two names—which reflect his two natures—but is one man. As mentioned before, this foreshadows the struggle in the Christian life between the flesh and the spirit; between the old self and the new self. See Romans 7:14–25. This struggle is a progressive, lifelong process that is never complete in this life. You see, when a person is saved, they are saved from the penalty of sin: death. Once saved, they are then sanctified, or progressively freed from the power of sin in their life. Only upon death and then glorification will a person be freed from the pollution of sin and then sin no more. What all this means is that from now on, Israel will wrestle with Jacob as the former grows in strength and the latter wanes. As Iain M. Duguid writes in Living in the Grip of Relentless Grace:

“In the midst of the struggle, Jacob received a new name, Israel, which marked a radical change in his nature. [His] new name is not a variant and an extension of what has gone before but rather a total transformation. His lifelong attempt to gain the promised blessing by ingenuity and striving rather than by grace had now been abandoned. But perhaps because that sanctifying transformation is partial in all of us in this life, so also was Jacob’s name change.”

So how does this section of Scripture point to Christ? Because He is the true Israel. He is the Only One who desired God alone with 100 percent of His being, with no Jacob mixed in. Christ is the One who wrestled both with men and with God; He is the One who had to endure God’s wrath at Calvary so that you and I would not have to. Now we cling to Christ, the One who blesses us with eternal life and a glorious inheritance.

Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal

Jacob Wrestles With God

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