Written By: Kirk Peterson
Intro
Recently, in reading the book of Genesis in bible study I
was blow away by the story of Jacob wrestling with God. It was perhaps the single greatest story I
have ever read in God’s word. There are
incredible stories throughout the entire book of the bible, but when Jacob
wrestled with God and won…well, I had never heard a story quite like that
before!
Also, I started
watching the History Channel’s The Bible Series, and it too has also made an
impact on my life. The secular media has
certainly taken to attacking the series, but as I heard on a Christian radio
station, how great could it be for us
as Christians to use this great visual story of God’s word to spread the good
news of Jesus to those who don’t know him…
Jacob’s Backstory
God gave a prophecy for the twins Esau and Jacob. It would not only tell of what would happen
for Isaac & Rebekah’s family but would act as a prophecy for the struggle
between Christians and the nation of Islam even today. (Genesis 25:21-26, NLT)
Isaac & Rebekah’s family even starting out so strong in their
faith with the LORD, would end up letting lies, deceit and sin into their house
that ultimately shattered their family. It shows us just how crafty the enemy is, even
to those who are close with God and how far we can fall away from Him and his
promises. Eventually, Jacob following
his mother’s direction, tried to trick his father Isaac into thinking he was
the firstborn brother Esau by lying and stealing his father’s blessing for the
birthright that God had prophesied about earlier to his mother Rebekah.
(Genesis 27:1-40, NLT)
Jacob succeeded in stealing the blessing for the birthright,
Esau hated his brother for this and began to scheme that he would kill his
brother Jacob because of it. Jacob fled
to his relatives where God showed him in His mighty wisdom discipline for Jacob
that would help mold his character and shape him into the man God knew he could
be. Jacob was mistreated by his uncle
Laban by the same sins that he committed against his family back in the Promised
Land, but through those trials that lasted 20 years he showed endurance and
faith in the LORD. He still would fall
in some of his choices that he makes, but eventually God comes to him and tells
Jacob to return to Canaan where his brother is waiting for him to return to
kill him. (Genesis 27:41-Genesis 32:21,
NLT)
Fear & Doubt
God was with Jacob.
He came to him in a dream back in Genesis 28:
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.
11At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for
the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep.
12As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to
heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 13At the top of the stairway stood the Lord,
and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God
of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving
it to you and your descendants. 14Your descendants will be as numerous as the
dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the
east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be
blessed through you and your descendants. 15What’s more, I am with you, and I
will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I
will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised
you.”
Jacob himself told his wives that God was with him later in
Genesis 31, after the LORD had an angel appear to him in a dream and told him
to prepare to leave back to the Promised Land.
5He said to them, “I have noticed that your father’s
attitude toward me has changed. But the God of my father has been with me.
(Genesis 31:5, NLT)
Angels were with him in his camp on his trip back to Canaan,
but he still let the grip of fear into his heart and tried to go his own way rather
then turning toward God. Jacob decided
to send gifts ahead to his brother Esau to try and pacify his anger over the birthright. The word even tells us that he was terrified when
his servants came back to him with the news that his brother Esau had an army
of 400 men that were marching to meet him.
I know in my own life that no matter how hard I try to stay
close to God and trust in Him, sin is right there to lead me astray. Fear and doubt have played a big role in my
life. God has showed me this year in
bible study that not only is He with me, but with God I have nothing to fear! He has given me peace where once there was
doubt and I am grateful to The Shaper of The Universe for blessing me with that
gift. If you have issues with fear and
doubt like I did, I encourage you to go to the LORD in prayer and open your
heart to him. Ask him to show you his
truth and dig into his word, for the word of God will not fail.
Willing to Fight
Jacob Wrestles with God
22During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his
two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them.
23After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. 24This
left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until
the dawn began to break. 25When the man saw that he would not win the match, he
touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26Then the man said,
“Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go
unless you bless me.” 27“What is your name?” the man asked. He replied,
“Jacob.” 28“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on
you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and
have won.” 29“Please tell me your name,” Jacob said. “Why do you want to know
my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. 30Jacob named the place
Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face,
yet my life has been spared.” 31The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he
was limping because of the injury to his hip. (Genesis 32:22-31, NLT)
2Now the Lord is bringing charges against Judah. He is about
to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways, and pay him back for all he has
done. 3Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a
man, he even fought with God. 4Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept
and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face,
and God spoke to him 5the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the Lord is his name!
(Hosea 12:2-5, NLT)
As I read these verses in Bible Study, I was blown away by
the story. I read over and over the
verses trying to understand God’s word, even going as far as changing my answer
to the questions in our study. However,
after thinking on God’s word, I feel like the spirit was telling me that God
was testing Jacob and wanted him to fight for Him and for His blessing of
keeping Jacob safe from Esau. Jacob was
all alone in the camp, with no one else to rely on but himself. He began to wrestle with the man until dawn began
to break. Can you imagine how hard it
would be to wrestle with God? His
struggle must have been for hours, God being ALL powerful decided to let Jacob win,
but isn’t it interesting that his word tells us that the man saw that he would
not win the match and performed a miracle in wrenching Jacob’s hip from his
socket with but a touch. God asked him
to let him go because dawn was breaking but Jacob refused and continued to fight
on. I believe it is evident that Jacob’s
heart had changed here by the fact God changed his name to Israel and the
heritage that name would bring to God’s chosen people.
The verse in Hosea tells us that Jacob wrestled with an
angel. I believe the man Jacob was
wrestling with was Jesus, God in flesh--kind of like how some Bible scholars
believe in the Old Testament when the bible speaks of: 'The Angel of the LORD', that this was
Jesus. The word tells us that Jacob meet
God face to face and his life was spared.
Abraham meets God outside his camp before Sodom and Gomorrah as
well. I believe that Jacob knew that the
man was God when it says that he would not let go unless you bless me.
As I continued to read about the reconciliation between
Jacob and his brother Esau in Genesis 33, I actually wept---probably because it
hits so close to home with me as my own brother has so much anger in his heart
just like Esau. Wasn't it miraculous to
see Jacob humbly bow down to his brother (having just won a wrestling match with
God) not knowing if he was going to get an ax to the head—only to see his
brother embrace him the way that he did.
Awesome stuff guys and gals, just awesome!
Jacob and Esau Make Peace
1Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men.
So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two servant wives. 2He
put the servant wives and their children at the front, Leah and her children
next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached
his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. 4Then Esau ran to
meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And
they both wept. 5Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are
these people with you?” “These are the
children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob replied. (Genesis
33:1-5, NLT)
God is With Us
I don’t know what would have happened if Jacob’s heart hadn’t
changed when he meet his brother Esau there with his army of 400 men. But, I do know that GOD IS WITH US when we become
his children by trusting in Him and His son Jesus. I pray that the world will come to know that
GOD IS WITH US and that He is the source of Love and can live in each and every
one of us!
May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our
ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. (1 Kings 8:57 NLT)
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in
his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in
them. (1 John 4:16 NLT)
