One of the most important Biblical characters is Jacob. He is the son of Issac and the grandson of Abraham. His life was filled with ups and downs but couldn’t have been possible without the faithfulness of God, and the faith of his grandfather, Abraham.

Throughout Jacob’s life, he experienced being both the loser, and the winner. Jacob was faithful at times, and the complete opposite at others. But one thing is certain about his life. God was active and moving. He was involved in the story of Jacob and helped him get to where he needed to go. Without the influence of the Lord on Jacob’s life, the entire history of Israel would be far different, thus the history of Christianity would be as well.

There is a story, however, that changes the life of Jacob immensely, and it is one that I find most interesting. Today, we will be discussing the time that Jacob wrestled with God.

Jacob Deceives

Before we get to the divine wrestling match, it’s critical that we first mention who Jacob was beforehand. He wasn’t really your typical Bible hero after all, and from our viewpoint, was actually more like the villain.

Jacob had a twin brother, Esau, and when they were born, Jacob held onto Esau’s heel. Once, when they were much older, Esau came in from the field and was exhausted. Jacob offered him food at the expense of Esau’s birthright. Esau obliged. Later, as their father, Issac, is giving the blessing as he is very old, Jacob acts as though he is Esau, and gets his blessing, undermining Esau, and deceiving Issac. Time and time again, he is shown to be villainous in nature, especially in comparison to Esau, who portrays hard work and skillfulness. Throughout his early life, he exhibits only deceitfulness.

We could take a lot of lessons from these two characters. We could point out that we shouldn’t lie, or that we should be hard-working and courageous. We even could point out that we shouldn’t hate our family or prioritize one person over the other like their parents, Issac and Rebekah, did. But the most important thing that I take from the early part of the story is not special to these characters, but relevant to us all.

The most important thing to me wasn’t that Jacob was a deceiver, but that he was a sinner. He sinned and trusted in himself, and this was what eventually led to his experience with the Lord. This character not only shows us what sin can lead us to, but what sin can transform us into. It causes us to see the sin and self-reliance in ourselves, as if we are seeing into a mirror.

Jacob Wrestles

The brothers in our story eventually find themselves at complete opposing sides, with Jacob terrified of Esau and his army. This, of course, is due to the problems they had in the past with Rebekah even telling Jacob this,

“Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you.” (Genesis 27:42)

They were at odds, and Jacob was afraid, thus he cried out to God, pleading for help. With this, he also prepared a gift for his brother, and sent messengers to relay very nice and gentle messages, all in hopes that he avoids defeat. Clearly, he isn’t trusting in God, but in himself, which is a major theme in his life.

Eventually, a man meets Jacob and begins to wrestle with him. Their fight lasted for hours, until the man touched Jacob’s hip joint and knocked it out of place. Seeing that this man must be of some divine nature, Jacob begins to plead.

“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.” (Genesis 32:26-29).

Here, we find a turning point in the story of Jacob. After much time spent wrestling, Jacob receives a blessing. However, it hadn’t come as had in the past. It came when Jacob trusted in the godly man, and not in himself, but in the faithfulness of the Lord to bless him.

Jacob Submits

After this tough-to-wrap-your-head-around situation, Jacob’s life and posture changed. While he once lived a life of self-reliance and deceitfulness, he then lived a life of faithfulness to God.

The dislocation of his hip led Jacob to rely upon God for the outcome of his meeting with Esau, and not himself. When they met, Esau ran to him and fell to his knees as his servant, not his oppressor. Both Jacob and Esau had many blessings and were no longer foes, but brothers once more. However, if Jacob had never submitted to God, it could’ve been very different.

Throughout the rest of Jacob’s life, he was faithful to the Lord and eventually became the father to the 12 tribes of Israel, which became his new name after the wrestle with God. One of his sons is Joseph, who was one of the most faithful men in the entire Bible. With Jacob’s line, we find ourselves with David, and eventually Jesus. But, if he had never had his wrestling match with God, and submitted himself to the Lord, we might find ourselves with a little bit of a different history.

Our Posture Towards God

I want you to ask yourself, are you self-reliant, wrestling, or submitting? In our faith journeys we will all find ourselves in each of those categories at one point or another.

Some of us may be in complete self-reliance. Depending on ourselves for our strength and our victories, but only finding ourselves in sin, and winning by first losing. We cry out to God only when we need help and give ourselves a back-up plan in case God doesn’t come through. While Jacob deceived, maybe you hurt or offend others to feel like a victor, relying on yourself alone.

Maybe you are wrestling. You want to do good, and you want to rely on God, but your faith isn’t strong enough. Or God is allowing your struggle in order to make you reliant on him. I once heard a minister say that some of us need to hit rock bottom in order for God to be able to move in our lives. I know that statement was true for me. Maybe it is for you too.

My prayer is that we all find ourselves submitting to God. Whether it takes the wrestle for you to do so or not, submit yourself unto God, and see him do far more than you could ever have done on your own. What you thought you could do, is nothing compared to what God can do through you. All that is takes is submission and trust. If Jacob can do it, you can too.

Have a great week!