Genesis 32:32 1-2 And Jacob went his way. Angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “Oh! God’s Camp!” And he named the place Mahanaim (Campground).
3-5 Then Jacob sent messengers on ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir in Edom. He instructed them: “Tell my master Esau this, ‘A message from your servant Jacob: I’ve been staying with Laban and couldn’t get away until now. I’ve acquired cattle and donkeys and sheep; also men and women servants. I’m telling you all this, my master, hoping for your approval.’”
6 The messengers came back to Jacob and said, “We talked to your brother Esau and he’s on his way to meet you. But he has four hundred men with him.”
7-8 Jacob was scared. Very scared. Panicked, he divided his people, sheep, cattle, and camels into two camps. He thought, “If Esau comes on the first camp and attacks it, the other camp has a chance to get away.”
9-12 And then Jacob prayed, “God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, God who told me, ‘Go back to your parents’ homeland and I’ll treat you well.’ I don’t deserve all the love and loyalty you’ve shown me. When I left here and crossed the Jordan, I only had the clothes on my back, and now look at me—two camps! Save me, please, from the violence of my brother, my angry brother! I’m afraid he’ll come and attack us all, me, the mothers and the children. You yourself said, ‘I will treat you well; I’ll make your descendants like the sands of the sea, far too many to count.’”
13-16 He slept the night there. Then he prepared a present for his brother Esau from his possessions: two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty camels with their nursing young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. He put a servant in charge of each herd and said, “Go ahead of me and keep a healthy space between each herd.”
17-18 Then he instructed the first one out: “When my brother Esau comes close and asks, ‘Who is your master? Where are you going? Who owns these?’—answer him like this, ‘Your servant Jacob. They are a gift to my master Esau. He’s on his way.’”
19-20 He gave the same instructions to the second servant and to the third—to each in turn as they set out with their herds: “Say ‘Your servant Jacob is on his way behind us.’” He thought, “I will soften him up with the succession of gifts. Then when he sees me face-to-face, maybe he’ll be glad to welcome me.”
21 So his gifts went before him while he settled down for the night in the camp.
22-23 But during the night he got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He got them safely across the brook along with all his possessions.
24-25 But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.
26 The man said, “Let me go; it’s daybreak.”
Jacob said, “I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me.”
27 The man said, “What’s your name?”
He answered, “Jacob.”
28 The man said, “But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through.”
29 Jacob asked, “And what’s your name?”
The man said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And then, right then and there, he blessed him.
30 Jacob named the place Peniel (God’s Face) because, he said, “I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!”
31-32 The sun came up as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip. (This is why Israelites to this day don’t eat the hip muscle; because Jacob’s hip was thrown out of joint.)
Jacob is paralyzed with fear! God has commanded Jacob to return to his family; however, Jacob fled originally because he feared his angry twin Esau was going to kill him. If Jacob has prospered and has become wealthy with wives and children and servants, what about Esau? When Jacob messages Esau that he is coming, the messengers report that Esau is heading toward Jacob with 400 fighting men, undoubtedly as tough and fearless as Esau. Jacob divides his camp into two groups in hopes that one will survive Esau’s attacks and then to soften Esau’s heart, Jacob sends three different groups of livestock as a present for Esau. Finally, Jacob sends his wives and children across the ford of Jabbok, remaining alone; that’s when God meets Jacob.
God in the form of a man wrestles with Jacob and finally dislocates Jacob’s hip to end the contest.
26 The man said, “Let me go; it’s daybreak.”
Jacob said, “I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me.”
27 The man said, “What’s your name?”
He answered, “Jacob.”
28 The man said, “But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through.”
29 Jacob asked, “And what’s your name?”
The man said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And then, right then and there, he blessed him.
30 Jacob named the place Peniel (God’s Face) because, he said, “I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!”
Jacob’s first encounter with God is when he is a lonely fugitive fleeing for his life. Now once more, Jacob is alone, fearing for his life and the lives of all who are traveling with him. God has blessed Jacob abundantly; however, Jacob fears that all these blessings are about to evaporate as Esau takes revenge. At this point, Jacob might be agonizing over all his previous trickery, realizing that God has blessed him in spite of his lies and cheating, not because of them.
Suddenly, a man appears and grabs hold of Jacob, beginning to wrestle with him. After twenty years of herding sheep in the wilderness, Jacob is tough and wiry. The soft spoiled mama’s boy is gone, and Jacob is both strong and quick. The two opponents are closely matched, and hours go by with neither gaining an advantage over the other. Finally, the day is breaking, and Jacob senses that something new is about to happen. When Jacob’s opponent requests release, Jacob demands a blessing. Jacob’s opponent gives him a new name, “Israel-God Wrestler,” indicating that he has wrestled with God and has prevailed. That’s when Jacob suddenly realizes that he has been wrestling with God in human form and that he only remains alive because God is merciful.
In this part of Jacob’s story, Jacob himself becomes a living sacrifice. For the rest of his life, Jacob will limp due to his hip injury. Anytime the weather changes, anytime Jacob has traveled long distances, or even in the middle of the night, when that hip hurts, Jacob will remember his wrestling match with God and God’s words. Jacob has put his life on the line, and God has blessed him and given him a new name, one with the promise of a bright future. The more Jacob considers this encounter, the more he realizes that God could have made a swift end of him. But God knew precisely how strong Jacob was and tempered his strength to that of Jacob. Notice also that Jacob did not give up, despite being exhausted. It was God who called a halt to the wrestling match, not Jacob. Jacob had no idea how this thing was supposed to end; he only knew that he had to hold on as long as possible. By being persistent, Jacob has won a new name and has secured all the promises God has made to him.
There are times in our lives when we feel called to take a stand, but then find ourselves alone and exposed. Those are the times when we must choose: Will we stand for God or will we falter and hide, hoping we won’t suffer? Romans 12:1-2 tells us, “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
1 Peter 2:21-25 tells us, “This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step. He never did one thing wrong, not once said anything amiss. They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.”
In the history of the world, there has only been one human blood sacrifice that God has approved, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. True, there have been millions of saints and martyrs who have voluntarily laid down their lives for others, but those sacrifices are of a different nature and cannot deliver anyone from their sins. But we can give ourselves as a living sacrifice to God so that He can use us as He wishes. If you love someone deeply, you will do anything to please them. God’s love for us is beyond our comprehension, for He has sent Jesus to die for all of our sins, no matter how terrible. When we offer God our lives, we are giving Him the best gift possible. Let us constantly and daily live with the eyes of our spirits fixed on God so that He can guide us into all truth.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, You have promised us eternal life if we will only believe in Christ Jesus and accept what he has already done for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and without You, we have no hope. We give our lives to You; help us to fulfill Your perfect Will for our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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