On
his way back to the Promised Land, Jacob was anticipating the encounter he
would have with his brother Esau. But before he faced his brother, Jacob had a different
encounter…
(Genesis 32:24-25) 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.
Who
was this with whom Jacob was wrestling? Apparently there was no introduction,
but they simply started to fight. Maybe Jacob thought that it was Esau that had
come to kill him, just as he had promised before Jacob ran away. It is evident
that they fought for a long time, and just before daybreak the man wanted to
leave, but Jacob refused to let him go…
(Genesis
32:26) Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has
broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless
me."
Jacob
did not ask who this man was; for he surely thought that it was his brother. He
would not let go of him until he blessed him and came to a peace agreement. But
to his surprise, he realized that the man was not Esau…
(Genesis
32:27) And he said to him, "What is your name?" And
he said, "Jacob."
This
question must have shaken him. If this man was asking for his name, it was
because they did not know each other. However, the man was not asking for his
name to know his identity, but to change his identity…
(Genesis
32:28) Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called
Jacob, but Israel
By
this time, Jacob must have realized that he was not wrestling with an ordinary
man, but with someone special, even divine. He wanted to know exactly who it
was he fought with, however, the “man” did not want to reveal his identity.
(Genesis
32:29) 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.
Jacob
knew he had seen God…
(Genesis
32:30-32) 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
The
Bible tells us that a man cannot see God without having been sanctified because
he would die. God is so holy that no one
may survive before His Presence and His Glory.
(Exodus
33:20) But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man
shall not see me and live."
However,
there is an exception to this rule, and it is through Jesus Christ, who is God,
but has stripped himself from his glory to be able to live among men. If Jacob
was before God and lived, this can only mean that he was with Jesus. This is
one of the many teophanies that appears in the Old Testament.
A
NEW NAME
The
Lord blessed Jacob, and as part of the blessing, gave him a new name.
(Genesis
32:27-28) 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
The
Hebrew word for ISRAEL
Yisra which means: will
persevere (future tense of the verb Sarah שׂרה : meaning to have power, persevere, prevail,
contend)
+ El (God).
This
was a very important blessing, because this is where the nation of Israel Israel
FIGHT
WITH GOD
All
his life Jacob had been fighting, first against his brother, and later against
God.
(Hosea
12:3-5) In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his
manhood he strove with God. (4) He strove with the angel and prevailed; he
wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel
However,
when he surrendered to God, his life took a whole new meaning.
It
is the same with us today. Many of us are fighting against others with the
eagerness to stand out, and fighting against God in order to do our own will
instead of The Lord’s will. All this fighting makes us weary. When will we stop
fighting with our own strength? All we have to do is to leave behind our tendency
to manipulate, surrender unto God and recognize His Lordship. Those who submit
to God will finally come to rest in Him and discover their true purpose in Him.
THE
MARK OF THE ENCOUNTER
Jacob
was left with a mark on his body, which would become a constant reminder of
this encounter.
This
is how Paul describes himself.
(2 Corinthians 12:7-9) So
to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the
revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass
me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
(8) Three times I pleaded with
the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
(9) But he said to me, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ may rest upon me.
THE DAWN
We
should not overlook the fact that the “man” that was fighting against Jacob
wanted to leave before dawn. Here we find a hidden prophetic message.
Prophetically
speaking, the dawn represents the coming of Messiah.
(Isaiah
58:8) Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your
healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the
glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
The
prophet Hosea speaks of the struggle that the House of Israel has kept against
God, because they refused to submit to His lordship. For this reason Israel
(Hosea
6:1-3) "Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn
us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. (2)
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him. (3) Let us know; let us press on to know the
LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as
the spring rains that water the earth."
The
Lord wants to be made known before His people, but the time had not yet come
for Messiah to be revealed. That is why the Lord had to leave before dawn. That
is also why the “man” did not reveal his name to Jacob.
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