Jacob Wrestles

Bethel Mennonite Church - Gladys VA

Jacob had a lot of challenges in his life. His first challenge was with Esau, but then he left home and faced a similar challenge with Laban. It seems that God’s intention was to bless Jacob, but since Jacob didn’t seem to know that, he connived and deceived people in an effort to get ahead. In Genesis 32, after Jacob left Laban, we have the story of Jacob getting ready to face Esau. He sent messengers to Esau with gifts. Jacob is remembering how he left Esau many years before. Esau, his messengers told him, was on his way to meet him with 400 men. Jacob was afraid and distressed. He divided the people that were with him into two groups hoping that at least one group would be spared.

Jacob prayed earnestly that night. He needed God’s protection from Esau. He was terrified and did not know what to do. And as he prayed, a stranger came and wrestled with him. We are never told who this stranger is, but Jacob believed he saw God. They wrestled all night long, and Jacob was not winning. At daybreak, when the stranger seemed to be leaving, Jacob begged for a blessing. The stranger touched Jacob’s hip, and Jacob limped from then on. His name was changed from Jacob to Israel, which means contending or wrestling with God.

Some lessons we can learn:

We need to learn to pray like Jacob did and come to God in humility. We need to be honest with God. We should not wait to pray until we’re desperate. We need to learn to wrestle with God in our understanding of God’s will for us and how He wants us to carry it out. We need time to be alone with Him.

We need to be changed by our experience with God. How are we wrestling with God? Are we letting Him change us, or are we resisting His plans for us? God would prefer that we wrestle with Him instead of giving up.

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