06/12/2008
Genesis 32:24 - 31 (HCSB) 24Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When the man saw that He could not defeat him, He struck Jacob’s hip as they wrestled and dislocated his hip socket. 26Then He said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”
27“What is your name?” the man asked.
“Jacob!” he replied.
28“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” He said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
29Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.”
But He answered, “Why do you ask My name?” And He blessed him there. 30Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For,” [he said,] “I have seen God face to face, and I have been delivered.” 31The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel—limping on his hip.
Jacob has left his uncle’s household. He is returning to his own family. It has been 20 years since he fled , and as he returns, he prepares to meet Esau again. He divides up his flocks and sends generous gifts of animals ahead of him in an effort to appease Esau. His servants report back that Esau is coming with 400 men.
Jacob separates the family into two groups hoping that if Esau does attack that only half of the family would perish. They spend the night at the Jordan River, and in the morning, Jacob sends them all across but he remains. Then, the scripture reads, “a man wrestled with him.” We don’t know who this man is and only later do we come to understand that he is an angel.
I can only assume that Jacob knew the man was an angel and intentionally detains him physically. In this struggle, Jacob insists on being blessed—I am certain in order to preserve his family and himself. As the struggle ensues, the angle asks his name. This is an interesting point because to a Jew, to know a persons’ name was to understand them intimately. That is, the name of a person revealed their character. This is why the Jews would never speak the name of God. This would imply that they understood him intimately and to them this was an inappropriate relationship. They were beneath Him.
As a Jew, one would not introduce ones-self on first meeting. The name was reserved for the closer acquaintances.
Jacob tells the angel his name and the angel henceforth changes his name to Israel. Israel in tern asks the angel’s name but the angel will not tell him.
The struggle is only ended when the angel sets Israel’s (Jacob’s) hip out of socket. I am convinced that the angel at any moment could have ended the struggle, but allows it to proceed thus far for a purpose. Are you in a struggle right now and looking for a reason as to why God isn’t ending it? Perhaps, like Israel, God has a purpose with the struggle.
Israel was demanding a blessing. God wanted to bless Israel, but through the struggle, Israel demonstrates his determination. Through the discourse, God changes the name, and thus the character of Israel. And in the outcome, although Israel has a limp, he has a physical reminder of God’s power in his life.
Can we apply these same principles to our struggles? Though we may leave the struggle scarred, we can look at those scars as badges of when we struggled and won. God will not always give you the easy way out. But when we struggle to do what is right, we will always be blessed.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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