Jacob’s life was filled with scheming, deceit, disappointment and heartbreak. In Genesis 32, while returning to Bethel after spending 20 years with his father-in-law, Laban, we find him very unsettled. His anxiety had been escalating for several days, because he perceived that he was sandwiched between two threatening foes – Esau to the west and Laban to the east. God graciously intervened to rescue him from Laban, but now his brother Esau was approaching. If Jacob had recognized God’s handiwork in buckling Laban’s infuriated heart, he would have saved himself an enormous peace offering of 580 animals, with which he meant to bribe Esau and escape his revenge.
He Planned, Then Prayed
God sent an angelic escort (likely well-armed) to accompany Jacob on his journey. These servants from heavenly realms did more than just appear to Jacob – they actually met with him! This unique encounter must have urged Jacob forward in his journey to Bethel. He sent out messengers to find Esau and announce his arrival. The messengers returned with a report much sooner than expected, because Esau was already approaching with 400 men. The news of Esau’s approach was unnerving, and Jacob became “greatly afraid and distressed” (Gen. 32:7 KJV).
So did he pray or cry out to God for help? Not at first. Rather, Jacob chose to meet this danger by his own devices instead of resting in the Lord. As a precautionary measure to reduce his losses if attacked, he divided his people and livestock into two groups. It was only after Jacob finished all his “busy work” that he prayed to God for deliverance. This is Jacob’s first recorded prayer, and though wonderful, it was a bit late to demonstrate complete trust in his Creator.
Jacob humbly asked for God’s deliverance based on His covenant promises. If this supplication had been uttered earlier in Jacob’s “doings,” we may have complimented him, but it is man’s tendency either to rely on self solely, or to add a short prayer for his own arrangements to gain a little divine help in the matter. That’s what Jacob did, and what we all are prone to do. The cycle of Jacob’s planning and praying may be praise worthy: plan (Gen. 32:7-8), pray (Gen. 32:9-12), plan (Gen. 32:13-23), pray (Gen. 32:24-32) and plan (Gen. 33:1-3). Yet if we let the cycle begin with prayer rather than planning, the heart’s trusted resource would be God’s grit, not our wit.
After righteous King Jehoshaphat had confirmed a military alliance with wicked King Ahab, to war against Syria, he said to Ahab, “Inquire ... at the word of the Lord today” (2 Chr. 18:4). It is utter mockery to solicit God’s counsel and assistance when one has already decided the matter through human reasoning. C.H. Mackintosh wrote, “We must be really brought to the end of everything with which self has anything to do; for until then God cannot show Himself. But we can never get to the end of our plans until we have been brought to the end of ourselves.” God had resolved the quarrel with Laban. Why could Jacob not trust Him to work in Esau’s heart also? Unknown to Jacob, that’s exactly what God was doing.
He Fretted, Then Followed
The night before confronting Esau, Jacob isolated himself from his family to fret over his dilemma. This was a critical point in Jacob’s life, for he was completely alone with God. To be secluded with God is the only true place to realize our frail devices and our depraved hearts. The Lord, incognito, visited Jacob. Note that the Lord began the wrestling match; Scripture says, “there wrestled a man with Jacob” (Gen. 32:24). But the next verse states that Jacob “wrestled with Him.” Both the Lord and Jacob desired something from the other. Jacob, nearly 100 years old, wanted a blessing from the Ancient of Days. The Lord wanted Jacob broken and yielded. If the Lord has ever wrestled with you, it is for the same purpose – to obtain “brokenness.” We understand this unnamed man to be a theophany (a pre-incarnate visit of Christ to the earth as the Father’s messenger).
Let’s remember John’s solemn words concerning the enemy that lurks about threatening to devour: “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4). The Lord plus anyone is a majority. Actually, the Lord alone is a majority! Elisha’s servant discovered this when God opened his eyes to see the horses and chariots of fire that filled the surrounding mountains (2 Ki. 6:17). He feared the Syrian army that had surrounded them at Dothan for the purpose of killing Elijah. Why? Because God had been providing Elijah with tactical information about the enemy which he, in turn, had given to the king of Israel to spoil the Syrian invasion. Elijah did not fear the enemy; he was just concerned about performing God’s will. There’s the lesson: Do His will and don’t be anxious about the rest.
Jacob was agonizing about the enemy when he should have been concentrating on obeying God’s instructions. But despite Jacob’s misplaced focus, in the end the Lord drew out Jacob’s faith at Peniel, by first withholding what He intended to impart, and then bestowing it after Jacob declared, “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me” (Gen. 32:26).
The unnamed wrestler graciously blessed Jacob (Gen. 32:29) and was realized to be the Lord by Jacob himself (Hos. 12:2-4). Further evidence is given in Genesis 35:9 that it was the Lord who tangled with Jacob: “God appeared unto Jacob again” after he arrived in Bethel (Gen. 35:9). Since this is the only other time a divine messenger personally appeared to Jacob, we conclude, as Jacob did, that he had wrestled with the Lord Himself.
The Lord could have “pinned” Jacob at any time but did not choose to. The Lord was longsuffering with Jacob, willing to wrestle the whole night with him. Why? Not to defeat or destroy Jacob, but to teach him to be yielded and broken before Him. Jacob had used his resources to outwit Esau, con his father, Isaac, and escape from Laban – but Jacob was about to learn that he was no match for the Lord. By divine skill, Jacob was crippled, making future wrestling difficult and painful: “the hollow of the thigh ... shrank” (Gen. 32:32). How well the words of John the Baptist blend with this event: “He (Christ) must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30).
He Was Broken, Then Blessed
Jacob, being disabled, resorted to the only tactic left, holding on to the Lord with all his might. In the end, the Lord was victorious – Jacob’s will had been broken and his only recourse was to cling to God. It is at this moment of self-brokenness, and reliance on the Lord that Jacob received a blessing. The lesson for us is this: When we yield ourselves and cling to the Lord, we receive God’s blessings and become a blessing to others. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
We read in Luke 19:29-35 of a colt that found his purpose and fulfillment in life in being what the Creator wanted him to be. This colt, “whereon yet never man sat,” became broken in the presence of the Lord on Palm Sunday. In submitting to the Master this little colt learned his purpose in life. He was to carry the lowly and just Messiah down the Mount of Olives before a cheering crowd. This colt was born to serve his Master and to fulfill a 600-year-old prophecy (Zech. 9:9). When we are broken before God we are able to learn of Him, be what He wants and find the true meaning of life. Being with the Creator and seeking to please Him results in sustained joy!
Jacob had sent his family over the brook Jabbok (modern Zerqa) while he remained on the other side alone. Ironically, Jabbok means “he will empty.” Once Jacob’s will had been broken and his self-dependence emptied, he then became a fit vessel for God’s use.
What About Us?
What application is there for us in the “sinew which shrank”? First, all God’s people will fail from time to time. Like Jacob, we wrestle with God, go our own way, and fail to do what is right. We are all prone to wander. The Orthodox Jews religiously pulled the sciatic nerve, or thigh vein, from slaughtered animals before they prepared the meat for consumption. It was a continual reminder of how God had dealt with Jacob when He wrestled with him. Likewise, God is dealing with us according to His wisdom and love. Perhaps we should follow this Jewish example and not feast upon the failures of others. God is longsuffering with His people and so should we be. Note that there is no record anywhere in Scripture of the Lord rebuking Jacob for his failures.
Nobody does what is right all the time; therefore, none of us should rejoice in the iniquity of others. This is simply an activity of pride our mind enjoys engaging in, to substantiate self: “I don’t sin like he does; therefore, I am better than he is.” Paul clarifies our natural propensity to sin: “There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:12). Do not compare yourself with others – it will lead only to depression or pride. And do not focus on the failures of others – it will lead only to their pain or your vanity.
Second, the “sinew shrank” – it was not removed from Jacob; nor is the “flesh” eradicated from the believer’s life upon conversion. Yieldedness to the Lord shrinks self-dependence so that we might walk by faith and in the strength of God’s Spirit. Thus, the hand that touched and withered Jacob’s natural strength also imparted a more excellent vitality. This is God’s way.
Jacob received a new name that day – Israel. It could mean “he who strives with God,” or “God’s rule” or “a prince of God.” In a real sense, all are true – Jacob strove with God long enough to learn that God ruled his life. Jacob also got a new walk. For the rest of his life, he limped upon his disabled hip. The pain and loss of mobility were a constant reminder that he had wrestled with God and that God had won!
Let us walk by faith, in the light of revealed truth, and not wrestle with God. God will never harm us, but He may touch us to make us more faithful. Ponder Jacob’s words to the Lord one more time: “I will not let Thee go.” Jacob sought to be alone in his misery, but after embracing the Lord, his soul clung to His presence.
By Warren Henderson