What did Jacob wrestling the "man" signify?
The events on the wrong side of Jordan, as recorded in the 32 chapter of Genesis, are variously interpreted by believers. Some read the wrestling match between Jacob and the angel as some sort of evidence of the former's merit to be renamed "Israel" (as if God was rewarding Jacob with a 1st-place wrestling prize). Some view the match as a picture of fervent prayer, with Jacob "grasping" onto God until he was blessed of Him. I think there are many clues that point to another significance for the wrestling match... and that bring into question just who won it.
Let's start out by acknowledging that Jacob was a guilt-ridden, tormented wretch. There's the prayer he offered, hearing how Esau was bringing a band of men to meet him, that plainly revealed his thought process: "O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children." [32:9-11] Jacob abased himself enough to admit he wasn't worthy of God's mercy and truth... he recognized how when he crossed the Jordan river 20 years ago it was with only the staff in his hand, in outright flight from his brother's vengeance. Surely even his conviction that Esau still out to destroy him was born of his assumption that his crime against his brother still merited some sort of punishment. He must have imagined that if the roles had been reversed, he'd still want to kill his betrayer.
Wanting to make restitution--at least for the sake of sparing his own life--Jacob sent everything he had acquired in Haran. And in this he proves himself to again be the prototype of all of us who have ever done someone wrong. How easier we found it to give try to make up for it with a gift than with a show of contrition.How many guilty husbands, rather than apologize, will buy their wives a bauble. Many of us would offer almost anything else to forgo making a face-to-face confession... to avoid awkwardness and humiliation of admitting our fault. Jacob offered 20 years' worth of wages... all his material possessions... to buy peace with Esau.
Yet, in the midst, he lost any confidence that this gambit would work. He sent his whole household over the ford, but held back going himself. Fear overwhelmed him, and I am convinced he would have stayed on the wrong side of the Jordan if God hadn't interceded that night. And that is the real picture of the wrestling match with the angel. It was a representation of how Jacob was being prodded to go forward. The Lord wouldn't let him withdraw from facing his brother. Jacob fought against doing God's will, and so God contended with him, even chasten him by hollowing his thigh, to make him consent.
Let's start out by acknowledging that Jacob was a guilt-ridden, tormented wretch. There's the prayer he offered, hearing how Esau was bringing a band of men to meet him, that plainly revealed his thought process: "O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children." [32:9-11] Jacob abased himself enough to admit he wasn't worthy of God's mercy and truth... he recognized how when he crossed the Jordan river 20 years ago it was with only the staff in his hand, in outright flight from his brother's vengeance. Surely even his conviction that Esau still out to destroy him was born of his assumption that his crime against his brother still merited some sort of punishment. He must have imagined that if the roles had been reversed, he'd still want to kill his betrayer.
Wanting to make restitution--at least for the sake of sparing his own life--Jacob sent everything he had acquired in Haran. And in this he proves himself to again be the prototype of all of us who have ever done someone wrong. How easier we found it to give try to make up for it with a gift than with a show of contrition.How many guilty husbands, rather than apologize, will buy their wives a bauble. Many of us would offer almost anything else to forgo making a face-to-face confession... to avoid awkwardness and humiliation of admitting our fault. Jacob offered 20 years' worth of wages... all his material possessions... to buy peace with Esau.
Yet, in the midst, he lost any confidence that this gambit would work. He sent his whole household over the ford, but held back going himself. Fear overwhelmed him, and I am convinced he would have stayed on the wrong side of the Jordan if God hadn't interceded that night. And that is the real picture of the wrestling match with the angel. It was a representation of how Jacob was being prodded to go forward. The Lord wouldn't let him withdraw from facing his brother. Jacob fought against doing God's will, and so God contended with him, even chasten him by hollowing his thigh, to make him consent.
© 2024 Created by Raliegh Jones Jr..
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