Genesis
32:22-30
22 Jacob got up during the
night, took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons, and
crossed the Jabbok River’s shallow water. 23 He took them and
everything that belonged to him, and he helped them cross the river. 24 But
Jacob stayed apart by himself, and a man wrestled with him until dawn broke. 25 When
the man saw that he couldn’t defeat Jacob, he grabbed Jacob’s thigh and tore a
muscle in Jacob’s thigh as he wrestled with him. 26 The man
said, “Let me go because the dawn is breaking.”
But Jacob said, “I won’t let you go until you
bless me.
”
27 He said to Jacob, “What’s
your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name
won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel,[a] because
you struggled with God and with men and won.”
29 Jacob also asked and said,
“Tell me your name.”
But he said, “Why do you ask for my name?” and he
blessed Jacob there. 30 Jacob named the place Peniel,[b]
“because I’ve seen God face-to-face, and my life has been saved.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Introduction
Let’s get this out there right away: Jacob was a
cheater, liar and thief. He schemed his
brother Esau out of an all-important blessing from their father Isaac (Gen. 27)
and schemed his uncle Laban out of many flocks and other riches (Gen.
29-31). I wouldn’t buy a car from Jacob
(used or otherwise)! His name literally means “the supplanter” or “the heal
grabber,” and he certainly lives up (or down) to this moniker.
Quite often we like to think of the major
characters of the Bible as paragons of virtue, great heroes whose lives can
show us the way to live. There are some heroes in the Bible, but more often
than not, we find imperfect, broken people who are in need of a saving
relationship with God. Jacob certainly is one of these individuals and his life
will how messy, gritty and important a person’s relationship with God can
really be. But first, let’s set the tone.
The
Technical Stuff:
Abraham and his wife Sarah had a son named Isaac
and after they had died Isaac and his wife Rebekah had two sons: Esau and
Jacob. Esau was a man of action, who
enjoyed hunting. Jacob preferred to remain back at the tents of his people. The brothers’ contentious relationship has
already been alluded to above and suffice it to say that Esau has plenty of
reasons to hurt his brother.
By the time we reach chapter 31 Jacob is on the
run from Laban’s family, and is told by God to return to his native land and
family. On the way he learns that Esau,
the brother he had wronged so many years ago, is now on his way to meet Jacob
with four hundred men. This news fills Jacob with terror. After receiving this news, Jacob prays to the
Lord saying, “Save me from my brother Esau! I’m afraid he will come and kill
me, the mothers, and their children. You were the one who told me ‘I will make
your descendants like the sand of the sea, so many you won’t be able to count
them.’” (Gen. 32:11-12)
Jacob, savvy as ever, leaves generous gifts for
his brother and then divides his family and flocks so that if Esau were to
attack one group, others might escape and survive. You could call this a
Biblical version of not “putting all of your eggs into one basket.” While they
go on different paths ahead of him, he lays down by the Jabbok River. Here he
encounters a shadowy and mysterious figure who wrestles with him. This wrestling match has been interpreted
over and over again throughout the centuries.
It’s essentially a draw: neither person can win.
Who is this mysterious figure? We receive our
clue from verse 28, where the mysterious figure says, “Your name won’t be Jacob
any longer, but Israel, because you struggled with God and with men and won.”
Jacob (now Israel) names the place “Peniel” because he has “…seen God
face-to-face, and my life has been saved.”
Walter Brueggemann writes, “…if this other one is
God, what does it mean to say that Jacob has come to a draw with him? What kind of God is it who will be pressed to
a draw by this man? And what kind of man
is our father Jacob that he can force a draw, even against heaven? This is no ordinary man. And certainly no
ordinary God! Clearly, this is no ordinary story.” (Genesis, 267) Jacob’s new name, “Israel,” should sound familiar.
His descendants will be called the “children of Israel” or the “people of
Israel” up to the present day. It is translated in a variety of ways, but can
mean “may God contend” or “may God rule.” In our story today, it’s meant to mean
“he strives with God.”
From the Jabbok River, Jacob will go on to meet
his brother Esau, who forgives him. God’s promise of protection has been
fulfilled.
What
Does This Say to Us?
The meaning of the word “Israel” given here in
chapter 32 (“he strives with God”) is apt. The people of Israel complain,
disobey and ignore God quite often. They also love, worship, praise and follow
God too. They struggle to understand how God works in the world: why bad things
are allowed to happen, why they don’t receive protection from their enemies,
etc. Over and over again, a reader of the Old Testament gets the sense that God
and the people are in a relationship that can feel more like a wrestling match
than anything else.
Our life of faith can feel the same way. Life is complicated and our relationship with
God can be somewhat contentious at times. It is comforting, however, to
recognize that the God we worship is willing and able to come down into the
messy, dirty reality of our lives and be in a relationship with us. We see that
here in Genesis 32 and we see it even more clearly in the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Jesus, God was fully present in this
experience we call “human life.” In Jesus, God also experienced “human death”
as well. Through Jesus, God has saved us from sin, death, and ourselves.
Walter Brueggeman asked, “What kind of God is it
who will be pressed to a draw by this man?” The kind of God who wants a
relationship with us.
The Lutheran Campus Ministry congregation at The
Ohio State University’s campus is named Jacob’s
Porch. This congregation is a
ministry for college students and others in an exciting and scary time in their
lives, when things are transitioning and they are discovering who they are. I
think it best to end this devotion with the opening message found on their
website (www.jacobsporch.com):
“Jacob
was a liar and a thief. He lied about who he was. At the crossroads in his
life, God wrestled with Jacob all night to a standstill. He blessed Jacob, calling him “God-wrestler,”
that is “Israel.” Jacob left the encounter blessed but he also left limping.
(Gen. 32: 22-31)
This is
the encounter of faith. It is holy and good, a time to be blessed. It is also a
fight, a striving, a tussle. To follow
God is a fight for our hearts & minds with the one who makes all things
new.” (www.jacobsporch.com)
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