Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that He could not defeat him, He struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. Then He said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”
“What is your name?” the man asked.
“Jacob,” he replied.
“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.”
Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.”
But He answered, “Why do you ask My name?” And He blessed him there.
I cannot tell you how many times I have read or heard this story in Sunday School. But I have not really understood the significance of this passage until recently. There are a lot of things that I have always missed. Let me show you some of my recent thought processes.
Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
Well, that seems simple but there are two major revelations that I have had about this. The fact that the “He and Me” are capitalized lets us know that this person is a messenger of God. He even states that when he changes Jacobs name.
First Revelation:
In order to wrestle with this angel, Jacob would need to see the angel. Angels do not appear to us unless they have a task, a message, or are directed by God.
Numbers 22 is the story of Balaam and his talking donkey. Balaam was not allowed to see the angel until the Lord allowed it.
When Christ was born, the shepherds saw one angel when he was to announce the birth of Christ. Then they were allowed to see the multitude of angels when it was time to worship. In 2
Kings 6 God selectively allowed Elisha and his servant to see the Army of the Lord.
Contrary to the movie “Michael” starring John Travolta, angels do not wonder the earth looking for something to battle! When they go, they go with a purpose!
So my revelation: The angel was sent to Jacob specifically for the purpose of wrestling with Jacob. The angel was on a mission, not just passing the time.
Second Revelation:
Angels are supremely powerful. They are not all powerful, that is reserved for God and God alone. But they are certainly more powerful that man.
2 Peter 2:11a however, angels, who are greater in might and power
In 2 Chronicles 32 and 2 Kings 19 we read the story of the battle against King Hezekiah of the Assyrian empire. God sent ONE angel and during the night, this ONE angel killed 185,000 soldiers (specifically "every brave warrior, leader, and commander"). To put that into perspective, if we assume (quite generously) that the term night refers to (extremely conservatively) 12 hours that would average killing 4.28 trained soldiers every SECOND!!!!
In Daniel 6, one angel shut the mouth of all of the lions
In Genesis 3, we are told that one angel guards the way to the tree of life in the garden of Eden.
There are more examples but we get the picture that angels are not something to be trifled with. The angel even dislocated Jacob’s hip simply by striking his leg. This takes quite a bit of force. The fact that Jacob was able to wrestle with the angel until daybreak and was able to limp away was for one reason… GOD TOLD THE ANGEL NOT TO KILL HIM!
I always envisioned this as an epic battle, especially when I read the next part When the man saw that He could not defeat him. But this is not correct. Anyone that has children will understand this.
I have a six (6) year old son. He loves to wrestle and “fight” with daddy. I am stronger and more powerful. It is not a fair fight. But unless I try to seriously hurt the boy, I cannot “take the fight” out of him. Even if I pin him, immobilize him or tackle him; he is always ready for more, he wants to continue and he considers it a success if he manages to simply hang on or for a moment grab my arm as I have him pinned. I envision this epic wrestling match to be very similar. Jacob realized this was important and was a life changing event. He didn’t want to let it go. He wanted to endure even thought he probably knew he was out classed and out matched.
Then He said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”
“What is your name?” the man asked.
“Jacob,” he replied.
“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.”
This is one more case where Jacob is trying to hang on just a little longer. The angel says it is over and Jacob says… not yet… not until you bless me.
And how does the angel reply? What is your name? Come on. I really do not believe that the angel really needed to know Jacob’s name. He wouldn’t have been there if he wasn’t sent. Angels are far more intelligent than we are, so absolutely, the angel already knew Jacob's name.
So why did he ask? Was he just stalling, trying to distract Jacob, wasting time? No!
The angel was forcing Jacob into confession. He was forcing Jacob to admit his character, his sinful nature. The notes in the Holman Christian Standard bible say that Jacob means literally “he grasps the heal”. Jacob is the deceiver, cheater, trickster. The angel made Jacob confess his true nature.
Interesting side note:
Christian Apologist Ravi Zacharias (www.rzim.org) commented in a speech (sorry
can’t remember which one) that this is not the first time that Jacob sought the
blessing from a father. He sought the blessing from his earthly father, an old,
blind, dying Isaac. He was then able to conceal his true identity and live up to
his name and gain the blessing by deceit. This time he was seeking the blessing
from his Heavenly Father and there was no hiding his true identity.
The act of giving a new name to Jacob seems to be a foreshadowing of the each of our conversion to become Children of God. The angel is telling Jacob that he doesn’t have to live by deceit anymore. That no longer is his character. Seems like the story of Jesus asking the prostitute where her accusers were. When she said they left, Jesus told her to “go and sin no more”.
This is Jacobs tipping point.
This is not only a factual story about Jacob, son of Isaac, but it is a story about you and me. After our struggle with God we will come to a point of decision. What is our character? Will we confess? Will we admit our sin and short comings? If so, we will be given a new identity which replaces our old one. This Christian identity will overshadow our sinful nature.
And more importantly, just like Jacob, after we are shed our sinful nature and receive our new identity we will never walk the same way again as long as we live!
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