Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28).

How is it possible that an old man was able to hold his own in a wrestling match against God himself? Is God acting like a father who plays down to the level of a young child? Or is there something about Jacob and his stubborn resistance that keeps God at bay? It isn’t that God can’t defeat Jacob or otherwise quickly put him in his place, but Jacob’s refusal to trust and accept what has already been promised to him needed to be addressed.

To quickly recap, Jacob has spent his life chasing after blessing. He connived his way to the top in terms of wealth and status at the primary expense of his older brother, Esau, among others. The upsetting part about this story is that Jacob’s blessing was always a part of God’s plan for this family. Rebekah learned this when she inquired of the Lord why she was having such an uncomfortable pregnancy (Genesis 25:22). Even with that knowledge, Rebekah herself helped Jacob pull one over on Isaac to steal the blessing intended for the eldest son.

So, what’s going on here? Jacob sees prosperity as something attainable through his own plotting and labor rather than a gift delivered by God. Whether or not Rebekah told him about the message she received from the Lord, Jacob is living with the idea that the blessing is his for the taking as long as he does whatever is necessary to capture it. All his efforts to get ahead defy and reject God’s intentions.

This leads us to the wrestling match, which comes amid another trick for Esau. This time, it’s a scheme to appease Esau’s anger with gifts before Jacob arrives in Canaan. After Jacob sets the plan in motion and goes to rest, a man comes to him and wrestles with him through the whole night.

To answer my opening question, God clearly sustains this fight for as long as it takes until Jacob figures it out. It’s the physical manifestation of Jacob’s struggle for blessing. Consider what there is to learn. Through all his toil, Jacob is unable and unwilling to see that he’s been resisting provision as the Lord delivers it. The folly of his ways isn’t made clear until the man injures and renames him; however, it’s God’s faithfulness to Jacob that is on full display. 

Indeed, Jacob has acquired much, fulfilling God’s word to Rebekah despite his destructive, unloving methods. This time, after seemingly failing to overcome Jacob, the man does not depart without delivering a blessing, holding true to that promise. Whatever fight Jacob can put up to have things his way, he learns that the Lord’s persistence is more powerful than anything he could contend with.

The questions I opened with have been on my mind for a long time as I wrestled to understand the importance of this story. As we move through a series on Signature Moments in scripture, may God reveal something new about the stories or yourself that you might not have recognized before.