Wrestling With God

Gone from Laban, Jacob soon has another experience with God.

Knowing that his brother, Esau, is coming with “ ‘four hundred men’ ”

(Gen. 32:6), Jacob prays fervently to the Lord, even though he acknowl-

edges that “ ‘I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all

the truth which You have shown Your servant’ ” (Gen. 32:10, NKJV).

Jacob, truly, has a better understanding of what grace was about.

And how does the Lord respond?

Read Genesis 32:22–31 and Hosea 12:3, 4. What is the spiritual signifi-

cance of this amazing story?

Jacob is distressed, understandably so, by what is happening, and after

doing what he can to protect his family, he camps for the night. He is

then suddenly attacked by “a Man” (Gen. 32:24, NKJV). This is a term

that can have special connotations, evoking the divine presence (see

Isa. 53:3). Daniel used it to refer to the heavenly priest Michael (Dan.

10:5); it also was the word used by Joshua to depict the “Commander of

the Lord’s army,” who was the Lord YHWH Himself (Josh. 5:13–15,

NKJV).

Indeed, amid the fighting, it must have become obvious to Jacob that

he was struggling with God Himself, as his words, “ ‘I will not let You

go unless You bless me!’ ” (Gen. 32:26, NKJV), revealed. Yet, his fer-

vent clinging to God, his refusal to let go, also revealed his passionate

desire for forgiveness and to be right with his Lord.

“The error that had led to Jacob’s sin in obtaining the birthright by

fraud was now clearly set before him. He had not trusted God’s prom-

ises, but had sought by his own efforts to bring about that which God

would have accomplished in His own time and way.”—Ellen G. White,

Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 197, 198.

And the evidence that he had been forgiven was the change of his

name from the reminder of his sin to one that commemorated his vic-

tory. “ ‘Your name,’ ” said the Angel, “ ‘shall no longer be called Jacob

[the supplanter], but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with

men, and have prevailed’ ” (Gen. 32:28, NKJV).

What has been your own experience as far as wrestling with God

goes? What does it mean to do that, and why is it at times impor-

tant that we have this kind of experience?