Genesis Part 052

In the middle of the night, a supernatural Being comes down and wrestles with Jacob. This Being is identified as God and must have been the preincarnate Jesus Christ who was the Word with God the Father from the beginning and therefore was also God (John 1:1–3, John 1:14). It could not have been God the Father since Jacob saw Him and the apostle John later stated, 

“No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18). 

(To learn more about the nature of God the Father and Jesus Christ, request or download our free booklet Who Is God?) At first Jacob may not have known who his opponent was—but before the match was over, Jacob discerned His identity, for he later calls Him God (verse 30).  

Now why did God want to wrestle Jacob? A better question would be, why did Jacob continue to wrestle once he figured out he was wrestling with God? What would be the point of wrestling with God? God could easily beat His opponent, or God could simply match His opponent move for move and produce a draw, or God could deliberately lose. In any case, to continue the match would seem pointless as the outcome would seem predetermined. So why did Jacob continue to wrestle? We cannot know for sure, of course. Perhaps it was simply because God wanted to wrestle and test Jacob’s perseverance and attitude. Viewed in this context, the wrestling match would seem to have been a test of submission: Would Jacob submit to continuing to wrestle, even when it seemed pointless, just because God wanted it that way? Also, from the conclusion, it is evident that Jacob wanted God’s blessing. And it seems God wanted to know just how much he wanted it. In the end, Jacob demonstrated his deep feeling of total reliance on God’s blessing. He showed that he would hold on to whatever God was doing in his life to receive that blessing. In confronting Esau and whatever other obstacles he would later face, his own cunning and ingenuity would not deliver him. He knew that he had to trust in God alone. 

As the match progresses, the Word sees that He is not prevailing against Jacob. This does not mean that Jacob was winning, but rather that Jacob had not yet given up. Then the Word makes it far more difficult for Jacob to continue by striking his hip socket. In pain and even in tears (Hosea 12:3–4), Jacob still does not give up. Finally, the Word tells Jacob to release Him as the day is dawning. But Jacob says he will not let go until the Word blesses him. This is not disobedience, as it might appear to be. It is apparent that Jacob understood his holding on until receiving the blessing was the reason God engaged him in the contest to begin with. In faith, we are to hold God to His promises to bless us until He does so—for that is what He has told us to do. In doing this, Jacob prevailed with God and was renamed Israel, meaning “Prevailer with God.” Again, this does not mean that Jacob won, and the Word lost. The match ended before either of them was pinned. However, victory was not God’s desire—nor was it the point. The point was to see if Jacob could persevere in the face of adversity. And he did. So, who won the match? The truth is that both did. God always prevails and now Jacob prevailed with Him.  

We are tested in different ways, yet God wants to know if we are willing to wrestle with evil, ourselves, and maybe even Him, and persevere to the end.   

UYA Team | uya@ucg.org  

United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships, and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.