Wrestling with God

Genesis 32

Today we have come to a pivotal chapter in the story of Jacob’s life in Genesis. When this chapter is over we find he is a vastly different man from the deceiving and scheming person we have come to know in previous chapters. Yes, we have seen slow spiritual growth in Jacob over the years and through his trials. God has been with him, spoken to him and provided for him. He has learned a lot, but still has a long was to go in his walk of faith. Jacob enters this chapter strong, but full of fear. He leaves the chapter weakened, but renewed in faith.

Remember that when Jacob had left Canaan for Paddan-Aram, his mother had told him that he would only need to be gone for “a few days” (Gen. 27:44) “until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there” (Gen. 27:45). Twenty years had passed and, so far as we know, Jacob had never heard from his mother. That must have led Jacob to conclude that Esau still harbored a grudge against him. As Jacob prepares to reenter the promised land he had good reason to fear a confrontation with his brother.[1]

Moses wrote Genesis for the nation of Israel as they also prepared to reenter the promised land. Years before, spies had brought back a frightening report of giants who lived in Canaan. Because of their unbelief and disobedience, a whole generation had died as they spent forty years in the wilderness. And the rumors of those giants had only grown larger with time. Like Jacob, Israel needed renewed faith to overcome their fears.

This whole story is really in three sections. First, Jacob prepares to confront Esau in Genesis 32:1-21. Second, God confronts Jacob at Peniel in Genesis 32:22-32. Then in Genesis 33 Jacob finally meets Esau and is reconciled to him. We will consider just the first two of these today and save Genesis 33 for next time.

In our first scene,

1. Jacob prepares to meet Esau (Gen. 32:1-21)

In this section we first see Jacob encounter,

A. An Angelic Reception (Gen. 32:1-2)

Genesis 32:1 tells us, “So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.” Jacob had just left the confrontation with Laban and was completing his journey home in obedience to the command of God (Gen. 31:3, 13). The last time Jacob encountered angels was at Bethel when he was leaving Canaan because he was fleeing from Esau who wanted to kill him. There he saw them ascending on descending on a ladder from earth to heaven (Gen. 28:12). There, the Lord had assured Jacob of His presence with him and promised to bring him back into the promised land. Now as he is returning to the land, the Lord graciously reassured Jacob of His presence and His protection. The vision is designed for what? So that Jacob would be assured about God’s word, His word of promise.

Genesis 32:2 says, “When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.” This was not just one or two angels. The word “camp” often refers to an encampment of troops or an army. Jacob named the place “Mahanaim,” which means “Two Camps.” One is his family camp and the second is God’s host of angels. God graciously gave Jacob assurance of His protection. It’s a beautiful example of how God meets our needs sometimes before we even know we have them, but at just the right time.[2] God knew Jacob would need protection, so He sent a regiment of angels to Jacob.

Next we see,

B. An Alarming Report (Gen. 32:3-8)

Genesis 32:3-5 says,

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now.⁵ I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.”’”

Jacob felt compelled to contact his brother Esau. I believe he wished to bring about a reconciliation. He wished to inform his brother of his approach and, even more, to assure him of his kind intentions. Jacob wants Esau to know that he had returned a wealthy man. Therefore he was not coming back in order to stake a claim on his father’s wealth. Jacob sought to assure Esau that his return was a friendly and non-threatening one. All that he hoped for was Esau’s favor.

But the report that the messengers bring back was frightening (Gen. 32:6): “Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”” Generally, you don’t come to a friendly meeting with four hundred men to back you up. It was natural to conclude that Esau was coming with hostile intent.

So Jacob fears the worst, and he begins to prepare. Genesis 32:7-8 says,

⁷ So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. ⁸ And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

Jacob’s approach to the problem was to divide his camp in two. If Esau attacked one group, the other might be able to escape. Did he forget that God had shown him there were already “two camps”? The angels of God were encamped with them to protect them. Jacob acted out of his fear.

But his fear also drove him to seek help from the Lord. So next we see Jacob offer a prayer,

C. An Anxious Request (Gen. 32:9-12)

⁹ Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: ¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. ¹¹ Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. ¹² For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

This is a great example of prayer. Steven Cole points out five things about Jacob’s prayer[3]:

He prayed to Yahweh, the covenant God of his fathers. He prayed, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD …” Some have wondered, didn’t Jacob consider the LORD to be “my God” too? The answer is clearly yes. Jacob referred to God as the God of Abraham and Isaac because his mind was set upon the covenant that God made first with them. He approached God as the One who made promises to his fathers and who could be counted on to keep those promises. We approach God our Father in prayer in a similar way: through the new covenant established by the Lord Jesus Christ.
He bases his prayer on God’s word. Jacob emphasized what the LORD had commanded him and promised him. Twice he reminds God of what He said (Gen. 32:9, 12). It is not that God needed to be reminded of this. Jacob prayed this way to remind himself of the promises of God. God delights to have us take His Word and pray it back to Him, depending on the promises He has made to us.
He appeals to God on the basis of grace, not merit. Notice the humility and utter brokenness of Jacob. He admits his own unworthiness and that it was only the mercy and grace of God that brought him blessings. Here Jacob confesses what you and I have known to be true all along—that he was not worthy to be loved steadfastly by God; he did not deserve the Lord’s faithfulness. If you ever come to the Lord on the basis of how good you’ve been, you’re on shaky ground. We can only come to God because of His abundant grace shown to us in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He presents his request honestly and fervently from the heart. “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him …” (Gen. 32:11). Jacob admitted his fears and asked for God’s deliverance. We can bring our requests honestly before God in prayer. We can even admit like the father of the child with the deaf and dumb spirit said to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” God knows your fears; He wants you to bring them honestly and fervently to Him.
He prays for God’s purpose. He asked God to fulfill His promises concerning the seed of Abraham (Gen. 32:12). God had revealed His purpose to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham’s seed. Jacob prays for God to accomplish His will. The Lord is always eager to hear us pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10).

What a wonderful prayer this was! It seems to be, judging by the content of this prayer, that our friend Jacob has progressed significantly in his sanctification over the past 20 years. He prayed, not for selfish gain, but out of a desire to be obedient to God. He knew that he was unworthy and he readily admitted it. He humbly asked the Lord to help him. And this he did boldly as he believed upon the promises of God.[4]

D. An Appeasing Response (Gen. 32:13-21)

¹³ So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. ¹⁶ Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” ¹⁷ And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’” ¹⁹ So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; ²⁰ and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” ²¹ So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

Jacob was very eager to appease Esau’s wrath. Certainly this was due, in part, from a desire for self-preservation. Jacob didn’t want to die, nor did he want any harm to befall his family. But there also seems to be a desire to make things right with Esau regarding their past. Jacob sent wave upon wave of gifts to Esau, stressing the new nature he had which made him want to give rather than to receive and to serve rather than to supplant.

Notice his humility in calling himself Esau’s servant and Esau his Lord. This is quite a change of attitude from the last time Jacob and Esau were together. It seems to me that Jacob had been humbled, softened and sanctified during those years with Laban. He seems very eager to appease Esau’s wrath, to cover his sins, and to have the relationship restored.

Robert Rayburn writes, “[Jacob] knew full well that without God’s blessing, without a change in Esau’s heart, his situation was hopeless, but he had done what he ought to do: he had prayed to God in a faithful way, and he had humbled himself before Esau and had given him a gift. Now he will await the will of God.”

What Jacob didn’t know is how God would help him. This is the second part of the story:

2. Jacob meets with God (Gen. 32:22-32)

Up to this point in the narrative Jacob’s primary concern has been his relationship with Esau. His preparations and prayers were about Esau. But as the narrative unfolds we learn that this wasn’t God’s primary concern for Jacob. Even more important than Jacob’s relationship with Esau was Jacob’s relationship with God.

Here we have the strange account of Jacob in a wresting match with a man who is more than a man, an angel who is more than an angel.

A. An Angelic Wrestler (Gen. 32:22-26)

²² And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. ²³ He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

²⁴ Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. ²⁵ Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.

Jacob sent all his family and possessions over the brook called Jabbok at night. Imagine Jacob, as he alone was left on the North side of the Jabbok, but before he could cross he was accosted by a man who prevented him from joining his family. The struggle was not a dream or a nightmare. It was quite real. Never has a man awakened from such a “dream” with an injured hip and a limp!

As biblical scholars have observed over the centuries, there is much in this episode that is cloaked in mystery. However, we can make several observations with considerable certainty. First, we know that this “man” (Gen. 32:24) was an angel. The prophet Hosea comments about Jacob:

³ He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God. ⁴ Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, And there He spoke to us– ⁵ That is, the LORD God of hosts. The LORD is His memorable name. (Hos. 12:3-5).

More than just any angel, this person was the Angel of Yahweh, the same one who had appeared as a man to Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre (Gen. 18) and who spoke to him from heaven on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22). This is what we call a theophany, an appearance of the pre-incarnate Son of God. This same One will later appear to Moses at the burning bush (Exo. 3:2); to Joshua as the Commander of the Lord’s armies (Josh. 5:15); and to Gideon (Judges 6:11). This is certain in the light of Jacob’s words: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (Gen. 32:30).

This was a struggle which God Himself initiated. Jacob was mistaken if he reasoned that Esau was the barrier to his entrance into Canaan and the blessings of God. In this wrestling match it was not Esau who opposed Jacob, but it was God Himself. They wrestled until it was almost daybreak.

It must be pointed out that Moses did not tell us that God could not overcome Jacob, only that he did not. At this point the Man disabled Jacob by injuring his hip. This would be devastating to a wrestler. He was helpless. All he could do now was to cling defensively in desperation. And this he did. Genesis 32:26 says, “And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!””

It is obvious to Jacob at this point that his opponent is not just a man. Though he is wounded, Jacob holds on with all he has and asks the LORD for a blessing. Finally, Jacob had come to realize that the only important thing in life is to be blessed of God. The blessing of God must be obtained from God himself, and this must be done by clinging to Him in helpless dependence.

That is the picture we get from this struggle in the night hours between Jacob and his God. This struggle brought a dramatic change in the character and conduct of Jacob, and thus his name was changed to reflect this transformation.

B. A New Name (Gen. 32:27-32)

²⁷ So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

No longer should Jacob be known as a supplanter, for now he was a man who prospered because of his faith in the purposes and power of his God, and so the name Israel was given him. Israel has a double meaning. One comes from the words that God spoke to him, “you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” So Israel means “struggles with God” or “God prevails.” And secondly, Israel means “he will rule with God” or “prince of God.”

In what way did Jacob prevail with God? He prevailed—that is to say, he got God’s blessing—because God condescended. God pursued Jacob. He prevailed only after being defeated by God. Jacob prevailed by being defeated. He prevailed only by crying out to God and pleading for his grace: “I will not let you go unless you bless me”, Jacob said. In other words, Jacob “prevailed” with God, not because he pursued God and conquered Him, but because God pursued him, wounded him, and brought him low. God brought Jacob to that place of utter humility so that the only thing he could do was to cry out to the Lord and say, do not leave me, but give me your blessing.

If man is to prevail with the Lord, he must be humbled. He must be brought to the end of himself, and to that place of utter despair. If man is to prevail with the Lord, he must be brought low and to that place where the only thing he can do is to cry out for mercy.

Wasn’t this was Paul’s experience? Before his name was Paul the Apostle, he was Saul the persecutor of the church. He was arrogant in his opposition to Christ and His church, but the Lord humbled him, struck him with blindness. Paul testified, “And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” (Acts 26:14). Saul the persecutor of Christ became Paul the Apostle of Christ, but only after being brought low. The only way to prevail with God, is for him to first prevail over us.

²⁹ Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there. ³⁰ And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” ³¹ Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.

God blessed Jacob in the place where he wounded him, so for Jacob, the place of wounding becomes the place of blessing. After Jacob was given the name Israel, he then asked the “man” to reveal His name. And to maintain the mystery, the “man” said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” But Jacob knew the truth of the matter, “And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.””

Not only was Jacob given the name Israel as a memorial, but he went on walking with a limp from that day forward. When you realize that you can’t win, it’s time to give up. But don’t let go. Instead, like Jacob, hold on. God blesses us in the place where he wounds us. Therefore, the place of wounding becomes the place of blessing. And so it is for all who have been subdued by Christ Jesus. They too walk with a limp. Having been humbled by God, they continue on in humility, being ever mindful of their inadequacy and the grace of God shown to them in Christ Jesus.

The narrator reports a sunrise (Gen. 32:31). Moses reported a sunset in Genesis 28:11, just before Jacob’s encounter with angels and God at Bethel. Since then, it’s been 20 years of darkness, so to speak. Finally, as Jacob moves toward the Promised Land, in fulfillment of God’s promise to him, it’s not only a new day, he is a new Jacob.

What a lesson this chapter provided the Israelites. Here is the origin of their name as a nation. Will their blessing as a nation come from any means other than those which Jacob has learned from his struggle with God? I think not. This is what Moses sought to convey to the Israelites as they (like Jacob) sought to enter the land of Canaan and secure God’s blessings. Ultimately it was not the Canaanites, the Hittites, nor the Perizzites who would keep the nation Israel from God’s blessings; it was God Himself Who would oppose them if they failed to hope and trust in Him. And it was God Who would defeat the Canaanites for them if they trusted in him (Exo. 23:20-28).[5]

The nation of Israel would prevail by being wounded. She would be a wounded nation, dependent on her God Is it any wonder, therefore, that the Messiah of Israel separated Himself from others to meet with God alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jacob did by the Jabbok River, and that he was wounded beyond recognition on the cross of Golgotha? The church of Jesus Christ, like Israel of old, is a wounded people, who take up their crosses, and the pain of the world, in order to bring to it the healing of their Savior.[6]

[1] Bob Deffinbaugh, How to Win With God and Men, https://bible.org/seriespage/34-how-win-god-and-men-genesis-321-32. I have drawn some alliterative points of my outline from his excellent sermon.

[2] Steven Cole, When Fear Grips You, https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-58-when-fear-grips-you-genesis-321-21

[3] Cole.

[4] Joe Anady, God, The God Of Israel, https://emmausrbc.org/2019/11/17/sermon-genesis-321-3320-god-the-god-of-israel/

[5] Deffinbaugh.

[6] Scott Grant, WOUNDED BY GRACE, https://cdn.pbc.org/Main_Service/2005/01/15/4876.html