By Ife J. Ibitayo
This is the last entry in a trilogy of articles on the wrestlings of Jacob. For part 1 on “Wrestling with Esau”, click here. For part 2 on “Wrestling with Laban”, click here.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen Jacob’s bouts with his brother Esau and his Uncle Laban. But the story Jacob might be most well known for is his wrestling match with God Himself. Jacob’s struggles with God were the most important encounters of his life.
The Promise to Jacob
Jacob’s first recorded clash with God was on his journey to Haran, where he hoped to escape from his furious brother Esau. On the trip there, he had a dream where God spoke to him. God said, “‘ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth…I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you'” (Genesis 28:14-15 NIV). The significance of God’s words here cannot be overstated. He promised Jacob blessing, protection, and comfort regardless of what Jacob did.
The Vow of Jacob
However, Jacob responded to God’s promise with this vow: “‘If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth'” (Genesis 28:20-22 NIV). A modern rendering of Jacob’s vow might read, “If God is good to me, then I will call myself a Christian, attend church, and tithe faithfully.” With this one statement, Jacob transformed God’s promise of a relationship with him into a job for Him.
Many might wonder why Jacob vowed to pay for what God had promised him for free, but we have been hardwired to act the same way. Living in our modern world of big business and consumer goods, we’ve learned that nothing is free. No one anywhere will give you what you desire without demanding something in return.
The Breaking Point of Jacob
This debased philosophy worked for Jacob up until he faced real adversity. When his older brother was marching in to meet him with four hundred troops, Jacob cried out to God, “‘Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me…But you have said, “I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted”‘” (Genesis 32:11-12 NIV). In his moment of helplessness, Jacob didn’t recall the vow he’d made to God but the promise God had made to him. He knew the only thing that stood between his life and death was God being true to His word.
But the old self never goes down without a fight. The LORD spent the night literally wrestling Jacob into submission. As morning dawned, the angel of the LORD wrenched Jacob’s leg out of its socket and demanded that Jacob release Him. But Jacob cried he would not release Him until God blessed him (Genesis 32:24-26).
This cry sounds like an assertion of the old Jacob, the Jacob that would use every means necessary to get his own way. But the prophet Hosea, speaking of this encounter, said, “He wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from Him” (Hosea 12:4).
Jacob’s cry was not an arrogant demand but a desperate plea. Here is a man who had finally come to the end of himself. By admitting defeat, Jacob won the Lord’s blessing (Genesis 32:28).
Conclusion
Many of us are still wrestling with God, trying to force Him to cry “uncle” in an epic battle of cosmic proportions. But we have no hope of overpowering an omnipotent God, and we can never cut Him a sweet enough deal. God does not want to be our manager; He wants to be our Father. The only way we can do that is by accepting His promises, no strings attached.
“He called a little child to Him and placed the child among them. And He said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'”
(Matthew 18:3-4 NIV)