What Are You Struggling For?
Perhaps you can identify with the pattern of relentless struggle in Jacob’s biography.
While still inside the womb, Jacob clashed with his twin (Gen. 25:21-23). He battled with him at birth, as well, grasping his brother’s heel (Gen 25:26). Jacob continued to compete with his brother after birth, seeking both his birthright and his blessing (Genesis 25:27-34; 27:1-40). He wrestled deceptively with his father (Genesis 27) and, then, contended with his father-in-law, Laban, for 20 years (Genesis 29-31). Finally, at the end of a long 20-year exile in the east, Jacob meets God face-to-face at the threshold of the Promised Land. Before Jacob crosses over the Jabbok River to the land of blessing to meet Esau, he is caught alone against an adversary. He is forced into an all-night struggle with a powerful stranger. It was God who opposed his crossing.[1] He could not cross the river border until he faced God in an all-night wrestling match.
Jacob Wrestled with God
So, Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled[2] with him until the break of dawn… And he said to him, what is your name?[3] And he said, Jacob. Not Jacob shall be your name[4] hence be said, but Israel,[5] for you have struggled with God and won[6] out…. So, Jacob called the name of the place, Peniel, meaning “I have seen God face-to-face[7] and I came out alive.” Genesis 32:23
This all-night wrestling match characterizes Jacob’s life – conflict, wrestling, and wrangling. But when we view Jacob’s story from a canonical standpoint, we see his striving toward obtaining what humanity had lost in the Garden: the blessing of God, a unifying theme of the Bible.
Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”[8] But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Genesis 32:26
Wrestling for the Blessing
Jacob valued God’s blessing. He wrestled with Him for it. Why did Jacob ask for the divine stranger’s blessing? He already possessed the blessing meant for his brother Esau, the blessing of family and large flocks gained during his stay with Laban. Jacob was already blessed. Why did he refuse to let go until he was blessed by the mysterious stranger? What was he struggling for?
Jacob struggled his whole life for God’s blessing, often resorting to questionable, fleshly methods, taking matters into his own hands. But in the end, because he refused to let God go, Jacob received what he had strived for: the blessing of God. He valued God’s blessing. So, he wrestled. He struggled. He wept and begged for God’s favor.[9] He persevered. He endured. He refused to quit and let go until he obtained what he wanted. And he prevailed. Jacob contended successfully against God. And God gave him what he pursued: His blessing.
Now, after seeing God face-to-face, he was prepared to cross over into the Land of blessing. He named the placed Peniel,[10] the face of God, and was now prepared to meet Esau face-to-face.
What are you Struggling for
Perhaps you can identify with Jacob’s biography. Is there is a pattern of striving, battling, exerting, in your life? But what is it you are striving for? What is it that you value? Jacob valued God’s blessing. How about you? “Am I struggling to be the top in my field? Am I struggling for power or recognition? Am I struggling to be wealthy? Am I struggling for the acquisition of material possessions? Am I struggling to achieve the American Dream? Am I struggling to achieve social status? Am I struggling for people’s approval or admiration?” Do you even know what you are struggling for? Ask yourself, what am I struggling for?
These common purposes of life will all prove at the end of life to be fleeting and unsatisfactory, a chasing after the wind. Jacob had his faults, but in terms of his life’s purpose, what he considered most valuable, he was on target. He wanted the highest and most rewarding of life’s goals: the blessing of God. This is why his biography could be dubbed, “My Struggle for God’s Blessing.”
At the end of your biography, what title would truthfully capture the goal of your own struggle? My struggle for…?
Thank you for reading.
[1] The reason God prevented Jacob from crossing over into His land as its Proprietor without a fight, despite the fact that earlier He had promised to bring Jacob back (Genesis 28:15), is beyond the scope of this blog.
[2] The verb “wrestle” wayye’abeq, sounds like Jacob’s name, ya’aqob and also sounds like Jabbok, yabboq. It is an example of a Hebrew word play (pun) that is meant to get our attention. But English translations hide the pun. The River Jabbok was a twisting, ‘wrestling’ river, that ran north to south. Jacob had to cross it while traveling west. From a canonical standpoint, key events in Israel’s and Jesus’ history begin at water’s edge, usually a border.
[3] Despite being asked, the mysterious assailant was unwilling to divulge his name to Jacob, due in part, to his manipulative ways. Earlier Jacob had taken Esau’s name in vain. The divine name is not to be taken in vain or used in manipulative ways. What do you think the stranger would have said if he had revealed his name?
[4] The issue of names is also a dominant theme in Genesis and in this short episode. Observe how many times the term “name” is used.
[5] The etymological of the name “Israel” is reversed in this case. It means “God contends” but is reversed here to mean “contend with God.” So, the name Israel was meant to remind readers of Jacob’s wrestling match with God. God was the object of Jacob’s struggle.
[6] It is apparent that Jacob interpreted this wrestling match to be a case of “the tie goes to the runner.” Until the stranger resorted to the unfair, supernatural techniques by touching a sinew, Jacob could not be defeated.
[7] Jacob’s survival is shocking to him. Seeing God was something no one was supposed to survive. See Gen. 48:16; Exod.19:21; 24:10; Judg.6:11.
[8] The timing of this wrestling match is not accidental or by chance. It occurred at night and the fact that the mysterious stranger wished to be gone by daylight shows that he intentionally planned the night struggle. If the match had been by daylight, Jacob would have recognized his special authority. And if he had perceived the divine nature of his adversary, it is doubtful that he would have been willing to fight. The fact that the match lasted until daybreak indicates that it was a protracted but indecisive bout.
[9] See Hosea 12:3-6.
[10] Jacob named the spot Peniel, the face of God, because he had come face-to-face with Him and had been delivered. The Hebrew panim ‘el panim means “face-to-face.”