There is fascinating interlude about an encounter with a strange assailant in the story of Jacob, as he journeys back to his homeland after a twenty-year absence. We read about it in Genesis 32. But, before we get to that encounter, come with us, as we pick up the story of Jacob’s return to his homeland. Jacob has taken his family and every thing he has, and left the place where he had been living - Paddam-aram, a place in modern day Iraq. He has freed himself from the grip of his overbearing father-in-law, Laban, and is now close to where the Jabbok River runs into the Jordan River. That place is in present day Jordan. As he nears his homeland, Jacob must focus on the inevitable appointment with his brother, Esau, from whom he had fled twenty years earlier.
After sending a message humbling himself before his brother, Jacob learns that Esau is coming to meet him with 400 men; a description suggesting that Esau is coming with a militia (see 1 Samuel 22:2 and 25:13). This greatly alarms Jacob, as he remembers his brother's vow twenty years earlier; "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” (Genesis 27:41). Now he fears his brother intends to make good on the threat to kill him, even though their father, Isaac, is not yet dead. Jacob brings himself before God and pleads for protection. He then prepares and sends off a series of gifts to soothe Esau, as Esau journeys toward Him. After awakening in the night and sending his family and all his possessions across the Jabbok River, Jacob is all alone.
Tonight, Jacob is alone with himself. Tomorrow, he will meet up with Esau – and Esau’s militia. Tomorrow, he will face the very thing he most dreads! Maybe the echo of his earlier prayer fills the night; “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, . . . . Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children.” (Genesis 32:9-11).
So Jacob is left alone, and a “man” comes and wrestles with him until daybreak. What? Why is this here? Does this even belong here, tucked between being alone tonight - and the reality of tomorrow? What is really happening? Is there something more than an odd interlude of an all-night wrestling match with a “man”, even an “Angel of the Most High?” Oh yes!
All of his life Jacob has lived up to his name – Supplanting - "Seizing" by deceiving. He has gained much by living up to his name. Now, on the eve of coming face-to-face with his brother, Esau, the one who has the means to bring it all to an end, God brings Jacob to his knees. He has spent his life “working every angle.” Now, what is he going to do? How is he going to live the rest of his life? Find “more angles?” Or change?
As Jacob wrestles with a “man” until daybreak, he also struggles with God. Who is he really going to be? We read in English that he, “struggled with God and with men and prevailed - that he overcame. Prevail, overcome, is from the Hebrew word, ya-khol. There is another layer to ya-khol underneath “prevail” or “overcome.” Encrusted within prevail/overcome, is the idea of being able to succeed, not fail; to have the ability to experience something and learn from it. We could say that Jacob “struggled with God and with men and finally comprehended.” He comprehended - he finally got it. Its not “working all the angles;” it’s working One Angle, God’s Angle - it’s putting himself totally in God’s Hands.
That struggle through the night was every bit spiritual as it was physical. In the morning, God gave Jacob a new name: Israel. Israel - struggle with God. He “struggled with God (and with men)” and now he comprehends. He understands. He is no longer his own agent. He belongs to God. We never again read about the deceiver, the supplanter.
So, with what do we wrestle? How often, how long have we been trying to “work all the angles?” Are we getting really good at it? Is it satisfying? Is it really?
We have heard it said that Jacob has a twin brother - he’s unbecoming - ugly, in his own way.
Israel has no twin.
Still living with a “twin?”
Shalom Uvrakhah*1 (Peace and Blessing)
*
1“kh” is a distinct sound. Imagine the sound of forcing phlegm from your throat.
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