Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, always got what he wanted. He schemed and deceived people to get his way. He became rich and prosperous and in Genesis 31:3, God told Jacob to go back to his homeland. He was promised by God, “I will be with you.” Back to his homeland, where his brother lived? Jacob was scared to go home and face him. He had stolen his brother’s birthright. There was bad blood between them. His brother wanted to kill him. The promise that God would be with him wasn’t enough, so he went into self-help mode and devised a plan. He sent his servants ahead of him telling them to let his brother, Esau, know that he was coming and that he was rich! He was going to try to smooth things over with a bribe. His servants came back and said, “Your brother and his 400 closest friends are on their way to meet you.” Jacob was terrified. He wasn’t thinking “God is with me.” He was thinking, “I need a plan, or I am going to die,” and he divided his family and animals into two groups. If Esau attacked one group, there was a chance that the other group will escape, so he wouldn’t lose everything.
After he created his plan, only then did Jacob pray to ask for God’s help. Have you ever done that? You do everything you think you can to control the situation, getting all your ducks in a row, anticipating what might happen, planning for the “what if’s” and then you call on God and ask Him to bless your efforts? Do you see the duality in Jacob’s life and approach? Call on God but rely on self?
He had created his plan, had prayed and moved his family into safety in Genesis 32:22, and now, he was alone. Sometimes, God has to isolate us to get our attention. Even though Jacob thought he was in control, God was on the scene to put him into a vulnerable state where he had no resources, no servants to help him, no family support, not even shelter. In the larger plan of God, Jacob was being set up for God to transform him. You can read about the wrestling match between God and Jacob in Genesis 32:24-28. During the struggle, God wrenched Jacob’s hip!
Jacob was literally transformed in a wrestling match with God. That sounds messed up unless you have gone through something similar. Unless you’ve encountered God when you were trying to do your own thing and He stepped in to rescue you from your stupidity, you may not understand. Even if it creates some painful moments, when you look back, you have been so thankful that God got your attention, no matter what it took.
I see at least three reasons why the transformation came. HE WAS TRANSFORMED BECAUSE HE DIDN’T GIVE UP. Jacob had spent most of his adult life wrestling with people in relationships. He was a fighter, determined to get what he wanted. So, God came to him as a fighter. He met Jacob where he was. Verse 24 says Jacob wrestled with God until daybreak. In other words, Jacob stayed committed through the struggle. He had already worked through part of the night to move his family and possessions to safety. He had to be exhausted, and yet he wrestled with the man all night.
I believe the length of the wrestling match points to Jacob’s stubborn nature or more nicely put, his “determination.” He wasn’t going to give up. I also believe it points to God’s longsuffering nature. God could have wiped Jacob out, but he put up with him, letting him wrestle until he would grasp Who it was that he was dealing with. God was revealing Himself to Jacob in the struggle.
Not only was he committed to the struggle, but as he was injured, he realized Who he was dealing with and he decided to cling to God, saying “I won’t let go of you until you bless me.” In the struggle, he realized that only God could provide the blessing he so desperately needed. There was something about the daybreak, the light of morning that brought a realization to Jacob that this thing was far more than physical. Something spiritual was at stake. Something spiritual needed to happen, and he held on resolutely as he pleaded for a blessing.
Not only was he transformed because he didn’t give up, but HE WAS TRANSFORMED BY SEEING WHO HE REALLY WAS AND BY ALLOWING GOD TO CHANGE HIM
Jacob not only saw God in his struggle, but he also saw himself. Jacob asked for a blessing and the man asked Jacob a question. “What is your name?” As far as the Genesis record is concerned, the last time Jacob was asked that question, he told a lie! His father asked, “Who are you, my son?” and Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn” (27:18-19, NKJV).
The Lord didn’t ask the question to get information because He certainly knew Jacob’s name and that Jacob had the reputation of being a schemer and a deceiver. “What is your name?” meant, “Are you going to continue living up to your name, deceiving yourself and others; or will you admit what you are and let Me change you?”
You see, the struggle is often the process that we have to go through whether it is physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, financial or a combination of all of the above-which enables us to see who and what we really are. It is often in the struggle that we are able to see and confess who we really are and are put in the position to receive the transformation that is needed for us to receive the blessing that God has for us.
Before Jacob could be blessed, he had to confess who and what he was because the blessing required a change in his nature. A lot of people pray, “God bless me,” but what they are saying is, “God do what I want you to do. Give me what I want you to give me.” They don’t want to have to change or alter their plans. They want to be in the driver’s seat and just want God to give them the gas to get them to where they have decided they are going.
The change in Jacob’s nature started with a wound. His hip was injured in the struggle. Sometimes a wound is a very special act of God’s grace. It was the wound that began the process of Jacob recognizing who he was wrestling with. It was the wound that led him to cling to God in the struggle. When you are clinging to someone, you are in the place of submission. It was because of the wound that Jacob submitted to God. He let the wound cause him to cling to God. When you realize that, you see that the wounding was a gracious gift that God gave to Jacob. The transformation in Jacob’s life began with the wound. If Jacob was going to be blessed this time, it wasn’t going to be because he made a back-alley deal or schemed to get his way. It was going to be because he was holding on to the only One who could bless him.
The change continued with a new name. In the Bible, receiving a new name signifies making a new beginning (17:4-5, 15; Num. 13:16; John 1:40-42), and this was Jacob’s opportunity to make a fresh start in life. The new name God gave him was “Israel,” which means prince of God or one who wrestles with God. The text goes on to say he had wrestled with God and have Overcome! Not only was his name Israel, but it was overcomer! The explanation in Genesis 32:28 is that Jacob had gained power because he prevailed. He lost the battle but won the victory! By seeking God’s blessing and finally being weakened and forced to yield, he had become an overcomer. He learned that you become an overcomer by surrendering fully to God!
HE WAS TRANSFORMED BECAUSE HE WANTED THE RIGHT THING, GOD’S BLESSING-Jacob had already been blessed physically with a large family and great wealth, so when he asked the wrestler to bless him, he wasn’t asking for more stuff. He was asking for something he didn’t already possess. When he asked for a blessing, he was asking for a transformation.
Jacob’s conniving way of living and running away from problems and people wasn’t working any more. He needed a new way of living. He needed a change of heart. A Jacob wholly dependent on God could become an Israel. What can you become if you let each wound draw you closer to the Lord and make you more dependent on Him?
What was Jacob turned Israel enabled to do? He was enabled to be reunited with his brother without fear. He was enabled to receive a change in his character. He was enabled to fully rely on God rather than himself. He was enabled to live in the land God told him to and enjoy the fruit of his hard-earned labor. And most of all, he raised the family that eventually brought about the only Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.
Y’all, Jacob did not initiate this wrestling match. God approached him. By all indications, the Lord was the one who started it! He provoked the struggle! We should know that God wants to be actively engaged in our lives. The wrestling match was not only something that God wanted, but it was something that Jacob needed.
Does God need to wrestle with you about something in your life? If it concerns something God wants you to do, you better get to the place of submission! Is there something you need to wrestle with God over? Is there a blessing you need? An answer? Reassurance? God’s presence? God’s power? Grab hold of God and don’t let go!
Jacob probably thought all of his adult life that his problem was with Esau. It wasn’t. He learned through this wrestling match that the problem was with God. He had kicked against God’s will and God’s design and God’s Word and God’s plan all of his life. The wrestling match with God was a crippling experience for Jacob, but from that point, he was crowned Prince of God and overcomer. When his family saw him limping into the Promised Land they might have said, “Jacob, why are you limping?” to which he might have straightened up and said, “Don’t call me Jacob. Call me Israel. I met God last night, and I’ll never walk the same again. I’ve been wounded, but in the process, I’ve been transformed and have never been better.”
