-
†. Gen 32:25b . . And a man wrestled with him until the break of
dawn.
There's been some speculation regarding not only the identity of this man
but also his species. Some say it was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Some
say it was Esau's evil angel. Some say it was one of God's holy angels. And
some say it was God himself in a human form. Hosea can help settle this.
"The Lord once indicted Judah, and punished Jacob for his conduct, requited
him for his deeds. In the womb he tried to supplant his brother; grown to
manhood, he strove with a divine being, he strove with an angel and
prevailed-- the other had to weep and implore him. At Bethel [Jacob] would
meet him, there to commune with him." (Hos 12:3-5)
There can be no doubt who Jacob communed with at Bethel. Jacob met Yhvh
there on his way north when he left home. And he met Yhvh there again in
Bethel after returning. The man that Jacob wrestled with that night was no
evil angel, that's for sure; and Jacob very well knew it too.
How it is possible for God to appear in a human form? I don't know but He
did it again in Moses' day. (Ex 24:9-11)
This particular wrestling match shouldn't be construed as some sort of
combat or an athletic event. It wasn't that at all. When Jacob perceived that
the man was actually divine, he clutched and hung on; refusing to let Yhvh
depart until He blessed him.
When my boy was little, sometimes he would cling to my ankles like a little
boa constrictor and I would have to drag him around the room for a while
before he'd let go. Well, that's what Jacob did. No one since has ever been
so dogged determined with God like that. The angel was reluctant to bless
Jacob for good reason: so Bible students could see just how much Jacob
really valued spiritual things. Some people extol David's love for God, but I
prefer to extol Jacob for his stubborn refusal to let go. It's easy to see now
why God wanted the patriarchy for him instead of his brother Esau.
Juxtapose Jacob with Cain; the man who walked out on God. Well; not only
did Jacob not walk out on God, but he refused to let God walk out on him.
Jacob was a pretty amazing guy.
There is a really good story about a Gentile woman in the New Testament
who was persistent with God like Jacob. Not quite as physical as he, but, in
her own way, just as persistent nonetheless. (Matt 15:21-18)
Some people lose heart, and give up on God way too soon. It's not that He's
stubborn and doesn't really want to bless, or that we have to somehow
overcome His reluctance. No, that's not it. For some reason God is very
pleased when we cling and show Him we mean business. Dogged prayer,
like tough love, gets results and shows God we mean business and that we
won't take "no" for an answer. Is God annoyed by that? Far from it.
Compare the "persistence" parables at Luke 11:5-10 and Luke 18:2-8.
Many years prior to where we are now in Genesis, Jacob had a dream. He
saw a staircase with Yhvh standing at the top. At the time, Jacob just
gawked in awe; but were he to have that same dream at this point in his
life, Jacob would have run up those stairs and tackled the Lord before He
could get away. The man coming back down from the north isn't the same
man that ran away from home. He's different.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 32:25b . . And a man wrestled with him until the break of
dawn.
There's been some speculation regarding not only the identity of this man
but also his species. Some say it was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Some
say it was Esau's evil angel. Some say it was one of God's holy angels. And
some say it was God himself in a human form. Hosea can help settle this.
"The Lord once indicted Judah, and punished Jacob for his conduct, requited
him for his deeds. In the womb he tried to supplant his brother; grown to
manhood, he strove with a divine being, he strove with an angel and
prevailed-- the other had to weep and implore him. At Bethel [Jacob] would
meet him, there to commune with him." (Hos 12:3-5)
There can be no doubt who Jacob communed with at Bethel. Jacob met Yhvh
there on his way north when he left home. And he met Yhvh there again in
Bethel after returning. The man that Jacob wrestled with that night was no
evil angel, that's for sure; and Jacob very well knew it too.
How it is possible for God to appear in a human form? I don't know but He
did it again in Moses' day. (Ex 24:9-11)
This particular wrestling match shouldn't be construed as some sort of
combat or an athletic event. It wasn't that at all. When Jacob perceived that
the man was actually divine, he clutched and hung on; refusing to let Yhvh
depart until He blessed him.
When my boy was little, sometimes he would cling to my ankles like a little
boa constrictor and I would have to drag him around the room for a while
before he'd let go. Well, that's what Jacob did. No one since has ever been
so dogged determined with God like that. The angel was reluctant to bless
Jacob for good reason: so Bible students could see just how much Jacob
really valued spiritual things. Some people extol David's love for God, but I
prefer to extol Jacob for his stubborn refusal to let go. It's easy to see now
why God wanted the patriarchy for him instead of his brother Esau.
Juxtapose Jacob with Cain; the man who walked out on God. Well; not only
did Jacob not walk out on God, but he refused to let God walk out on him.
Jacob was a pretty amazing guy.
There is a really good story about a Gentile woman in the New Testament
who was persistent with God like Jacob. Not quite as physical as he, but, in
her own way, just as persistent nonetheless. (Matt 15:21-18)
Some people lose heart, and give up on God way too soon. It's not that He's
stubborn and doesn't really want to bless, or that we have to somehow
overcome His reluctance. No, that's not it. For some reason God is very
pleased when we cling and show Him we mean business. Dogged prayer,
like tough love, gets results and shows God we mean business and that we
won't take "no" for an answer. Is God annoyed by that? Far from it.
Compare the "persistence" parables at Luke 11:5-10 and Luke 18:2-8.
Many years prior to where we are now in Genesis, Jacob had a dream. He
saw a staircase with Yhvh standing at the top. At the time, Jacob just
gawked in awe; but were he to have that same dream at this point in his
life, Jacob would have run up those stairs and tackled the Lord before He
could get away. The man coming back down from the north isn't the same
man that ran away from home. He's different.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=