Up For The Count

 “So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.”    Genesis 32:24

When I was growing up, no true wrestling fan missed Friday nights at the local farm center.  At that venue, each week without fail for just the price of a ticket, the wonders of the wrestling world were right before your very eyes.  Who would skip the chance to see the Masked Madman duel the Green Zinger?   Fierce would be the battle, full of throws, kicks, punches, and pins.  The floor would rumble, the ropes would shudder, and heaven help the referee.

But no cheering crowd was ringside the night Jacob wrestled with God.  Headed home after a twenty-year absence, Jacob was understandably anxious and apprehensive.  He sent his spouses, his sons, and his stuff across the river but stayed alone on the other side.  But not for long.  “So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak”(Genesis 32:24). 

God’s wonders capture the attention of many, while others respond to His gentle whisper, but this one required hand to hand combat, and so they wrestled.  Jacob was strong and scrappy.  God was great and graceful.  The fight wasn’t fair, but conquest wasn’t God’s objective.  His goal was change, so He let Jacob grapple and brawl—all night long.

The bell rang as the sun rose.  Jacob wouldn’t let God go until He blessed him, and God didn’t let Jacob go until He broke him.  The knock-out punch was framed as a question.  “What’s your name?” God asked the contender, and when Jacob admitted he had become the deceiver his name described, God gave him a new one—Israel. “Because you have struggled with men and with God and have overcome”(Genesis 32:27-28).   

Jacob’s success came from his surrender.  When he finally faced who he was—and who God is—he was never the same.  A lifelong limp was his sacred souvenir, but better a wrenched hip than a wrong heart.

Jacob never needed to defend his title because even though the match was divinely fixed, the victory wasn’t fake.

“We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  Romans 8:37