Ge. 32: Jacob vs. God RAW

As Jacob went his separate way from Laban, he ran into the angels of God. He named the place where he met these angels "Mahanaim." I wonder why we don't still do that. There are cities of course, but I would name 7-11 "Place where I bought Cherry Slurpee." Or some other modern equivalent. "Place where gas is $2.90." Anyway...

Since Jacob was going back to the land of his family, that also meant a potential confrontation with his estranged, and probably still seething, brother Esau. To get an idea how Esau was feeling, he sent messengers ahead to tell Esau that Jacob was coming, and bring back Esau's reaction.

Esau gathers 400 men. I don't know if that's just his entourage, and he rolls 400 deep, or if this was an army of aggression or protection. I guess I have to keep reading.

Jacob divides his family and possessions into two groups, so in case of attack, the most he loses is half of it.

Jacob's afraid, and in verse 9, Jacob finally calls on God regarding the promise God made to him and his forefathers. "You told me to go, and you told me I would prosper." I kept waiting for Abraham and Isaac to do the same when they were in danger, but they didn't. If they did, it wasn't recorded. Jacob lays bare his soul before God, not caring about his fears or insecurities. He completely puts his trust in God to deliver him and protect him from what he fears may be coming from Esau.

He probably couldn't sleep at night, so he spends the night preparing a gift of goats, ewes, sheep, camels, bulls, donkeys...pretty much every biblical animal you could think of, and lots of 'em. He sends them out with his servants in waves, so that every few hours or so, Esau's gift will be compounded.

Jacob then got up, took his wives and eleven kids, and possessions, and sent them over the Jabbok, and was left alone. There, a man wrestled with him till daybreak. In spite of his exhaustion from walking all day, the fear of Esau killing him, and selecting a bunch of gifts for his potential murderer, Jacob would not relent. The way the Bible puts it, it sounds like Jacob pretty much imposes his will during the wrestling match. So...God comes down, physically manifests himself in the flesh, and allows man to overcome Him. Submits, as it were. Anyway, the man touched Jacob's hip socket, and wrenched his hip out of place. Then the man said, "Let me go, it is daybreak."

Jacob, sensing this was either God or his messenger, said "Not without a blessing."

The man changed Jacob's name to Israel, meaning struggles with God. No longer grasping the heel, now struggles with God. This presumably will signal some sort of a turning point in Jacob's life. It happened with Abram/Abraham. Jacob asked the man's name, but the man refused, and blessed him. The Bible continues to refer to Jacob as Israel even after this name change, unlike Abraham.

Jacob called the place Peniel or Penuel, because he saw God face to face and survived. I wonder why God wouldn't allow man to see His face. I have my theories, none of which are satisfactory me, probably because I don't completely understand God. I have what He reveals, which is enough for short periods of time.

Finally the sun rose, and Jacob had a new name and a limp. I'm not sure if it was permanent. Apparently at the time of the writing of this chapter, Israelites did not eat the tendon attached to the hip because of this wrestling match.

The next chapter, I can hardly wait to dig into, because Jacob finally meets Esau.