The Wrestler

No, I haven't seen the Mickey Rourke movie, so this post isn't about that. It's about the original wrestler, the story of Jacob wrestling with God (Genesis 32.22-32). Or it will be in a moment. But first...

Last week (May 24) we looked at a few passages, all of them about people finding God in the midst of difficult, unlikely situations. It was Jacob who summed up the situations best: "Surely the Lord is in this place--and I didn't know it!" Elijah, Mary Magdalene, and the Apostle Paul may not have used these exact words, but they might as well have.

And what about you? Have you ever found yourself in that kind of situation; realized that God had been present with you all along and you hadn't known it? I shared a recent story about "hearing" God speak into my life as I sat daydreaming beside a river. (Actually, it's the same river that's in my profile picture over on the side there!) Some might say it was just my own subconscious speaking, and I would have nothing to prove otherwise. But the truth I "heard" from God was too true, the experience too real, for me to believe that it was nothing more than my own imagination.

I challenged people at the end of the message to share a story from their own experience where Jacob's words could have been their own: "Surely God is in this place--and I didn't know it!" I heard some neat stories of God's presence and activity in the day-to-day lives of regular people. If you've had a similar experience, why not share it with us all in a comment below? If you'd like to hear the message to get the juices flowing, click here.

But back to the wrestler. Twenty plus years after that vision of God and Jacob's experience of God's presence, Jacob now has 2 wives, 2 concubines, 12 children, many flocks and herds and servants. He is now on his way back to his homeland, knowing that he is going to have to see his brother, Esau, again. Remember Esau -- the one Jacob connived and cheated out of his birthright and blessing; the hunter, the outdoorsman, the tough guy; the one who had vowed to kill Jacob as soon as their father, Isaac, passed away? Jacob is justifiably nervous, frightened for himself and his family, as he travels home.

The night before Jacob was going to have to confront Esau, "a man wrestled with him until daybreak" (Gen 32.24). We're told that this man couldn't prevail against Jacob, and yet he is able to yank his hip joint out of its socket with a mere touch. Jacob, to his credit, figures out that there's something special about this man. In spite of his pain, he hangs on and demands a blessing from his assailant. So, the man changes Jacob's name to Israel, "he wrestles with God." When Jacob, now Israel, asks the man's name, his enigmatic response is, "Why is it that you ask my name?" In other words, "Why do you need to ask my name? Haven't I already called you, 'the one who wrestles with God'? You already know who I am!" And so Jacob calls the place Peniel, or "Face of God." From there, now wounded and limping, he moves on to meet Esau who... Well, you can read all about it in Genesis 33 if you like. Or, you can come out on Sunday to hear the rest of this amazing story.

I realize that I have done very little here other than tell you part of a story you could very well read for yourself. That's because I'm still wrestling with this story myself. Was Jacob right to wrestle with God? Why is Jacob able to prevail against God? I mean, God should have creamed him! Why would God bless Jacob after all his deception, his conniving, his unwillingness to give himself fully to God's will? And what is the ultimate effect on Jacob/Israel? This seems to be a life-changing experience, but we still see the deception, conniving, and dysfunction alive and well in Jacob. These are some of the questions I'm wrestling with this week. Please come and wrestle along with me this Sunday at 10 am as we dive more deeply into this story together.

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