|
|
Genesis 32: 22-32
The most perplexing aspect of this particular passage is the identity of the man that Jacob is wrestling with. It would seem from the result of this encounter that the man is God. But, if that is the case, this image of God is certainly different from other images of God throughout the scriptures. First of all in verse 25 we see that the man was not able to overpower Jacob. It goes without saying that this certainly falls outside of the image of an all-powerful God. Then I suppose it is possible that God could have intentionally limited His own abilities. But if that were the case then why would God have resorted to breaking Jacob’s hip? If He was trying to reduce His abilities so as to level the playing field, then why would He resort to taking a cheap shot?
I couldn’t help but wonder how, if at all, this incident was related to Jacob’s impending meeting with his brother Esau. Jacob was very apprehensive about his upcoming meeting with Esau. Perhaps this whole encounter was meant to be some sort of preparation for that meeting.
I also wonder why there was not more of a thorough description of the actual wrestling match. The match begins with the man initiating the match and breaking Jacob’s hip. The next thing the reader knows is that it is daylight and the man is asking to be let up. All the reader knows about the time that the match began is that it is at night. But even if it is as late as midnight that still means the wrestling went on for at least 5 or 6 hours. Perhaps part of the message of the passage is based in the pure endurance of Jacob. Despite his human limitations and the fact that his hip is broken, Jacob manages to wrestle this man, who if he is not God certainly seems to have some sort of supernatural powers, for at least 5 to 6 hours. Then when daybreak arrives, it is the man who gives up and not Jacob.
Something else that I wondered about this encounter was whether or not the fact that it was daybreak had anything to do with the man giving up. Perhaps, since it was daybreak the identity of the man was in danger of being revealed. Would he have lost some sort of advantage that he had over Jacob if his identity had been revealed?
If the man that Jacob was wrestling with was God then what does that say about God? For that matter what does it say about Jacob?
That God, if the man was God, would wrestle with Jacob in such a way and then end up being the one to submit leads to the question of “Was God being easy on Jacob?” But then one would have to wonder, if He was being easy on Jacob “Why did He break His hip?”
There is no account of the two men actually verbally interacting with each other until the match is nearly over with. The man asks Jacob to let him go because it is daybreak. The man apparently is not apprehensive about revealing to Jacob his reservations about the coming daybreak. Perhaps that is why Jacob feels confident enough to use this opportunity to ask the man for a blessing.
The man responds to Jacob’s request by asking Jacob what his name was. This is the beginning of a pivotal exchange that marks the point where Jacob almost literally becomes a new man. The fact that the man asked Jacob his name could be explained in a number of ways. Perhaps the man was trying to increase the impact of the moment when he revealed Jacob’s new name to him. It’s at this point that the reader finally starts to see the man acting in a manner more befitting of God. He changes Jacob’s name and Jacob doesn’t question it for even a second. Jacob merely asks to know the name of his opponent. The man seemingly tries to change the subject by asking why he wants to know and then blesses Jacob.
The fact that Jacob’s name change is explained to him as being the result of Jacob struggling with God and with men and overcoming them might seem to point to the idea that the man is God. However it could be that God sent the man or that God was working through the man in the struggle with Jacob.
In the end the question of who won the encounter is not so easy to answer. By limiting this encounter to the wrestling match, it would seem that Jacob won. But even then the man did not totally submit or concede victory to Jacob. But looking at the whole encounter we see that Jacob did come away from this encounter with a new name and new life and the blessing he wanted, but from that point on he will walk with a limp that will constantly remind him of his encounter with this man.