Genesis 32:22-32
After Joseph was born to Rachel, Jacob asked Laban to let him go back home with his wives and children. But Laban did not want to let Jacob go yet, since it was obvious that Laban’s wealth was growing because God was favoring Jacob. So, they made a deal that Jacob would gather all the speckled and spotted sheep and goats, as well as every black lamb for himself. Then going forward, all the young animals that are born with similar coloring would belong to Jacob, but all the usual-colored ones would belong to Laban.
Laban decided to cheat Jacob and went ahead and removed all the speckled and spotted sheep and goats, as well as all the black lambs, before Jacob could get them. So, Jacob placed striped rods when the strong animals were breeding, and all the young came out to be Jacob’s. When the weaker animals were breeding, Jacob would not place the striped rods, and the weaker offspring came out to be Laban’s. Through this method, Jacob became exceedingly rich.
Even though Jacob believed in his methodology, it makes no sense to us that the markings of the young animals would depend on whether Jacob placed a striped rod in front of the breeding animals or not. It had all to do with God’s intent to build a nation through Jacob.
Laban’s sons started to talk about how Jacob was somehow stealing from the family, so Jacob decides to flee back home with his family and possessions. Jacob had worked twenty years in total for Laban. He started with nothing, and now he was a very wealthy man.
As Jacob got closer to home, he remembered what he had done to Esau twenty years previous, and that Esau had vowed to kill Jacob. So, he sends messengers ahead to Esau, to explain what has happened since he left. Then the messengers returned with the alarming news that Esau is on his way with four hundred men. Jacob divides his people and possessions into two groups, thinking that if Esau attacked one group, the other could escape.
Then Jacob prays to God, reminding Him that He promised to protect Jacob and would bring him back to the land. He then divides his group into three and sends them ahead in intervals. Each group was to tell Esau that these animals are gifts for him from Jacob. Jacob and his family stayed behind in the camp. And now we come to this morning’s passage.
Jacob sends his two wives and their servants and their children ahead across the river. Knowing Jacob, he did this so if Esau destroys everything that was sent ahead, and his family, Jacob still might be able to escape with his life.
Jacob is now prepared as much as he can be for the anticipated meeting with Esau. However, he ends up having an encounter that he did not anticipate. Jacob is attacked by a mysterious man, and they wrestle throughout the night.
It apparently was an even match. Then the stranger strikes Jacob on the hip and dislocates it. Jacob still hangs on, not letting the man go.
As the day is breaking, the stranger asks Jacob to let go. Sensing an advantage, Jacob asks for a blessing in return for releasing the man. Instead, the stranger gives Jacob a new name – Israel.
Then Jacob asks the stranger for his name. The stranger does not reveal his name, but blesses Jacob, and departs. Whether Jacob lets the man go or the man simply goes on his own, the text does not say. But Jacob is sure that he just had an encounter with God and survived. Jacob got the blessing he wanted, but now he is marked with a limp, presumably for the rest of his life.
There is much that is intentionally ambiguous in this passage. At the beginning of the encounter, we have no idea who this stranger is that attacks Jacob. The narrative leads us to the conclusion that the stranger is God. Then this makes us wonder why God would have to ask Jacob to let Him go, or why He needs to go because the day is breaking? The English translation of this passage has the meaning of Israel as “. . . striven with God and with humans and has prevailed.” But the fact that Jacob’s hip is now dislocated and that he will carry a limp going forward, while the stranger went away unscathed, would lead us to think that Jacob did not really win the physical fight.
Many aspects of this narrative remain open to interpretation and have been interpreted/explained in a variety of ways by scholars and preachers. But what is clear is that here, Jacob receives the name Israel, and this signifies changes in his life, as well as the beginnings of a nation that was to play a special role in God’s plans.
Besides the obvious limp, we can see that Jacob is now changed in the next section, Genesis 33:1-3:
1Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. 2He put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. 3He himself went on ahead of them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother.
While the old Jacob would have put himself at the very back of the procession, Israel now stands in front of the procession. The unexpected encounter with God had changed and prepared Jacob for the encounter with Esau that he feared so much.
Although our encounters with God are probably not as dramatic as Jacob’s vision of a ladder to heaven or a wrestling match at Jabbok, God encountered us in a way that touched us. Our lives too will change if we acknowledge God and accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior. We stop living just for ourselves. Like Jacob, we start the work to build a nation – The Kingdom of God.
When we face difficulties in our lives, we will find that facing God before facing the difficulty will help us to get through it. Jacob feared his encounter with Esau, but after his encounter with God, he was able to face Esau head-on. Of course, Israel still has a bit of Jacob left in him – He lies to Esau that they will meet at Seir, but instead, settles at Succoth. It is like that with us also – God will transform us step-by-step.
Jacob, although he received his new name, Israel, does not instantly become the nation of God. For us too, it will take time. But God will be with us each step along the way.
(The above is a summary of the message shared with us by Shun Takano at worship on August 27, 2023)
Japanese Congregational Church 