What a mysterious passage this is! If the wrestler is God, why did he struggle with Jacob all night, unable to overpower him? Why did God injure Jacob so severely that it is remembered ‘to this day’ (v 32)? Why did he have to ask Jacob to let him go? Why was God fighting a man anyway? Jacob seems to recognise something of the nature of the wrestler, as he demands a blessing from him, but then asks his name. Did he know who he was fighting, or not?

It is interesting that the name ‘Israel’, which God gave to Jacob and then became the name of the nation, means ‘he struggles with God’. Does this indicate that God approves of us wrestling and struggling with him? Physically, the more a muscle is exercised, the stronger it becomes. Is this passage a challenge to exercise our spiritual muscles by wrestling with God?

Our trust in God is often a tension between what we know about God, and the questions and unresolved issues which we are struggling to understand. This can be painful, as Jacob discovered – but perhaps this story gives us hope.

Do you want the Lord to bless you? What do you want him to do for you and why is that so important to you? Turn your reflections into prayer.

For those of a certain age in the UK, the mention of wrestling recalls Saturday afternoon bouts broadcast on television. Two combatants pitted themselves against each other, looking for two submissions or a knockout for victory. They were choreographed events, sometimes involving a masked, mystery contestant. Almost certainly the winner was fixed prior to the fight! 

Jacob’s wrestling match is no stage-managed entertainment. There are huge issues at stake for him personally and, through him, for all our destinies. It is a tight contest, in which Jacob’s opponent’s identity is obscure. The battle goes on throughout the night and even when Jacob is severely and permanently injured, he holds on tight, unwilling to give up; ‘all he could do was cling to his opponent for support’.¹ At that point, as the identity of the mysterious man begins to become clear, he seeks a blessing. He knows he needs this above all else and, despite the pain and discomfort, he will struggle for it. Blessings are generally given by the greater to the lesser and Jacob recognises his inferiority and his desperate need for God’s blessing on his life. God has brought him at last to a place of dependence. He receives a new name to signal his new identity. Now he is ready to play his part in the future of Israel, the people of God. Our experiences may not approach this level of drama, but similar principles apply. God needs to bring us to a place where desire for him eclipses every other; where we long for his work in our lives, knowing there is no one else and nowhere else to turn. We seek his blessing, not for a cosseted life but to prioritise his kingdom, with the prospect of seeing Jesus face-to-face and finally being made like him.²

‘As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.’³ Use this prayer, saying it slowly, several times.

¹ Joyce Baldwin, The Message of Genesis 12–50, The Bible Speaks Today, IVP, 1986, p137  ² 1 John 3:2  ³ Ps 42:1