“Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” (Genesis 32:28)
Read: Genesis 32:13-34:31. Matthew 11:7-30, Psalm 14:1-7, Proverbs 3:19-20
Respond: Israel. Yitzra-el. Fights God.
I’m not a fan of watching fighting. I don’t like MMA or boxing and I certainly don’t like WWE, RAW or whatever it’s called these days. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good war movie or a good Jet Li-Bruce Lee type of movie. That’s different. It’s cinematography. It’s artistry. Wrestling? There’s something I find repulsive about two guys stepping into a ring and beating each other’s faces in. If you like it, more power too you. Me, I’d rather watch a chick flick or pull my fingernails off with a spoon.
But that’s exactly what Jacob did. (Wrestle, not the fingernails thing) He separated his family into two groups, crossed this river, and had an all night long, no holds barred, cage match with God. Crazy thing about it, he actually won. Personally, I think God was throwing the match, but all we know for sure is that at the end God tells Jacob to let Him go, but Jacob says, “Not until You bless me.” So God gave him a new name. No longer was Jacob known as a tricky deceiver. Now he was known as a prize fighting champion.
React: Jacob was rightly afraid. His past was catching up with him and he feared for his life. More than that, he feared for the lives of his family. The sin of Jacob’s past was threatening to come back around and destroy everything he had and loved. Have I run away from my past sin? Have I ignored, or hid, or tried to escape from the consequences of my past sin? When my past is threatening to destroy not just me but everything I hold dear, what am I willing to do about it? Am I willing to go toe to toe with God? Am I willing to get away from this world to fight, and keep on fighting until I have the victory? How serious am I? How desperate am I for a change? Am I willing to do whatever it takes?
Respond:
God, sometimes I don’t want to fight, even when I need to. It is easier to run. It is easier to hide. But there are demons in my past, there are mistakes I’ve made that I need to deal with. It is not just about me. There are people I love, people who trust me, that deserve to have me at my best. Help me to hold on to You. Help me to wrestle with You until You have changed my nature.
THE RIVER WALK 
Well said! I just read this chapter yesterday. Jacob was honored by God for his tenacity. “I won’t let go until you bless me!” May we exhibit the same.
The questions you ask in the React are questions I ask every day. Some days I really don’t like the answers but thankfully God shows us our sin because He loves us and helps walk us through healing and reconciliation. I have found that when we “forget” that our sin affects those around us or feel it’s not a big deal, normally it is because we are running and hiding. Great post.
This was an excellent post. I am both a fan of MMA and WWE Wrestling. Mainly because I grew up with some of the older wrestlers. I worked in a car wash at age 16 that was down the street from where they taped wrestling in those days. After the show some of the wrestlers came to get their cars washed. I met Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, Ernie Ladd, and Johnny Powers. In fact it was Hulk Hogan who gave me my first ever tickets to a Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania 3. However, I never seen how wrestling fit in the bible till I read your post. It was an eye opener. I guess we could call Jacob the Undefeated World Champion of all time. Great, eye opening post.
Great insights and a thoughtful “call for fire.” Thanks.
Awesome post! I can watch the MMA stuff either. Can barely watch boxing but give some good Kung Fu, karate
, etc. I’m in. And to the prayer I say, “In JESUS name…AMEN
Lovely post. And like you, I also have a distaste for modern “wrestling”. There is no wrestling there, just people spewing out pure hatred.
Excellent post….one of the most personally compelling stories in the Bible for me.
When we are desperate for change we will put all the cards on the table. Thx!
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Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
Very well written.We really need question how we react to things everyday . When we react poorly to situations that gives people the wrong image of God.
Your respond is really wonderful, and I think reflects on Jacob’s situation pretty well. God tends to come and go in the Old Testament. Was the point of the match really to defeat God, or for God to determine whether Jacob would hold on to him?
That seems to reflect an important stage in our growth in the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Nice commentary on one of my absolute favorite Bible passages. We all wrestle with God … this trick is to hold on until the blessing.