We do not know until later that when God appeared or
walked with a person it was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word by which all things
were created, the second part of God called the Son of God, the physical image
of God’s person (Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15). He is in other places called
the angel of God or the angel of the LORD, the meaning of an angel being an
appearance of someone who is also somewhere else, which we have seen (see
Genesis, chapter 16, 21, 22, 31).
Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and
the angel of his presence saved
them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and
carried them all the days of old.
God walked with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8). He spoke
to Noah (Genesis 6). He appeared to Abraham (Genesis 12, 17, 18). He appeared
to Isaac (Genesis 26). God spoke to Jacob in a dream (Genesis 31). Here, God in
the form of a man, which would be the preincarnate Jesus Christ, confronts
Jacob when he is alone. They have this colossal wrestling contest. Wrestling is
perhaps the oldest combat sport known to man.
Wrestling is mentioned in the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, in Greek mythology,
in Hindu, and Persian writings. It is depicted on very ancient cave art in
Mongolia and on Egyptian tombs. Preachers have long played out this scene as an
example of contending with God in prayer for something that you want.
Paul says that we contend against spiritual beings
that inhabit the spaces above us.
Ephesians
6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
While any wrestling we do is spiritual in prayer and
fighting our flesh this was a bonafide physical wrestling match in the flesh,
at least for Jacob anyway. I would be careful talking about wrestling with God
in prayer. We do not get things from God by trying to pin Him down in prayer or
forcing something from Him. God’s mercy does not come to us through our force.
Ephesians
6:18 Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints;
Philippians
4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every
thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God.
The promises offered to us are not awards we win in a
fight with God.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We receive these things by trusting in Christ’s
resurrection.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved.
And by believing what Jesus said about Himself in John
14, that He is the only way to God and that He is in fact the image of God the
Father. In John 3:36 believing on Christ is defined as believing what He said.
So, in;
Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
There is no athletic contest with God involved. If
there is a wrestling match, it is between you and your flesh. But, what we can
say here with certainty is a principle of holding on to God and not letting go,
which some of us have done. We need to understand in all ways and at all times
that it is God who is in control of our destiny. There is no war with Satan,
who can do nothing without God’s permission, and no ransom paid to Satan for
our souls, as the ransom is paid to God by God. See Exodus 30:12. But, as the
parable of the friend pleading with his friend for food in Luke 11 and the
parable of the unrighteous judge in Luke 18, it is expected that we will be
persistent in prayer and not give up.
To make this a spiritual principle we have to
understand that God often makes Himself apparent to us in reality for nothing
happens that is not either caused by God or permitted by God; no cell function,
not a beat of your heart, or not even sickness and death. For instance, someone
you love is sick, very sick. You pray fervently for their release from the
bondage of sickness. It means a lot to you that they get well. Do not, “let
go,” but pray fervently, fast if you are led to by the spiritual and emotional
urgency of the situation, but understand you may be wounded in the process. It
may be God’s will that the one you love must go to Him. But, your persistence
and sincerity will result in a blessing and you will be changed by the,
“struggle.” This is just one example of possible applications and preachers
have come up with many others.
Jacob holds on and refuses to let go until God blesses
him. He is given the name Israel which typically is said to mean
"God prevails" or "God contends" but here the meaning in
context ironically refers to Jacob prevailing with God. Jacob demands that his
opponent tell him His name. But, there is no need. Jacob knows with whom his
encounter has been. Peniel and Penuel are two spellings of the same word. There
may be another reason but one reason for including both spellings is the question
among Jewish authorities regarding the spelling, I have read. Both mean ‘to see
God face to face.’ Who then has Jacob wrestled with?
John 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long
time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me
hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and
upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Colossians
1:15a Who is the image of the invisible
God…
Those who trust in Christ’s righteousness and realize
they are spiritually bankrupt and destitute on their own shall see God face to
face. They are made clean and pure by Christ. (see Job 11:4; Psalm 24:4; and
Proverbs 20:9 for pure as clean.)
Matthew 5:3 ¶ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven….8 Blessed are the
pure in heart: for they shall see God.
(The preparation of a heart to receive Christ is found
in Psalms and Isaiah, among other places.
Psalm 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a
broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and
all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even
to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.)
Jacob will carry with him, in his limp, a reminder of
a very close encounter with the living God. He has had impressed upon him the
unseen power of God in the company of angels he met. He has been impressed with
the immediacy of God in his life with the encounter with the pre-incarnate
Christ. These are two things that should give us pause as we face uncertain
events ahead. There is invisible to us a great host which God can and will use
for His purposes and God Himself does not only meet us in close encounters but
His very Spirit dwells inside of us by virtue of the faith He gave us when we
believed. (i.e.; Romans 3:22; 8:9.)
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