Wrestling with God

Wrestling with God

Preached at Hallam and Martell UMCs, October 21, 2007.

When you think of wrestling, what comes to mind? Is it pro wrestling--complete with Bret "the Hitman" Hart, or Steve Austin, or Hulk Hogan, or even Gorgeous George? Oversized musclebound guys in tight costumes jumping from the top rope to smash their opponent to the ground? Running back and forth across the ring to bounce off the ropes and throw a clothesline, followed by a piledriver, and finally a submission hold? A place where the show in more important than the victory?

Or is it more a collegiate style--high school, college, or olympic--with far more athletic young men in singlets, wrestling for points and for honor? With takedowns, reversals, and escapes?

Or is it what you do with your kids or grandkids--rolling around on the floor, letting them pin you down in an expression of relationship?

Maybe it is what you do with the budget at the end of the month before the paycheck comes? Maybe it is what you do with your conscience or your past--decisions you have made, or decisions you are in the midst of dealing with.

Whatever you think of when you hear the word "wrestling," it always denotes a struggle--whether in a good or bad. This struggling goes on for the entirety of our lives. You might even say that our lives are filled with moments of wrestling and moments of rest.

Jacob was no stranger to wrestling--from the very beginning, even at his birth. The Bible tells us that his brother Esau was born first, but Jacob came out holding on to his brother's heel. From that moment on, you can see the struggle that was Jacob, always trying to get ahead, always trying to get ahead. Some translators even see Jacob's name as meaning "cheater, treacherous, striving."

We see this in Jacob's struggles through his life. He catches Esau at a time when he is tired and hungry and swindles away Esau's birthright (a double portion of the inheritance--received as a right of being the first-born) for a bowl of stew. Later, as their father Isaac lay on his deathbed, nearly blind and feeble, Jacob knows that Esau is about to receive his father's blessing. Jacob comes up with a plan to steal away this blessing: he will dress up as Esau and tell Isaac that he is ready to receive the blessing.

Now Esau was a hairy guy. Jacob had to put goat skins over his hands and neck in order to pass the "touch test." Sure enough, Isaac felt the goat hides, and although it was still Jacob's voice, this person coming to him felt hairy (like Esau), and smelled like a goat (like Esau), so Isaac gave his blessing (Genesis 27:27-29).

Jacob knew that Esau had a reason to hate him now, even to kill him, so Isaac told him to leave the country to stay with his uncle Laban. He did, and fell in love with Laban's daughter Rachel--Racy Rachel. But Laban said, "You can't marry my daughter until you work seven years for me." For a gal like Rachel, Jacob thought this was a deal. Seven years later, it was time for a wedding. At the wedding feast, there was a lot of drinking and when Jacob woke up...he was not married to Racy Rachel, he was married to her sister, Lumpy Leah! So he worked another seven years to marry Rachel, and another seven after that.

Another example of how Jacob struggle through his life is in the deal he made with his father-in-law to build up his herds. He would take the goats and sheep that were speckled and spotted, and leave the rest for Laban. Pretty soon, all the good livestock in the herd belonged to Jacob. Needless to say, Laban wasn't happy, and Jacob decided to take his flocks and his wives and make a run for it. He ended making a deal with Laban that they would never cross paths again.

This brings us to our scripture reading for this morning. Jacob was going back home, and sent word to his brother Esau that he was coming. Esau sent word back that he would meet him--with 400 men! Remembering that Esau hated him, Jacob got a little nervous, and sent his flocks ahead of him, and finally, on the banks of the Jabbok River, he sent his wives and servants ahead.

There he was--alone. I can imagine that as he camped there that night, he thought about all the times when he had strived to get ahead; times when it had worked, and times when it had not. He was at a turning point in his life. Should he save his neck and run? or should he finally, after all these years, face the music? Either way, he could lose everything.

That night scripture tells us that he wrestled with a man until daybreak. Who was it he wrestled with? Some would say that he struggled with the bodily form of God, others believe that it was the pre-incarnated Jesus, others the Angel of God.

All his life, Jacob had longed to be blessed. As he struggled with God, he said, "I will not let you go until you bless me." In response, God asked him his name. Jacob had to reply--remember his name meant "cheat, treacherous, struggler"--he had to have this moment of self-realization. In response, God blessed him by changing his name from cheater to "Striver with God"--Israel.

God could have easily defeated Jacob, but we all know that is not how God works. He wanted Jacob to realize who he was for himself. God's touch caused him pain--he would walk the rest of his life with a limp. But he was made new--he was changed--a new name, a new attitude--Jacob would be the father of a great nation, blessed by God.

How often are you crafty, self-seeking, self-willed, self-centered, in every day striving to get ahead? How often do you seek to do it all in your own power? Friends, just as Jacob was changed by his struggle with God, your moment of self-realization and confession can lead to your life being changed. After all, this passage, this portrait of the changed Jacob, is what we are called to be--a people who can confidently go forward to face life's crises "hold[ing] fast to love and justice, and wait[ing] continually for God" (Hosea 12:6).

This realization of who you are can be painful, just ask Jacob--he would limp for the rest of his life as a remembrance of that moment. But the pain is overshadowed by the mercy and grace of God in providing us with victory. With the grace of God, the strength of the victory of Christ over all struggles, you shall be blessed in that moment--and changed forever.