The account in Genesis of the two brothers Esau and Jacob makes interesting, even intriguing reading for most of us who read the Bible. How many stories or biblical accounts give such a true insight into human behavior as what unfolded in this family according to the biblical account. By the time we get to Genesis chapter 32 where the two feuding brothers are to be united, we seem to be heading to the climax of the entire story about Isaac’s immediate family, especially the long-lasting feud between his two sons. We know that the preferential treatment of each son by each parent is the root of this long-running feud and at this point in the story we can spare a bit of sympathy for both brothers in different ways. It is hard though not to agree that the deception of Jacob and his mother Rebekah was the ultimate determining factor in this broken family relationship.
Despite all that has happened in the past, Genesis chapter 32 brings us to the pivotal moment, the make or break moment when the brothers must meet either to reconcile or for a final battle to the end for one or the other.
Yet into this plot comes what seems like an unexpected diversion. Jacob has cleverly and carefully planned how he is going to meet his brother by sending teams of servants and gifts ahead of him to pacify his brother who he presumes is still very angry with him for stealing his birthright. Some would call it bribery but that’s for another discussion. Jacob is then left alone after crossing over the Jabok river having sent his wives and children and two female servants ahead of him. There late at night a man comes and wrestles with him. This in itself seems like a strange event. Who is this man? Why has he chosen to wrestle with Jacob, a man who by this time is well advanced in years? What’s the endgame here?
Wrestling by itself was not a form of combat. Don’t envision this event as two enemies fighting to the death. Wrestling even from those times was above all a sport in some cultures, a challenge of strength and wits. It was never a form of malicious behavior intending to destroy anybody. It is clear that Jacob thinks that this man is a divine being so he insists that he will not let him go until he blesses him. The fact that the person wants to get away before sunlight further strengthens Jacob’s belief that this was no ordinary human person.
As you may have seen on the video a little earlier in the children’s time wrestling is a close touching physical activity where two persons essentially use their bodies as weapons in trying to subdue the other. It is a challenge of physical strength and dexterity and also mental strategy to get the better of one’s opponent, all in a very respectful and healthy manner. The aim is not to inflict pain or bodily harm but to test the strength and agility and mental smartness of your opponent. This description should give us some clue as to what is happening here. It should also help us to see that all of us are wrestling at one time or another in our lives without thinking of it as a sport. Wrestling is a challenge of patience and endurance. It is a challenge to see how one can overcome the difficult and sometimes overwhelming situations and experiences that we meet upon in this life. The message today is obviously not about doing the art of wrestling in the physical sense but all about the challenges and adversities we face in this life and how we overcome them. In this regard, there are a few things that I would like us to contemplate upon from this text today.
First of all, we notice that after Jacob sent his wife and servants ahead of him at some point after crossing the Jabok ford, he was alone. It was at that time the mysterious stranger came and wrestled with him. What we can grasp from this for our own lives is that the times when we wrestle or struggle the most are often the lonely periods in our lives. It doesn’t mean that there is no one around you physically or no one has offered to help. Very often friends or family might be trying to help and encourage you as much as they can but at those times those experiences and those struggles you just have to bear on your own. There is simply no other way around them, because those struggles and challenges are your unique experiences that you must learn from and become stronger from. No one else can do it for you. It is significant to note that the greatest challenges of life whether sickness or death or family discord or any other personal struggle always are at a time when you feel most alone whether physically or emotionally or even spiritually. This sense of having to bear your distress or pain alone or feeling all alone in your time of weakness is the greatest challenge in your time of struggle.
The second thing we must note in this text is that Jacob prayed to God before meeting his brother. He realised quickly enough that all the gifts he was sending ahead of him was not the solution to this situation.What was necessary was prayer. Jacob realised that the situation he faced was one that he could not depend on his own personal resources as impressive as they were. Sometimes we think that what people need when they are going through very dark and difficult times are physical gifts. The gifts we give are indeed good things and sometimes they may be of great help. However, one thing we must not forget is to pray for that person, or even better, with the person if they desire it. Our prayers whether for ourselves or for other people recognise and acknowledge the fact that our wrestling and struggles are not just a matter for the physical realm.That is why Paul says to the Ephesians, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but…against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (See Ephesians 6:12 NIV) This is another way of saying that for the Christian, the struggles that we face are not merely physical, they are spiritual and as such it is only spiritual solutions we can seek at all times when we wrestle with what seems like never-ending trials. It is a spiritual issue first and foremost and as such it must be taken to God in prayer as the words of that famous song by Joseph Scriven says, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” It is only our dependence on God that really counts in those difficult times. This is the real blessing that we get from our wrestling and our struggles.
Thirdly, when you are going through a period of great distress, it can feel as if even God is against you. Have you ever been there? Have you ever been to such a low place that you feel that there is nothing left in you? Sometimes it may seem that you have been wrestling for a lifetime and nothing meaningful or consequential has happened. This is the depth of your wrestling and at these times you really feel that even God is against you. This is not an unusual feeling. We may recall that Jesus’ last words on the cross were , “My God, my God why have you forsaken me.” (See St. Mark 15: 34 NIV) In repeating the words found in Psalm 22, Jesus was expressing the extreme anguish of the weight of sin that he was bearing on that cross. We too in our deepest anguish will wonder sometimes if God is near us or understanding what we are going through. Sometimes it may even feel that God himself is working against you. Again oftentimes we see in the Psalms of Lament where the Psalmist expresses the same thought that God’s hand is against him or his people. (See Psalm 13: 1-2, Psalm 22:1-2, Psalm 44:9-26, Psalm 74: 1-11 and Psalm 88) All these psalms express the human frustration when God seems to be either absent or actively punishing his servant or his people. Jacob did not express such sentiment in the text but it is worthwhile noting that we all do get to that point of despair through our struggles that we feel that even God is against us. We may not say it out loudly for others to hear us but it is the quiet thought in our hearts. At those times you must pray even more and never stop believing in the God who has been there for you countless times before.
Lastly, Jacob insisted that the stranger bless him before letting him go. How determined is that? Jacob obviously believed that he was wrestling with a heavenly being but what is more important here is that Jacob was determined to come away from this wrestling with something good. He insisted that the stranger bless him. There is a message for us here. Through every struggle and through every time of despair that we experience we must be determined to be better off when we pass through that experience. You must be stronger in faith and better as a person for having been through the trial. Jacob was not focused on his injured leg, he was laser focused on the man giving him something good. When you go through trials or you are wrestling even if it is with God make good use of it by getting your blessing, not focusing on how terrible the experience was. In this way your wrestling or your struggles whatever they were, will have been a blessing to you and to those around you. Let others see in you someone who has overcome much and can give God praise because you have not just survived but you have been strengthened through your trials and all the wrestling you have been doing in your life and now you can stand as someone blessed and filled with praise to God from whom all blessings flow. May God go with us and help us to reflect on these things and take them to heart as we live and wrestle with the things of life and be the example of faith and the messengers of hope for others who are struggling and wrestling. Amen.