# 305 Wrestlings of Faith

The Book of Genesis

Day 305

Ge 32:24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.  25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.

This portion of Scripture has always fascinated me. Jacob is left all alone and a man wrestles with him all night long! Where did this “man” come from? Who is this “man?” Why did he wait until Jacob was all alone? Why did he have to physically wrestle with him, I mean couldn’t he just have sat down with him and talked things over?

When the match was over, we are told who the man is, He is the God incarnate, Jesus Christ! We can gather that by what is said in Ex 33:20, “man shall not see God and live.” When Jacob says that he has “seen God face to face, “ it must be God in the covering of flesh, namely Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way in which we may come face to face with God and live! Jn 14:6 says, “I  am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

This encounter, this wrestling match, between Jesus and Jacob goes on all night! And when the “Angel of the Lord saw that He did not prevail against Jacob, He zapped him  in the hip.

This just doesn’t make any sense! The pre-incarnate Christ wrestles with Jacob all night and can’t whip him? I mean come on, just flicking a finger at his hip, knocks it out of commission? What other kind of damage could He have done?

For some reason, the Angel of the Lord chose not to prevail over Jacob. I like the way one commentary explains it, “It is God’s good pleasure to be vanquished by the stranglehold of faith.”  Now that puts a whole different spin on this wrestling match. This whole scene then is meant to be a picture for us  of the grappling we experience between our flesh and the Spirit of God. It’s a reminder of how powerful our flesh can be in resisting God.

When it comes to faith, let us be like Jacob and not become weary. Let us cling to God and His promises. Even though we may suffer wounds, (as the Apostle Paul did) in the process. Those wounds are sustained only to remind us that in the end God’s grace is sufficient. Don’t let go! Hang on! A blessing awaits you if you do!