Saturday, October 2, 2010

Weak But Strong-After Wrestling With God

On the issue of Jacob wrestling with God, it was pointed out that the significance was the life change that happened to Jacob after this event. Though I fully agree with the conclusion, the discussion raised more questions than answers. Was God the man who wrestled with Jacob? If the man was God, why could He not defeat Jacob at first? Does Genesis 32:22 imply that God put Himself in a situation that He could not overpower a human being like Jacob? If it was not God, then who was the man? And most importantly, what does this passage mean to Christians and how should Christians apply this passage in their lives?

The Scripture that Jacob “saw God face to face” (Genesis 32:30) seemingly proves that the man was God. However, the Bible also says that no one can see God’s face. Even to Moses, God only showed his back (Exodus 33:11 and Deuteronomy 34:10). Rather than being viewed as God, the man should be viewed as an angel sent by God. The Scripture here can be read figuratively for two reasons: The angels represented God’s authority; Jacob was extremely awed by God. Thus, it is reasonable that God, out of His intention to make Jacob understand His sovereignty and the pain to wrestle with God, allowed His angel to fail to conquer Jacob in the beginning.

It is hard to imagine exactly how Jacob felt after he broke his hip, for the Scripture does not describe any emotions of Jacob. However, I find it easier to get a better understanding since I hurt my ankle in nursery recently. Besides the pain and inconvenience, the difficulties of accomplishing the easiest tasks, such as walking several steps, brought great humility. In the Old Testament setting, walking with a big staff and a limp foot throughout his years undoubtedly made the situation harder for Jacob. It could take Jacob several months to accept the fact that he became crippled in one night and it might take him even longer to learn how to be humble.

Though the Scripture is vague whether this one single event strengthened his faith and transformed Jacob’s life, the following Scripture does record that he commanded his entire household to get rid of the foreign gods and to purify themselves after returning to Bethel. And his anguish in breaking his hip can be one of the reasons that he built an altar and worshiped God “who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone” (Genesis 35:3). It is obvious that God was using this trial to humble Jacob and to teach him to be submissive. Being a limping man, Jacob became a man stronger in faith, and God blessed him into a great nation.

Instead of wrestling with God, it is more common that the Christians nowadays are wrestling between the Spirit inside themselves and their sinful nature all the time. Facing the trials, the believers may fail in recognizing the absolute fact that God is in control. Jacob’s wrestling with God can be a tremendous historical event that God put in the Scripture to guide the believers on how to make choices when they are struggling in their lives. It can be His intention to teach the believers to stop wrestling with Him and to follow His will. It is significant to Christians how they make choices: to accept their weaknesses and turn to God as Jacob did, or to turn away from Him. It takes time to recognize how God strengthened His people in their weakness, but it is always encouraging to know how God’s power “is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

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