Can We Fight With God?

How many of have regretted episodes in our lives and wished that we could go back and change them. We play the scenarios over and over in our minds. We may be having to deal with the consequences of our actions, or we maybe having to figure out how to repair the damage that we have created. How ever the episodes turn out, the struggles are real. There is emotional trauma in that struggle isn’t there. We are going to look at these ideas of guilt, results, wrestling with those thought and outcomes, and then the blessings gained from it.

The Story

The story I want to look at today has to do with love, jealousy, hopes and dreams, manipulation, lack of judgement and probably a few more items. You could probably find these going on in many families today.

Issac and Rebecca are about to become parents for the first time. As quite often with pregnancies, there appeared to be some issues.

Genesis 25:22–26 NKJV

22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” 24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

Esau - “covered with hair”, Jacob - supplanter or “he grasps the heel” or “he deceives”. To brothers but oh so very different. One loved the wide open fields and the hunt, the other, the life of a shepherd and of tents, a mild mannered man. The 2 nations that came from these 2 men would always be at odds and would always be enemies.

Esau was loved by his father and Jacob was loved by his mother. Because of the prophecy given to Rebekah and her love for her younger son, she pushed and encouraged and guided Jacob in the way she thought the Lord would want so that Jacob to gain the birthright blessing that would mean Jacob would be the next leader of their family.

Jacob loved both his father and his mother. But her continued urging created in him a passionate desire that according to the idea of the time did not belong to him. As both of the sons grew, Esau became more present oriented and Jacob became more future oriented and particularly more sensitive to spiritual values. Then came the day that we know from Bible stories growing up, if didn’t have those stories then it says

Genesis 25:29–34 NLT

29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. 30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) 31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” 32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” 33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

Jacob was considering the spiritual significance of the birthright blessing, were as Esau did not consider beyond the present life and is not interested in what could take place after his death. Jacob was looking toward the headship of the family which included not only worldly wealth but also spiritual preeminence. He who recieved the birthright was also priest of the family. What Esau despised was of a spiritual nature. He did not see it any immediate benefit or profit, so it meant nothing to him. Now lets jump an number of years ahead.

Issac was approximately 137 years old now. He was blind both physically and mentally in the fact that he refused to see Esau’s iniquities and Jacob’s spiritual maturity. Genesis tells us

Genesis 27:2–4 ESV

2 He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

Rebekah is of course listening and has probably expected this to happen for awhile now. She has a plan that she wishes to implement and she goes to Jacob with it.

Genesis 27:8–10 ESV

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 9 Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. 10 And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”

Of course Jacob new that he couldn’t fool his father into believing that Jacob was Esau. But Jacob followed his mothers plan goat skins and all and did receive birthright that Issac had intended for Esau. A wrong, a lie, a falsehood commited to initiate a prophecy that Rebekah was told would happen by God.

This situation is very ironic because the texts that we have already read show that Jacob had already earned the blessing that Esau had despised. The blessing that Rebekah and Jacob worked so “hard” for gets in the way of God’s plan, in fact , it was God’s gift and did not depend on their human achievements and merits. The irony is that all these human efforts were not only ethically wrong, they unnecessary.

How often have you and I screwed up God’s plan for our lives? How often have we meddled in something that we had no business touching? How often have we not had the patience to wait for the Lord’s timing? We see this scenario time and time again in the Bible and as we go through our lives we make decisions that we think God would have us do and some that we no that he would not have us do. If we stay with the Lord and let him guide, we begin to see how at certain points in our lives it would have been a lot easier on us if we had waited for the Lord to lead.

The Worry/promise?

Jacob leaves and heads to the ancestral home of Rebekah, to Laban her brother. Threatened with death by the wrath of his brother, he leaves his father’s home a fugitive. He goes to seek a wife in Mesopotamia. But he goes with a deeply troubled heart. He only has his staff and he must travel hundreds of miles. I imagine that he stayed off the main roads for fear that his brother might find him and I also can imagine that the farther he goes the more he fears that he has lost forever the blessing that God had purposed to give him.

Do we lose our ability to see God during times of our own depression. Is Jacob any different than we are? How many of us can put ourselves in same spot that we see Jacob in at present? Where do we go from here? Don’t know, Jacob didn’t either.

On his 2nd day out the Bible says he made it to a certain place and it is suspected that it was near the city of Luz. He new that all of this trouble had brought about because of his wrong choices. He was utterly lonely and need of God’s protection more than he had ever felt it before. With a heavy heart and deep humiliation he found a couple of stones for a pillow and laid down.

Genesis 28:12–13 NLT

12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. 13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants.

Genesis 28:15 NLT

15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

What grace and mercy the Lord shows to His children. He didn’t give up on his children in the Old Testament and He doesn’t give up on us. We we screw things up, He gives us a revised plan. Granted, we should learn from our mistakes, but.... The only way he will ever leave us is if we give up on Him first.

2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Paul tells us that God’s/Jesus’ grace is sufficient for anything that I might blunder into. As long as I keep my faith and trust in Him, I will have the power of Christ to get me through.

It worked for Jacob. He got up the next morning and went on with a new sense of purpose to Heron and met Laban and his family and fell in love.

The Condemnation

Let’s fast forward again in Jacob’s life. We now find him with 2 wives, 11 sons, servants, and many animals. We find Jacob a rich man. Did all of this come without a struggle? First he woke up in his marriage bed with Leah instead of Rachel for which he promised to work seven years for. He was able to marry Rachel, but his love for Rachel made Leah very jealous. The sister wives were antagonistic to each other and the home that should have been happy was not.

Laban was another major thorn in Jacob’s side. Laban had become rich while Jacob was his chief shepherd. Multiple times Laban had changed Jacob’s wages, but Jacob was diligent and straight forward in his dealing with his farther -in -law according to the will of God and Jacob was blessed.

It had been 20 years now and Jacob felt it was time to move on.

Genesis 30:25–26 NLT

25 Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country. 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.”

Of course Laban tried to dissuade him. Jacob would have left long before but the condemnation and the fear of encounter Esau keep him there. Laban succeeded for a short period of time in keeping there, but in Laban’s absence, Jacob left with all he possessed, crossed the Euphrates and to the border of Canaan before Laban caught up with him. Upon Laban’s arrival he said,

Genesis 31:29 ESV

29 It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’

God had not forgotten Jacob and was protecting him even now. God had not forgotten His promise to Jacob. It had been 20 plus years since he had slept on that hard stone pillow. God does not forget.

Numbers 23:19 NLT

19 God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

He will not forget you or me either. In Him is our strength, in Him is our faith, in Him is our courage!

Laban left him without incident and they made a pact never to cross each others paths again. Jacob was done with Laban.

Jacob left Haran and Padan - aram in obedience to divine direction. But it was not without many misgivings and forebodings that he retraced the road that 20 years before he had come as a fugitive. His deception of his father was ever on his mind and he had a sense within himself that his long exile was the result of his deeds. The accusings play through his mind day and night made his journey sad. I’m sure as he saw the hills of his home land, the heart of patriarch must have been deeply move.

As he drew near the journey’s end, the thought of Esau brought many troubled forebodings. He sent a messenger to Esau with a message trying to find favor in his brothers sight. The messenger returned.

Genesis 32:6–8 NLT

6 After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!” 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups. 8 He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.”

They had now reached the river Jabbok and night was coming on. He sent his family across the river and he stayed behind alone. He felt a great needed desire to pray.

The Struggle

The Bible tells us.

Genesis 32:24 NKJV

24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.

Listen while I read how one author describes what that night must have been like for Jacob.

Patriarchs and Prophets Chapter 18—The Night of Wrestling

It was in a lonely, mountainous region, the haunt of wild beasts and the lurking place of robbers and murderers. Solitary and unprotected, Jacob bowed in deep distress upon the earth. It was midnight. All that made life dear to him were at a distance, p 197 exposed to danger and death. Bitterest of all was the thought that it was his own sin which had brought this peril upon the innocent. With earnest cries and tears he made his prayer before God. Suddenly a strong hand was laid upon him. He thought that an enemy was seeking his life, and he endeavored to wrest himself from the grasp of his assailant. In the darkness the two struggled for the mastery. Not a word was spoken, but Jacob put forth all his strength, and did not relax his efforts for a moment. While he was thus battling for his life, the sense of his guilt pressed upon his soul; his sins rose up before him, to shut him out from God. But in his terrible extremity he remembered God’s promises, and his whole heart went out in entreaty for His mercy.

They wrestled till almost the break of day. The sun just beginning to rise in the sky.

Genesis 32:25–27 ESV

25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

Patriarchs and Prophets Chapter 18—The Night of Wrestling

The patriarch now discerned the character of his antagonist. He knew that he had been in conflict with a heavenly messenger, and this was why his almost superhuman effort had not gained the victory. It was Christ, “the Angel of the covenant,” who had revealed Himself to Jacob. The patriarch was now disabled and suffering the keenest pain, but he would not loosen his hold. All penitent and broken, he clung to the Angel; “he wept, and made supplication” (Hosea 12:4), pleading for a blessing. He must have the assurance that his sin was pardoned. Physical pain was not sufficient to divert his mind from this object. His determination grew stronger, his faith more earnest and persevering, until the very last. The Angel tried to release Himself; He urged, “Let Me go, for the day breaketh;” but Jacob answered, “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.”

Jacob wrestled with God. Jacob had been wrestling with God for nigh on 20 years in form or another. God didn’t condemn him. Jacob’s sin had been clearly set before him and he realized what he had been truly wrestling with all this time. He had not trusted God’s promises. but had sought by his own efforts to bring about something he should have let God accomplish in His own time.

It is it ok to wrestle with God? Is it ok to come to God and struggle with something from the very depths of your soul? God came to wrestle with Jacob to help him to see what he was missing. He came to wrestle with him to give him clarity of mind. If we need to wrestle with a problem, bring it to God and wrestle with it in the arms of someone that loves us beyond our imaginations! Yes it is ok to wrestle with, fight if you will with God.

The Blessing

Genesis 32:28–30 NLT

28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” 29 “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said. “Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. 30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”

Let’s go back to the question “What is your name?”. It puts the finger precisely on what Jacob’s problem was. His character was encapsulated in his name Jacob. The man who grabs the heel, the cheater, one who attempts to control his destiny. When Jacob said “Jacob”, he was stating not only who is was but what he was. Changing one’s name means changing their identity, their character. God’s new name for Jacob was Isreal. The changing of the name is the sign that Jacob was forgiven. Isreal literally means “God Fights”. The name Isreal or “God Fights” was to be a reminder for Jacob in his personal struggle, that he must let God fight for him.

There is so much more in this story that we can learn from. God is so wonderful. God wants to change our characters. He wants to give us a new name. He wants to make us all over new. What do you suppose your new name will be. There’s only one way to find out.