A Wrong Enemy

Genesis 32:25 “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 is the only incident in the Bible where it is recorded that God could not prevail against man. The situation is so simple that Jacob had to come back to Bethel and live there. But he was so stupid to fear Esau who was living in Edom which is far and no way close to Bethel and wanted to make peace with him before settling down in Canaan. Isaac had blessed Jacob so that Esau would serve him. But in this situation Jacob keeps repeating the word “lord” when calling Esau.

This is one successful trait of the devil in diverting us towards false enemies. God had clearly removed Esau out of Jacob’s path and Esau had settled down elsewhere. It was just after angels of God had met Jacob at Mahanaim. Fear is so powerful that it makes us completely ignore God’s presence and communication with us. In Numbers 14:9 we read that we should not rebel against God and not fear men. Fearing men makes us try to be neutral, lame or tasteless. These men could be our own family members like a wife, parent or child who would have no demand but we try to please them in our own ways. Esau was very polite and was even trying to help Jacob which show how unnecessary was this fear. Satan’s deception and the strength of our flesh can become very successful that we would even wrestle strongly against God Himself and still prevail. Mark 6:5, 6 is another verse which shows how lack of faith can be devastating and is a serious problem. This lack of faith is a sin that God Himself did not expect from us.

The fear was so high that Jacob did not think about God who he was wrestling against. All he wanted was a blessing for that unnecessary problem. God had clearly spoken to Jacob in many instances and it was God who blessed Jacob while in Padan Aram. Every event in Jacob’s life was a clear evidence of God being beside him. But Jacob had chosen to get a blessing by wrestling with God. If faith was present there the whole incident would have been very constructive. But this wrestle did not contribute anything because hours later Jacob saw Esau who was meant to serve him and Jacob ridiculously worshipped him.

Verse 24 says that God initiated the encounter but could not prevail because of Jacob’s stubbornness. This means that we are disallowing God to do his will just because we are fearful. We need to fear this attitude of fear. This can be fatal and bring the greatest disgrace to God. The verse clearly says that Jacob got this limp only because God could not prevail against Jacob. As per Psalms 46:1,2 if we are in God’s side, faith would be the greatest action and obedience we would submit to God. In Mathew 25:26 we read Jesus calling to fear as wickedness.

In Gen 32:26-18 we read how the name Israel was given to Jacob only because of his persistence. Israel means “Prince with God” and it was given that Jacob at last realized that God was pitiful with Jacob and did not kill him after this encounter. Jacob did not fully inherit this name. Not once was the name Abram referred in the Bible after he became Abraham. But Israel was a name which he got at this incident and we can see many references to him as both Jacob and Israel in the Bible. Also, we read in Genesis 35:10 where God mentions that “Your name is Jacob, you shall not called be Jacob anymore.” God has to intervene and remind this change. If faith is not present God cannot complete his will in us.

Going back to Abraham we know how he was willing to sacrifice the only means of blessing without questioning. In Genesis 22:18 we read “Because you have obeyed my voice”. This voice is always heard in our life and this is very much visible in our time where The Holy Spirit resides within us. But lack of faith is one small disqualification which can make us fail. But presence of faith is something God is excited about and wants to come immediately and complete His will.

Since the arrival of Christ, the most important thing he emphasized was “being poor in spirit”, “deny yourself” and other similar teachings. This self-exaltation and selfishness is the enemy we need to be very careful for. Denying one’s self means ignoring all our needs and to focus on what God requires to fulfill in this world. That kind of sacrifice is very much required to us to succeed in this world. 1 John 5:38 says that being without sin is only safety not without temptation or pain.