Jacob the Wrestler
Painting by Gustave Dore.
When I was a child in Sunday school, Bible stories were presented as morality tales. The patriarchs and prophets were heroes of the faith - models to be emulated. The stories about Jacob, however, never seemed to fit. I knew that for some reason God favored Jacob over Esau; but Jacob seemed like a lying schemer to me. Was his story a lesson in the ends justifying the means? That interpretation seemed incompatible with the rigors of the Law, and the teachings of Jesus. Did God simply overlook the conniving of Jacob’s youth in foreknowledge of who he would become? Perhaps, but there is never a point in Jacob’s story where he passes a great test of faith, like Abraham. Nor is he portrayed as a man of prayer, like Isaac. In fact, while Jacob schemes to claim the firstborn’s birthright, it seems he is more interested (at first) in the honor the birthright confers than in the details of the promise given to Abraham. That is my impression based on Jacob’s reaction to his encounter with God at Bethel.
As Jacob was running from the wrath of Esau, the Lord appeared to him in a dream. In that dream, He entrusted to Jacob the same promise He had made to Abraham and Isaac. God’s promise to Jacob was unequivocal, given without reservation or condition. God said He would multiply Jacob’s descendants and give them the land promised to Abraham. The LORD would watch over Jacob and bring him back to the land of promise. But Jacob’s response to the vision was neither generous nor confident. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” Jacob did not even promise that the LORD will be his God, unless certain conditions were met.
God gave His promise to Jacob not because Jacob was, at that moment, a man of great faith. Rather, God intended to work on Jacob’s character as He “watched over him” in a foreign land. When I was younger, I thought this promise meant simply that God would spare Jacob’s life and protect his body from harm. But I have learned there is much more involved in God’s watching. The Lord’s gaze on His chosen ones is so intense that both Job and David begged the Lord to look away!
Until reading Rabbi Sacks’ commentary, I failed to see just how the Lord was with Jacob in a foreign land. As Jacob labored for Laban, the Lord taught His servant the principles of justice - what one sows, one will reap. Jacob sowed deceit, and deceit is what he reaped. Jacob took advantage of his father’s blindness to steal the firstborn blessing. Laban, in turn, took advantage of Jacob, substituting the blind Leah for the comely Rachel. Jacob preferred Rachel to Leah, but the line of promise ran through Leah’s son Judah rather than Rachel’s son Joseph. This was God’s justice, and Jacob’s instruction.
Laban grew jealous of Jacob’s prosperity. Laban’s sons accused Jacob of stealing. This injustice taught Jacob the limits and pitfalls of human cleverness. Eventually, Jacob was forced to flee Laban in fear of his life, just as he had fled from Esau. Once again, this was the hand of God drawing Jacob home, fulfilling His word. As Jacob approached the land of promise, he heard that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men, and he trembled. Fearing for the lives of his wives and children, he split them into two groups, hoping that at least one group would escape Esau’s wrath. Jacob had come to the end of his cunning, and at last he prayed. He called upon the God of his fathers.
As we know, the Lord answered in a dramatic way. A man appeared from nowhere to wrestle with Jacob. This man, Jacob understood, was God Himself. Jacob could never overpower the man. Victory was not his goal. He simply held on until he received the man’s blessing. In reality, Jacob had already received the blessing. It was conferred in the birthright and Isaac’s blessing. It was given again to him in a dream. But Jacob did not know the Lord at the time - not the way Abraham and Isaac did. He wanted God’s blessing, that is true, but He did not know how to receive it. Jacob needed a personal encounter with the LORD, and this is exactly what the LORD desire for him.
When Jacob finally stood face-to-face with God, he was changed. He did not ask for his life or for wealth or victory over his enemy. Jacob once again asked for the blessing. This time he asked as a humbled man - a man who would walk a with a glorious limp for the remainder of his days. His weakness became a reminder that his strength was in the Lord and in the certainty of God’s word.
The name God gave Jacob, I think, was a revelation of the joy God takes in Fatherhood. Israel - one who wrestles with God and with men. God loved Jacob because Jacob wanted what was dearest ot God’s own heart. The fact that Israel was willing to fight for God’s blessing conquered the Father’s heart. It meant far more to God than any sacrifice could. The blessing which Israel fought for carried the physical seed of God’s Only Begotten, and thus the salvation of the entire world. Jacob wrestled with men and won by his wits. But it was his fight for the blessing, which won the Father’s heart.
Israel was changed by this encounter with God. In previous years, he tasted the fruit of His deceit and was humbled. In the wrestling, Israel experienced God’s mercy - and that mercy healed his relationship with Esau. God’s promise to Israel would end in the forgiveness of sins for the whole world - and Esau and Israel were swept into this mercy when they meet. Immediately after this encounter, the brothers fell into each other’s arms weeping. And this tender reunion proved to be a seed in itself, foreshadowing the reconciliation of Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph, and the brothers who betrayed him.
Now that I am older, I relate to Jacob more easily than I did in my youth. I can say with gratitude that the Lord has watched over me - and His gaze has often instructed me in His justice! But His mercy has been with me as well. I have come to the end of my own strength, but I cling to the only One who can bless me. And He, my Father, will not let go.