Why jacob wrestled with god

We all might have felt at some point that we were wrestling with God. Maybe you were or are wrestling with Him for healing, a breakthrough or a restored relationship. Many times God allows us to wrestle with Him for certain reasons. Let us look into why God let Jacob wrestle with Him and how we can apply these reasons to our own wrestling matches with God. Verse 26 gives us the reason why Jacob wrestled with God or His angel.

It says, "Then he said, 'Let me go, for the day has broken. Instead He was wrestling to keep God with Him. In our own lives we find that it can be a struggle to have God's presence remain with us. Reading the Bible , praying and worshipping with our hearts and minds fully focused on God brings us to a closer, more intimate relationship with Him.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle to spending time with God is ourselves. Our priorities get mixed up. Jacob was made lame by his wrestling match with God. For the proud, self-sufficient, quick-witted Jacob, this physical disability was a sign of his new humility. We see the same kind of stories in Simon Peter and in the conversion of Saul to Paul.

In fact, Paul would later write about a thorn in his flesh:. Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. No one would want to go through life with a disability or ailment to keep them humble, but God knows what we need and that our dependence on Him instead of ourselves is our greatest strength. The sun was rising on Jacob as he limped away. He had a new ailment, but also a new identity, a new name, and a new intimacy with God. Instead of killing him, his brother met him with an embrace and tears of joy.

Esau had forgiven his brother. He only wanted to be right with his brother. He would end up losing his beloved wife, Rachel, in childbirth. His favorite son would be betrayed by his older brothers and sold into slavery.

Where do you need to seek forgiveness? Are you persevering in your pursuit of a relationship with God? How can you draw closer to Him and be humble? When we take the lessons God has for us from the stories in his Word, we can grow, have more peace , and be the man or woman God has called us to be.

You can learn more about her writing and sign up for her newsletter by visiting her website at melaniecampbellauthor. You can also follow her on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter. God blessed Jacob and gave him a new name — Israel Genesis and with it a new identity.

Names in the Bible have a bigger significance than they do now. Now, when we give someone a nickname, we do it for fun or because we enjoy a certain aspect about someone. But when someone changed a name in the Bible, it was a massive deal. It determined their whole identity moving forward. As a continuous reminder of their encounter and His blessing, God gave Jacob a permanent limp Genesis Like Jacob, we can enter into a relationship with Christ today by asking forgiveness for our sins and declaring God to be our Savior and Redeemer.

Through admitting our brokenness to Him, God can give us a new life as His children, and we can enter into an eternal relationship with Him, full of His blessings and good promises over our lives. Jacob was able to experience a new identity through his new name, Israel. In the same way, when we come to know Christ, we experience a transformation. He had to work another seven years for his father-in-law Laban in order to secure the woman he loved, Rachel.

In the account of Genesis chapter 32, did Jacob actually wrestle with God? Did he do so out of fear of his coming encounter with his brother Esau, who last time he heard was going to kill him? Or, did Jacob wrestle with God in order to be blessed? And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. Jacob became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, and Jacob would later bless each of his sons and reveal what their clan or tribe would be like in the future.

From the entire context of Genesis 32, I believe it is clear that Jacob feared being killed by his brother Esau, because the last time he heard of Esau, he had planned to kill Jacob, but God had other plans.