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| Jacob Wrestles with God Acrylic on Canvas 30" x 40" 25/07/15 8 hours |
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| Slightly different angle, taken in the morning |
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| Illustrating the full size of the painting |
I've always found this story both intriguing and inspiring. Jacob was an interesting character in the bible, and he always stood out to me. He was flawed - deceitful, manipulative, overly infatuated by beauty (i.e. Rachel), self-reliant - yet very much loved by God, the way God loves all of His children. This story marked a change in Jacob's life, a shift from stubborn self-reliance to determined and persistent reliance on God, where he had grown from the ambitious deceiver to be renamed as "Israel", the one who is Triumphant with God.
"The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 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. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
(Genesis 32:22-32 ESV)"
Jacob was about to meet his brother Esau, whom he had deceived of his father's blessing, causing him to have to flee from his home for many years as Esau was enraged and had wanted to kill him. Jacob was afraid, and very vulnerable. And as he was alone, he met a manifestation of God, whom he battled with until dawn broke. It isn't entirely clear what the nature of this battle was - some commentators view that this was a prayerful struggle, others view that it could have been an actual battle. Nonetheless, it was in this event that Jacob confronted all of his life failures, his weaknesses and sins, and struggled through all of them with God, wrestling with Him. And in the end, he prevailed by clinging on to God.
From the text, it appeared that God may have initiated the wrestle with Jacob ("and a man wrestled with him"), to bring him to physical and spiritual submission. Jacob continued the battle, and refused to submit ("the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob"), upon which, with a light touch, God caused Jacob's hip to be put out of joint ("he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him"), illustrating His great power. God asked Jacob to let Him go, for the day had broken. However, Jacob clung on to God and refused to let go, even though the day has broken (and he could potentially be killed if he saw God's face in the light), until he had received God's blessing. And it was only after Jacob acknowledged God and His presence in his life, and ceased his struggling but shifted to a persistent clinging and reliance on God, that he received God's blessing.
After the fight, Jacob met Esau, who welcomed him with open arms, and the brothers thereafter reconciled.
The following in particular inspires me in my Christian walk:
- God loves us so much that he will struggle and wrestle with us through the difficulties in our Christian walk
- God is powerful and strong and mighty (a mere touch of Jacob's hip socket had caused Jacob's hip to go out of joint!), and while we may be inclined to trust in our own abilities, our own strength is so limited compared to His power
- God blesses those who cling on to Him
- Even though it may sometimes be difficult (and painful - Jacob was injured!) to hold on to God, we should persist
- We should cling on to God desperately and trust fully in Him (instead of our own limited strength which is so easily overcome by God's might) in all areas of our life
When I look back on my life journey, I realize I had for the most part been a flawed self-reliant person who had no heart for Christ. I have struggled and still struggle with God for control over my life, and my deceitful heart always tries to justify my "wrestles" until God deals me a blow that wakes me up. But I want to change that, I want to learn to always cling on to God and rely on Him for all of my life, no matter how difficult it may appear. I want to persist in my walk with God, not just for one night, but for the entire journey.
And this story inspires me to do so :)
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