Touched by an Angel“Then Jacob was
left alone, and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.”
The main event in Jacob’s life was his dreaded reunion with twin brother Esau. Years had passed since Jacob had stolen his father Isaaac’s blessing from Esau. During these years God had been changing Jacob, whose name means heel grabber, cheater or supplanter, from a controller and manipulator to a man who was learning to trust God. Jacob was now ready to meet Esau but was afraid that Esau may kill him, so he sent a gift ahead, then retreated and sought the mercy of God. As an Angel appeared to Jacob, he realized the only hope he had was in God. Only if God blessed him would he survive this ordeal. In the past, Jacob would have gone to Burger King and do things his way. Now, he wanted only God’s way. He wanted God so badly that he wouldn’t let go of the Angel. Jacob was wrestling with God all night, but it was the right kind of wrestling, not WWF. Jacob was striving to have all of God’s blessing on his life. He was persistent and seeking God with all that he had. The only way to overcome the strong will of Jacob was to immobilize him. The Angel reached out and touched the socket of Jacob’s hip. It was a painful dislocation and it broke him with a limp. This was the final stage of removing the old nature from Jacob. It was the place of complete brokenness and surrender. Jacob would no longer walk in his own strength. He would now have to limp and lean on a stick, symbolic of his leaning on God alone, symbolic of the wooden cross that would appear years later to bring God’s gift of salvation to many. God then celebrated the blessing by giving Jacob a new name in verse 28, Israel, which means he who wrestles with God and Prince with God. Jacob had struggled with God and with man, and had prevailed. In verse 30, Jacob called this place Peniel, meaning Face of God, for he had seen God face to face, and his life is preserved. God could now bless this man abundantly and gave him favor with Esau and restored their relationship. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God does not change and whatever He did for Jacob He will do for us. God still blesses and restores if we seek His face with all our heart and refuse to let go like Jacob. How would you like to be not just a fresh prince of Bel Air, but a hip prince of God like Israel ? What does God have to do in our lives to remove the controlling and manipulative nature that we inherit from Adam? Will it require a time of painful dislocation – poverty, sickness, divorce, debt, or oppression? These are God’s methods of preparation. Your new nature will not be complete until you’ve stopped wrestling with God through your own efforts. If God is taking you through this process, be encouraged and shout for joy. Rejoice, because of the glorious inheritance God has prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Way before Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, it was a love before time that God has, for you are His child and His heir. That inheritance, however, can only be received when God brings us to complete dependence on Him, when we seek His face at Peniel. Copyright © 2002 Eddy Ministries. All rights reserved. Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
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