Angels in Scripture: Jacob and His Wrestling Match
Angels in Scripture: Jacob and His Wrestling Match.
“This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a Man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the Man saw that He would not win the match, He touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the Man said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go until you pronounce a blessing over me.” (Genesis 32:24-26).
Chutzpah (hoots-pah) is a Yiddish word that long ago entered English usage. It is from the Hebrew word, “hutspah,” which means insolent or audacious. Chutzpah is a neutral word that can be either positive or negative. Chutzpah can be righteous or unrighteous, holy or unholy. It is an idea difficult to define, so there are a lot of synonyms for it, especially in the biblical sense: spiritual audacity; brazen gall; tenacious stubbornness; headstrong persistence; outrageous guts; shameless nerve; feisty assertiveness; brazen impudence; unyielding boldness; courageous spine; expectant defiance. The Holy Scriptures, both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, are overflowing with examples of holy chutzpah. One wonders not only if it’s a job requirement for saints and prophets, but also a faith requirement for all believers. In fact, God seems to love chutzpah in us when it is based on our ultimate trust in Him and His character, our unselfish motives, our yearning for justice and mercy. Chutzpah in front of others becomes holy when it is done in obedience to the Lord and is an outworking of our faith in Him. As Rabbi Schulweiss once said, “Spiritual audacity toward God finds a place of honor in Jewish religious thought.” The rabbis of old have always insisted that chutzpah is a valid expression of faith. Just a quick glimpse at the Gospels reveals that Jesus and His followers fully embraced the ancient Jewish ethic of holy chutzpah. When Jesus saw chutzpah in action, He usually said things like, “Great is your faith!” Maybe Christian scholar Dr. Brad Young said it best. “True faith requires bold perseverance. Sometimes it is expressed by brazen impudence. Faith can be defined as chutzpah. Persevere with unyielding tenacity.” (Brad Young, Jesus the Jewish Theologian).
Audacious Jacob. The Hebrew patriarch with the most chutzpah, for both good and ill, was Jacob. He displayed audacity right from birth, and then demonstrated it clearly when he cheated his brother Esau out of both his birthright and his father’s blessing. Somehow God continued to weave all of Jacob’s shenanigans into His overall plan for Jacob’s life. Jacob was certainly a very complex man, and yet was a major part of God’s plan for His Chosen People. God never gave up on him, and even used Jacob’s clever chutzpah in a redemptive way. God continued to meet Jacob wherever he went, especially at night.
Angel of Yahweh. Jacob reached the height of his chutzpah when he engaged in an all-night wrestling match with a mysterious stranger. This stranger, described simply as a “man” in Genesis 32, has been accepted as an Angel of Yahweh in rabbinic tradition. And the Angel of Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible has been seen by Christian scholars as none other than the Christ of the Godhead. The pre-incarnate Jesus made appearances at momentous times throughout the Old Testament and in the lives of the three Patriarchs in the Hebrew Bible. Christ made personal, life-saving interventions with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their lives were changed forever. When God shows up in the form of a man, or as the mysterious Angel of Yahweh, then that heavenly Being is Jesus Christ. God is a Spirit and can’t be seen, while Jesus in His eternal body can be seen. And no one can see God and survive the experience. In the OT, if one encounters a visible manifestation of God, then that encounter is with God’s Son as His incomparable representative.
Jesus With Jacob. In Genesis 32, we find Isaac’s son Jacob fearful about his meeting up with his long-lost brother, Esau. It’s been 20 years since Jacob, the con man, cheated Esau out of both his birthright and his father’s blessing. Jacob by now was wealthy, had 11 sons, and was frantic with fear. Knowing Esau was coming to meet him with 400 soldiers, Jacob decided to send lavish gifts ahead of their meeting, hoping to soften Esau’s heart toward him. He would do whatever it took to save the life of his family, and of course save his own skin in the process. While waiting until morning to meet his fate with Esau, Jacob wrestled with the Angel all night. “In his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed.” (Hosea 12:3-4). Jacob was determined to receive a blessing from this man, this physical manifestation of God Himself. (Gen. 32:24-31). This wrestling Angel could be none other than Jesus, God in the form of man. This mysterious wrestling match demonstrated Jacob’s strength of will and determination. He would not be denied a blessing from heaven, from this Messenger of Yahweh. The Angel changed Jacob’s name to Israel after the match, “because you have fought with God and with men and have prevailed.” The name of Israel has been translated in many different ways by Hebrew scholars: Someone who has successfully struggled with God; One who is a prince with God; God contends and prevails; May God show His strength; He who wrestles with God.
Forcing a Blessing. Jacob was tenacious in his wrestling match with this divine being. He stubbornly fought with the Lord all night without surrendering. Finally, when the Lord politely suggested they cease wrestling, Jacob refused. Jacob held on strongly to this mysterious Angel and wouldn’t let Him go. Jacob shamelessly told the Lord that Jacob was stuck to Him like glue until He blessed him. Talk about chutzpah! Jacob had the spiritual audacity, the gall, to force a blessing out of God! Jacob didn’t even give God a choice… Either bless me, or I never let you go, says Jacob. One could almost conclude that Jacob extorted a blessing out of the Almighty God! It takes a lot of nerve to be pushy with God, but sure enough Jacob got his blessing.
Forever Limping. After receiving his hard-fought blessing from the Lord, Jacob named that place Peniel, which means “Face of God.” “For I have seen God face-to-face, yet my life has been spared.” (32:30). The next day, Jacob and Esau reconciled, and made peace with each other. And because the Angel threw Jacob’s hip out of joint, Jacob had to limp for the rest of his life. He had to lean on his staff and learn how to depend on God instead of his own wits. Jacob the Trickster became Israel, whose extended family founded the nation of God’s Chosen People. Jacob’s faith never wavered from that day onward. Because of his encounter with Christ, Jacob was a changed man, and he enjoyed a whole new and deeper relationship with God.
An Angelic Backstory to the Wrestling Match. “Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, ‘This is God’s camp!’ So he called that place ‘Mahanaim,’ which means ‘two camps.’ And Jacob sent these messengers (“angels”) before him to Esau…” (Genesis 32:1-3).
Angels of God. The only other time we see that phrase is in Jacob’s dream of the Stairway to heaven in Genesis 18. And ‘God’s Camp’ certainly has the reader referring back to his dream and naming that place Bethel, ‘God’s House’.” There’s a good chance that Jacob named that spot “two camps” because he was thinking he was in the midst of two camps now… God’s camp and his camp. It could be that this interesting little scene is meant to suggest that God has stationed some of his angels with Jacob to accompany him safely back to Canaan. When Jacob recognized the angels as they encountered him here, he was assured that God was with him. The Greek version of the Hebrew Bible puts it this way… “So Jacob went on his way, and saw the angels of God encamped. When Jacob saw them, he said, ‘This is God’s encampment,’ and he called that place ‘Encampment’.”