Throughout Scripture, there have been few instances where humans actually were in the physical presence of God. Some of these might be in the garden with Adam and eve, Moses and the burning bush, and of course when Jacob “wrestled” God. However, we also know from the scriptures that sinful beings cannot be in the physical presence of God. We see this with when Moses approaches the burning bush, and God warns him to keep his distance (Exodus 3:5). Again later in Exodus, God gives Moses another warning, “Thou canst not see my face: for there no man see me, and live.” (Exodus 33:20). So how is it possible then that Jacob wrestled God as the scriptures suggest?
“And he said unto him, what is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed” (Genesis 32:27-28)
Perhaps the scriptures could mean that Jacob wrestled God in a metaphoric kind of way, or perhaps he wrestled with him in intense prayer all through the night. As pointed out in, “The Old testament and Rationalistic Biblical Criticism”, Michael Pomazansky says, “Sacred Scripture is divinely inspired. But divine inspiration is not the same as omniscience.” So what he is saying is that these scriptures are definitely divine and Holy, yet they were written by man. So since it was written by man, they couldn’t of possible gotten it perfect every time and seen things happen like an omniscience God would have. So with that being said, we must also take the circumstances into account as well. Jacob is currently fearful that his brother, Esau is coming to kill him with 400 soldiers. So Jacob is in a pretty tight spot. He tries to send gifts to Esau to maybe ease the tension before he catches up and meets him. So basically all he really has to depend on is God. So it could be very reasonable to say that Jacob “Wrestled” with God in pray all night, asking to soften his brothers heart. However, it seems to be a more intimate event than prayer considering that the scriptures say there was physical contact and Jacob sustained injuries. Perhaps God sent a man to wrestle with Jacob as some sort of test. It would be interesting to know what would have happened if Jacob didn’t win this wrestling match. Would his brother Esau not of been as kind as he was when he met? Perhaps Jacobs lineage wouldn’t of been as prominent and important as it turned out to be.
Another thing that is interesting throughout the rest of chapter 32-35 is how God still refers to Jacob as Jacob, instead of his new name which is Israel. Like when his sons, Simeon and Levi, killed every male in the city of Shalem, God was still watching out for Jacob and told him what to do and where to move his family so that they wouldn’t be hunted down for this crime. Which again, could come back to this wrestling match with God. Did Jacob prove his worth and God guided him through thick and thin from there on out? Overall though, no matter which way you look at it, Jacobs wrestling match through the night had great significance, whether it was physically with God or not.
Another little piece of interesting information from chapter 32 is the fact that Israelites refused to eat the tendon on the hip joint of animals after Jacobs wrestling match. This is because it is recorded that Jacobs opponent popped Jacob’s hip out of socket. This is a great example of how the bible can have a cultural impact that gets passed down as tradition through many generations.
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