Reflection: August 2, 2026
Today’s first reading about Jacob wrestling with God (Gen 32:22-31) grabbed my attention. Many know Jacob as the honoured patriarch of Israel, and he was, but he achieved that status only later in life and history. Jacob came from a dysfunctional family, and he took an active part in making it that way. Jacob’s whole story, while somewhat arcane, has lessons about God’s way of working with sinful humanity. The actual first reading is a major step in Jacob’s turning towards God.
Here is a thumbnail from several chapters before this morning’s first reading. (If you have the time to read the whole chapters Genesis 25-33, I recommend it.)
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When his twin brother Esau wanted to kill him for stealing his birthright (Gen 25:25-34) and his inheritance (Gen 27), Jacob fled to his uncle Laban, who was a subsistence sheep and goat-herder. Jacob agreed to work seven years for Laban in exchange for marriage to Laban’s beautiful daughter Rachel. But, after the seven years of work, Laban deceived Jacob into marrying his plainer (maybe even ugly) daughter, Leah, instead of Rachel. (I did say that it was strange!)
Laban then agreed that Jacob could marry Rachel, as well, if Jacob worked another seven years for him. So, Jacob indentured himself to Laban for seven more years. (Gen 29)
Jacob managed Laban’s herds and property well and made Laban wealthy by his work. He also fathered many children by Leah, by Leah’s servant, by Rachel’s servant and, ultimately, by Rachel.
Eventually, Jacob asked Laban if he could return to his home and family. Laban agreed and told Jacob he could take a share of the flocks with him. But rather than taking a representative share, Jacob swindled Laban and took the best sheep and goats, leaving the weak ones for Laban (Gen 30). Rachel also took jewelry from Laban as they left.
When Laban’s sons figured out what had happened, they and Laban pursued Jacob and his entourage for seven days. God warned Laban in a dream to be gentle with Jacob. When Laban and his sons caught up with Jacob and his extended family, Laban searched for the stolen jewelry, but Rachel hid it. Jacob and Laban made peace, and Jacob went on his way with the protection of angels. (Gen 32:1-2)
As he went on, Jacob got word that Esau was approaching with 400 armed men. Alarmed, Jacob split his family and herds and hoped that, if one of the two groups was attacked, the other would escape. Jacob prayed for God’s help and then sent several caravans of lavish gifts ahead of him in hopes of pacifying Esau.
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Jacob was a scoundrel who turned to God in fear. He had taken advantage of Esau’s hunger to steal his birthright and tricked his father, Isaac, into giving him Esau’s inheritance. While he had been deceived by Laban, he got revenge by taking the best of Laban’s herds and conspired with Rachel, Laban’s own daughter, to steal Laban’s jewelry. Even though Jacob had a lot of material wealth and the love of Leah, he always seemed to grasp for more.
Nevertheless, God had protected Jacob.
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This is where the strange first reading begins.
The same night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He ... sent them and ...everything he had across the stream.
Jacob was alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the 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 is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."
Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed."
...And there he blessed him.
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved."
The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
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When Jacob left his father Isaac and his mother Rebecca, he had prayed for God’s protection more out of fear than deep devotion. (Gen 28:20) God had indeed protected Jacob, despite Jacob’s deceitful manoeuvrings to become wealthy at the expense of Esau, then Laban. And God had stepped into Jacob’s life again: When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. (Gen 29:31) God had blessed Jacob with many children despite his humiliation of Leah by his preference for Rachel.
In this morning’s passage, God seems to have had enough of Jacob’s self-involved engagement with him only when he wanted protection or when he blatantly humbled Leah. God decided to teach him a lesson by wrestling with him.
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Note that when God chose to wrestle with Jacob, his presence was not overwhelmingly powerful. He was not trying to crush Jacob. Instead, God engaged Jacob in a way that was his human equal in strength.
God did not prevail against Jacob, but he did leave Jacob with two permanent reminders of the encounter. One was the dislocated hip. The other reminder was his change of name.
Jacob said, "... bless me." So he said to him, ...."You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed."
...And there he blessed him.
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved."
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God may be present to us in the difficult and demanding people who force themselves on us. We have to ‘wrestle’ with them. They may be family members or colleagues. Wrestling with them may leave us with scars.
We have to contend with them...and ask their blessing.
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Jacob did not merit God’s favour by his good behaviour. His habit of engaging God for protection without reciprocal thanks or reverence, while enjoying the benefits of God’s favour, is almost narcissistic in its self-involvement. God’s blessing was despite Jacob’s conniving and dishonourable ways.
This is a good thing. It tells us that we don’t earn God’s love. It is a constant in our lives even when we have failed to follow God’s commandments.
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In a way, ‘wrestling with God’ represents the ongoing conflict between the temptations we face constantly – to anger, pride, lust, laziness, avariciousness, overindulgence in food or drink – and God’s commandments. Often, we beat back the temptation easily, but sometimes one of them makes us struggle. Our God-oriented-self wrestles with our baser urges. And, if we are blessed, the struggle comes to define our character
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· Does God wrestle with you? Does he overwhelm you with his power and radiance? Or does God present himself in the form of some difficult and demanding people and makes you engage with them?
· Have you ever had the blessing of seeing God face to face after wrestling with a difficult person?
· Do you, like Jacob, enjoy many blessings of the good life yet- at least sometimes- still want more?
Peace,
Deacon Michael