Post by Mark on Dec 13, 2008 6:46:27 GMT -8
One of the very familiar stories in the Old Testament is when Jacob wrestles with Adonai… or does he?
Jewish sages contend that he is not actually wrestling with the Most High; but with the "spirit of Esau", that this episode is a spiritual or, by some, an allegorical conflict that Jacob has within himself. Okay, go ahead and roll your eyes… but there is more than one problem with the simple understanding that we have of Jacob getting into a physical scrapple with the Lord God of all creation… and winning? Are we saying that Adonai Elohim is kinda wimpy without His lightening bolts?
There are some strong evidences that suggest that this is not God who Jacob is wrestling. First, the prophet Hosea specifically describes this person as "the angel"
He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us; Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.
(Hosea 12:3-5 KJV)
Secondly, the Hebrew word "El" does not exclusively refer to Adonai. It simply means "the mighty." "Elohim" by its simplest definition is "the might ones".
So, who did Jacob wrestle with alone in the dark? We are left only to speculate. So, maybe it isn’t that important at all. Maybe the important thing to see is that this event comes on the heels and in direct response to Jacob’s prayer,
And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
(Genesis 32:9-12 KJV)
This life that we lead in pursuit of an intimate relationship with God is a battle in many ways. We wrestle within ourselves. We wrestle with the world. We wrestle with God. We wrestle with the mighty ones, ominous, much bigger than we are, and we grow tired and weak and frail. Jacob’s heart was like water. I know the feeling. I have stood before the greatest and most powerful theological minds, knowing that if I am cut down I could never recover. It all stands on this one struggle at this one moment, with my wife and kids watching. Yet, though terrified, we must stand solely on faith in the promises that Adonai has given us that His Word is truth.
Sometimes that’s not enough. Sometimes, He needs to come (maybe in the flesh, maybe by a messenger (an angel), maybe by an enemy: we don’t need to know who) and slap us across the face or to nail us good in the thigh. I don’t think it really "sunk in" to Peter that he was actually walking on water until he began to sink. I don’t think we are aware of what power and hope and promise we have behind us until we spend a few nights wrestling in the dark.
Last night I went to bed feeling very tired and alone. I had an e-mail dialogue over the past couple of days with the editor of our local paper. I had written a response to a letter to the editor that he wasn’t prepared to deal with, given the repercussions if he printed something that flies in the face of dominant modern Christianity. Sometimes I feel like I’m beating an elephant with a soggy noodle. Jacob’s phrase consumes me, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant…."
The message of the unknown combatant is for those who will stand in the shadow of Israel: the name with which "the man" blessed Jacob. There are two meanings of the word sa-rah or saw-raw. It is either "prince" or "prevail" depending upon where the vowel marking is located over the sheen. In ancient Hebrew there were no vowel markings and so both are meanings of the same word. We have already established that "El" simply means "the mighty". Thus the blessing in the name states clearly, and upon the evidence of the night’s events, that Jacob will stand as a prince among the mighty and that he will prevail over the mighty. The object lesson that was pressing in Jacob’s mind was that though he was weak, tired, scared and lonely, the Most High is not going to abandon His promises.
This morning I press on as well, not knowing if I won the battle last night or lost it; but confident the victory is in Jacob and I stand in his shadow, drawing ever closer to the kingdom of God.
Jewish sages contend that he is not actually wrestling with the Most High; but with the "spirit of Esau", that this episode is a spiritual or, by some, an allegorical conflict that Jacob has within himself. Okay, go ahead and roll your eyes… but there is more than one problem with the simple understanding that we have of Jacob getting into a physical scrapple with the Lord God of all creation… and winning? Are we saying that Adonai Elohim is kinda wimpy without His lightening bolts?
There are some strong evidences that suggest that this is not God who Jacob is wrestling. First, the prophet Hosea specifically describes this person as "the angel"
He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us; Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.
(Hosea 12:3-5 KJV)
Secondly, the Hebrew word "El" does not exclusively refer to Adonai. It simply means "the mighty." "Elohim" by its simplest definition is "the might ones".
So, who did Jacob wrestle with alone in the dark? We are left only to speculate. So, maybe it isn’t that important at all. Maybe the important thing to see is that this event comes on the heels and in direct response to Jacob’s prayer,
And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
(Genesis 32:9-12 KJV)
This life that we lead in pursuit of an intimate relationship with God is a battle in many ways. We wrestle within ourselves. We wrestle with the world. We wrestle with God. We wrestle with the mighty ones, ominous, much bigger than we are, and we grow tired and weak and frail. Jacob’s heart was like water. I know the feeling. I have stood before the greatest and most powerful theological minds, knowing that if I am cut down I could never recover. It all stands on this one struggle at this one moment, with my wife and kids watching. Yet, though terrified, we must stand solely on faith in the promises that Adonai has given us that His Word is truth.
Sometimes that’s not enough. Sometimes, He needs to come (maybe in the flesh, maybe by a messenger (an angel), maybe by an enemy: we don’t need to know who) and slap us across the face or to nail us good in the thigh. I don’t think it really "sunk in" to Peter that he was actually walking on water until he began to sink. I don’t think we are aware of what power and hope and promise we have behind us until we spend a few nights wrestling in the dark.
Last night I went to bed feeling very tired and alone. I had an e-mail dialogue over the past couple of days with the editor of our local paper. I had written a response to a letter to the editor that he wasn’t prepared to deal with, given the repercussions if he printed something that flies in the face of dominant modern Christianity. Sometimes I feel like I’m beating an elephant with a soggy noodle. Jacob’s phrase consumes me, "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant…."
The message of the unknown combatant is for those who will stand in the shadow of Israel: the name with which "the man" blessed Jacob. There are two meanings of the word sa-rah or saw-raw. It is either "prince" or "prevail" depending upon where the vowel marking is located over the sheen. In ancient Hebrew there were no vowel markings and so both are meanings of the same word. We have already established that "El" simply means "the mighty". Thus the blessing in the name states clearly, and upon the evidence of the night’s events, that Jacob will stand as a prince among the mighty and that he will prevail over the mighty. The object lesson that was pressing in Jacob’s mind was that though he was weak, tired, scared and lonely, the Most High is not going to abandon His promises.
This morning I press on as well, not knowing if I won the battle last night or lost it; but confident the victory is in Jacob and I stand in his shadow, drawing ever closer to the kingdom of God.
- there are 70 faces to 
