Excerpt from www.studylight.org – David Guzik’s Commentary
(v24-25) A Man wrestles with Jacob.
a. Jacob didn’t wrestle with the Man; instead, a Man wrestled with him. Jacob didn’t start out wanting anything from God. God wanted something from him. God wanted all of Jacob’s proud self-reliance and fleshly scheming and had come to take it, by force if necessary.
b. As the following verses show, this was no mere man. This is another “special appearance” of Jesus in the Old Testament before His incarnation in Bethlehem. This is God in human form.
c. We can only imagine what this scene looked like. Perhaps sometimes it looked like a barroom brawl, and perhaps at other times it looked like an intense wrestling match.
i. “How did Jacob ever manage to keep up his struggle throughout the entire night? I do not know. But I do know that his determination to hang in there was no greater than our frequent determination to have our own way and eventually win out over God.” (Boice)
d. As the fight progressed, it seemed Jacob was pretty evenly matched: He saw that He did not prevail against him. But the match was only even in appearance; the Man could have won easily at any time, using supernatural power.
i. Sometimes we may feel man really can contend with God. A man or woman in rebellion against God might seem to be doing pretty well. The “match” is even in appearance only. God can turn the tide at any moment, and is only allowing the “match” to go on for His own purposes.
ii. It isn’t hard to imagine Jacob working so hard and feeling he is getting the best of his “opponent,” until finally the Man turns the tide in an instant. How defeated Jacob must have felt!
(v 26) Jacob’s plea to the Man.
a. The Man lets Jacob know this won’t go on forever. Even though Jacob is clinging to him desperately, Jacob has lost. A better, greater Man has defeated Jacob.
i. This is an invaluable place for everyone to come to: where God conquers us. There is something to be said for every man doing his “wrestling” with God, and then acknowledging God’s greatness after having been defeated. We must know we serve a God who is greater than us, and we cannot conquer much of anything until He conquers us.
b. How do we know God has conquered Jacob? How do we know he isn’t just dictating another command to God when he says I will not let You go unless You bless me?
i. Hosea 12:3-5 makes it clear: He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, and there He spoke to us; that is, the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is His memorable name. Jacob sought this blessing with weeping. He knew he was defeated, yet desperately wanted a blessing from this Greater One.
c. According to his past, Jacob was always clever and sneaky enough so he never felt the need to trust in God alone. Now he can only rely on the blessing of God.
i. Jacob has been reduced to the place where all he can do is hold on to the Lord with everything he has. Jacob can’t fight anymore, but he can hold on. Not a bad place to be.
d. Here, God is answering Jacob’s prayer in Genesis 32:9-12. But before Jacob could be delivered from the hand of his brother, he had to be delivered from his own self-will and self-reliance.
i. Jacob thought the real enemy was outside of him, being Esau. The real enemy was his own carnal, fleshly nature, which had not been conquered by God.
Beautiful Soul 