Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Old Testament, Genesis 32:22-30               

Genesis 32:22-30

I keep encouraging my dear wife that we need to become fans of TV wrestling. We chuckle and her common, “Nope. Not happening.” Brings the issue to a close. For a while. Until we view the next “Smackdown” ad. I am continually amazed by the crowds that genuine display of manhood (and apparently womanhood) attracts. Onward.

Wrestling is a biblical sport. And we have a doozy of a match in our Old Testament reading this week. “In this corner, weak, conniving, momma’s boy Jacob. And in this corner … the LORD of the universe.” The picture of a man divested of all that is his (vv. 22-23) now standing alone where the conditions for wrestling with the Almighty are met. One on one. Not One against one. For as any careful Bible reader knows, God is not against Jacob. God is the Father teaching his boy at least two things: his proper place, and that his Father loves Him enough to teach him to strain, wrangle, and wrestle, yes even with Him, for what only He can give. His blessing.

Having followed Jacob through many bumps and turns in the road, one observes an amazing shock of clarity  in the patriarch when he deigns to ask his Opponent His name. Jacob knows the answer beforehand, hence his plea for blessing. While God may not call us to the same place of struggle, we do learn here that calling to our God for blessing is a good thing; something God desires from His children.

Because of the struggle, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Transformation followed. And the Savior, the “Final Israel,” blesses us all.