A. W. Tozer said, “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.”[1] Jacob was such a man.

Jacob’s encounter with God at Penuel, recorded in Genesis 32, definitively transformed his life. Before Penuel, Jacob had been the master manipulator. With a deft hand and deceitful heart, Jacob maneuvered people and manipulated circumstances to his advantage. Cunningly, Jacob even secured Esau’s birthright and blessing and Laban’s daughters and flocks.

But now it is time to “cash in his chips.” Having left Laban on less than good terms, Jacob is about to face Esau again. He is scared to death, so he devises a strategy for handling the situation.

First, he sends messengers ahead to Esau in hopes of defusing his anger and securing his favor (Genesis 32:3-5). But when word comes back that Esau is approaching with 400 men, Jacob is terrified.

His second move is to divide his servants and herds into two camps, thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape” (vv. 7-8). Then Jacob prays, reminding God of His covenant promises (vv. 9-12).

Evidently not convinced the prayer will work, he sends three droves of servants and animals to Esau in hopes of buying him off (vv. 13-21). Finally, Jacob sends his wives, children, and  remaining goods across the Jabbock ford. He is now left alone with no more maneuvers. And God comes.

Verses 24-31 record the encounter:

And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his 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 has broken.”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Jacob wrestles with a man who is more than a man. He prevails and  is blessed. God changes Esau’s heart and there is reconciliation (Genesis 33). Jacob’s future is secure. He will be the heir of the covenant, the father of a nation.

Hurt and humbled, Jacob is a new man; Israel is born. He leaves Penuel having seen God face to face. His life is changed, but from now on he will walk with a limp.

In a sermon on this passage, Martyn Lloyd-Jones said,

I say the mark of the genuine experience is its permanence. Jacob after Penuel was never the same again. He was lame—he had a mark upon him—and his name was changed from Jacob to Israel. As you read the story from this point onward you will find that he behaved in an entirely different manner. Jacob—the old Jacob—was no more. Now he is a cripple, in a sense, but a new man and living a different life.[2]

On a similar note, Allen Ross writes,

The main theological point of the narrative centers on what happened to Jacob when God blessed him at the crossing of the river. There was the blessing, to be sure, for the new name signified a new status and a new direction. But there was also a defeat, for Jacob’s crippled walk signified that before God he was powerless and dependent.[3]

This is the paradox of the Christian life. To be blessed by God, we must first be humbled by God. Encounter the living God, and you will be changed—but not without being broken. This is proven by the limp.

God Knows What He’s About

When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man, and skill a man;
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways.

How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay
Which only God understands,
While his tortured heart is crying,
And he lifts beseeching hands.

How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out—
God knows what He‘s about![4]

 

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