“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a Man with him until the breaking of the day; and when He saw that He prevailed not against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as He wrestled with him. And He said, let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me. And He said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And He said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked Him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, Thy name. And He said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after My name? And He blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Peniel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh” (Genesis 32:24-31).
There is a symbolic and prophetic transaction taking place here; on the one hand, it is symbolic of the struggle that every believer must have if he is to come to utter dependence upon God. The long night of Jacob’s struggle with God ended with him wounded in his flesh; the sinew of his thigh was shrunk (verse 32) and Jacob could no longer walk without aid. Every believer must likewise overcome the flesh and the self and learn to be utterly dependent upon God; to walk not in their own strength, but God’s. The Spirit must prevail over the flesh.
The prophetic transaction is a parable of the future history of the Jewish nation. Their wound is in their heart, which God has hardened “until the fullness of the gentiles should come in” (Romans 11:25). When they rejected their Messiah, Israel ceased to be Israel and became Jacob once more. Since then, the history of the Jews has been a long, dark and dreary night; it is the “Jacob period” of Israel’s history; they are not yet a nation of “princes in all the earth” (Psalm 45:16), nor are they “having power with God and with man and prevailing”. Instead, they have suffered continually for 2000 years.
But yet there is a man wrestling with them, the man Christ Jesus, although in the darkness of the night and the stubbornness of their heart they do not see Him; all their sufferings over 2000 years are but His wrestlings with Jacob to deliver them from their uncircumcised hearts.
Yet they still resist Him and cannot be prevailed over until, in the darkest hour of the night that is soon to come, the “time of Jacob’s trouble”, their thigh will be put out of joint; then all their self-strength and self-power will be gone; their enemy will think his end is almost accomplished; just one more blow and it will be all over. At that time, there will be nothing for them to do but to cry out to Him and cling to Him and say “we will not let you go until you bless us”.
Then, in this darkest hour of the long night, He will be revealed to them and Jacob will become Israel “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him….” (Zechariah 12:10).
Looking upon Him, Israel will cry “Peniel” – the face of God – for the dark night will be at an end and He will hide His face no longer and they shall behold “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Then Israel will be brought to the same place as Paul, the “one born out of time” (1 Corinthians 15:8), whose history and experience is typical of his people. Then will redeemed Israel call upon the whole world to glorify God for His mercy;
“O praise the Lord, all ye nations; Laud Him, all ye peoples; for His mercy is great towards us; and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise ye the Lord”. (Psalm 117).
The truth is that the Jewish nation is indestructible; although the bush burns, it can never be consumed because;
“This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise” (Isaiah 43:21); that will happen in that glorious day at the end of the long dark night and then Israel, Jacob no longer, will be able to say;
“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17).
Leave a Reply