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Jacob Wrestles with God
In Genesis 32-33, we see that Jesus freely gives us the blessing Jacob tried to earn.
What’s Happening?
Jacob has escaped from Laban’s trickery, but now he must face the first person he ever deceived—his brother Esau (Genesis 32:6–7). The last Jacob knew, Esau wanted to kill him.
Jacob prays desperately for God’s protection (Genesis 32:11), but still schemes, sending a parade of gifts to soften his brother before they meet.
That night, Jacob is confronted—not by Esau, but by God himself. An unnamed man wrestles Jacob until daybreak (Genesis 32:24). All his life Jacob had wrestled, schemed, and grabbed for blessing. But now, there are no tricks. He simply clings to God and refuses to let go until he is blessed (Genesis 32:26).
God blesses him with the covenant blessing and gives him a new name: Israel, which means “he strives with God” (Genesis 32:28). This new identity shows what Jacob—and his descendants—will always be: a people who wrestle with others, with sin, and with God, but who are defined by God’s blessing, not their failures.
The next day, Jacob goes out to meet Esau. He sends his gifts ahead, but when he finally sees his brother, Esau runs to embrace him (Genesis 33:4). Jacob’s scheming wasn’t what saved him—God had already answered his prayer by softening Esau’s heart (Genesis 33:8–9).
Where is the Gospel?
Jacob’s story of scheming, wrestling, and reconciliation is our story too.
Like Jacob, we often come up with strategies to approach God—parades of good deeds, excuses, or justifications for why we should be accepted. But, as Paul says, it is by grace we are saved, not by works (Ephesians 2:8–9).
The good news is that Jesus has already gone before us. He wrestled with sin, death, and the powers of darkness on our behalf. He was wounded in the struggle but rose victorious, securing the blessing of life for us (1 Peter 3:18). Unlike Jacob, who schemed his way into blessing, Jesus freely shares his blessing as the true Son of God.
Because of Jesus, we don’t need to “pay God off.” Like Esau embracing Jacob, God meets us with open arms. In Christ, we are reconciled, given a new identity, and blessed with a life we could never earn (Romans 8:34).
See for Yourself
I pray that the Holy Spirit would give you eyes to see the God who meets us in our weakness, wrestles for us in Jesus, and embraces us with reconciliation and blessing.