Do You Walk With A Limp?
Jacob wrestled with God, and he walked with a limp the rest of his life. Many people would think that having to walk with a limp is a bad thing. I think it was a blessing to Jacob. Every step he took reminded him that he had been commended by God and blessed by God. Genesis 32:28 tells us, "And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed."
Jacob struggled with or "wrestled" with God the night before he met his estranged brother, Esau, who had vowed to kill him 20 years before, when Jacob tricked him out of his first-born blessing. Jacob was alone that night, because he had already sent all of his family members, herdsmen, and possessions across the ford of the Jabbok river. I believe he physically wrestled with the Lord Jesus, who had taken on a body temporarily to come and visit Jacob on this important night. This is referred to as a "pre-incarnation" visit of Jesus to the earth. There are several in the Old Testament.
During the struggle Jacob became aware that his guest was divine, so he asked for a blessing and for His name. He could not give his name, but the Lord did bless him. He changed his name from "Deceiver" to the "Prince of God." Jacob had turned from the deception in his earlier life, and he had lived in righteousness before Laban, even though Laban mistreated him. He remained true to the Lord, too. Therefore, God rewarded him by removing the stain of being a deceiver and making him the patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel. What a change! What a blessing!
In the process of wrestling with God the Lord touched the socket of his thigh, and that is what caused him to limp. Jacob would not let go of God. He steadfastly sought the blessing. He was fearful of his brother's anger, and he knew the only way to survive was by God's blessing. Jesus touched him, so that he would remember the power of God and the blessing that brought him home safely after 20 years in a strange land. He fulfilled the promise of God that Jacob received as he was leaving home, and he saw the ladder to heaven in his dream. God did not leave him. He brought him home, and he had made him a new person in the process.
God wants all of us to struggle with God and with men. He wants all of us to prevail like Jacob did. He desires to give each of us a new name, which will be written down in heaven, when we are born-again. At that moment we become a new person. The old passes away, and new things come by the grace of God. In the struggles of life we may be wounded, but our wounds will remind us of the power of God and His blessing. I pray that we all walk with a limp like Israel.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 33-35.
Jacob struggled with or "wrestled" with God the night before he met his estranged brother, Esau, who had vowed to kill him 20 years before, when Jacob tricked him out of his first-born blessing. Jacob was alone that night, because he had already sent all of his family members, herdsmen, and possessions across the ford of the Jabbok river. I believe he physically wrestled with the Lord Jesus, who had taken on a body temporarily to come and visit Jacob on this important night. This is referred to as a "pre-incarnation" visit of Jesus to the earth. There are several in the Old Testament.
During the struggle Jacob became aware that his guest was divine, so he asked for a blessing and for His name. He could not give his name, but the Lord did bless him. He changed his name from "Deceiver" to the "Prince of God." Jacob had turned from the deception in his earlier life, and he had lived in righteousness before Laban, even though Laban mistreated him. He remained true to the Lord, too. Therefore, God rewarded him by removing the stain of being a deceiver and making him the patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel. What a change! What a blessing!
In the process of wrestling with God the Lord touched the socket of his thigh, and that is what caused him to limp. Jacob would not let go of God. He steadfastly sought the blessing. He was fearful of his brother's anger, and he knew the only way to survive was by God's blessing. Jesus touched him, so that he would remember the power of God and the blessing that brought him home safely after 20 years in a strange land. He fulfilled the promise of God that Jacob received as he was leaving home, and he saw the ladder to heaven in his dream. God did not leave him. He brought him home, and he had made him a new person in the process.
God wants all of us to struggle with God and with men. He wants all of us to prevail like Jacob did. He desires to give each of us a new name, which will be written down in heaven, when we are born-again. At that moment we become a new person. The old passes away, and new things come by the grace of God. In the struggles of life we may be wounded, but our wounds will remind us of the power of God and His blessing. I pray that we all walk with a limp like Israel.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 33-35.