Genesis 32:22

Genesis 32:22 says, And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.  Jacob took his family over the ford at Jabbok.  He was progressing a little farther toward his home.  Verse twenty-three states, And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.  Jacob was separating himself from his family at this time.  Matthew Henry says it was so he could be alone in seeking God's blessing.  There may come a time when we need to be alone with God, especially if we are wrestling with difficult decisions.  Though it is good to know that others are praying for us, ultimately we must stand alone before God.  Verse twenty-four declares, And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.  When Jacob was alone, he wrestled with a man, or really an angel, until the breaking of the day.  Knowing the power of angels, we have to know that the only way Jacob could have stood a chance against the angel was if God was giving Jacob the strength.  We cannot hope to win in a fight against God's angels unless God is using this struggle to teach us more about our relationship with Him.  Verse twenty-five adds, 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.  When the angel saw that he wasn't winning in his fight he disjointed Jacob's thigh with a touch.  I believe that the angel had the power to completely disable Jacob, but that this was not God's will.  Sometimes, as we struggle with spiritual questions, we may in effect come out battered and bruised, but God will keep us from being spiritually destroyed.  Verse twenty-six continues, And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.  The angel requested that Jacob let him go because the morning was coming.  If we wrestle with God, ultimately we simply have to let go of our own strength and abilities and allow God to guide and bless us.  Verse twenty-seven asks, And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.  The angel asked Jacob his name, and he said Jacob, which meant supplanter.  A name in that time generally had a meaning.  For Jacob, it signified his nature.  Verse twenty-eight concludes, 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.  The angel changed Jacob's name to Israel, signifying that Jacob had wrestled with God and had prevailed.  I know some churches today change a person's name when thay are baptized, or so I have been told, but the significance here was not the name change but the change in Jacob's nature after his encounter with the angel.  Likewise, when we truly meet God, our nature should be changed for the better.  Verse twenty-nine says, 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.  Jacob wanted to know the angel's name, but was told that was unnecessary.  We do not need to know everything when we struggle in our faith, but we just need to accept God's answer when it comes.  Verse thirty states, And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.  Jacob named the place Peniel, meaning that he had seen God face to face and that his life had been spared.  Jacob did not say that he had beaten God, but that God had spared his life.  As followers of Christ, we do not beat God at anything, but are only given the assurance that He will bless us with everlasting life with Him.  Verse thirty-one declares, And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. After a night of struggling, the morning came, as it always will, even if we find ourselves struggling spiritually.  Verse thirty-two adds, Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.  Since Jacob had the hollow of his thigh touched, his descendants did not eat of the sinew that shrank, in the animals that they did eat.  If we have spiritual practices today, we need to make sure that they are based on Biblical principles.