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Today’s story is strange, but it has many metaphors. It is a very interesting story. I would like to unpack the message hidden in the story.
Jacob spent his entire life FIGHTING people. But this time, for the first time, he fights God.
I am not sure whether he won the fight or lost it. Maybe that’s not the point. Even if he lost the fight, losing that fight became the greatest victory of his life.
Jacob grew up in a dysfunctional family. His father favoured his brother, Esau. And his mother favoured Jacob. That’s not good.
I love both of my children equally. It doesn’t matter how well they do or how badly they do. They are my children. Their needs may be different, but they are all precious.
But not Jacob’s family. Esau was a hunter, and so his father liked him because he brought good meat to him. Jacob stayed home all the time and so he got closer to his mom. He grew up in this kind of toxic environment.
Growing up without his father’s affection, Jacob learned early that he had to secure his own future. He was born to be competitive but as he grew up, he had a conviction that he had to take care of himself.
Instead of trusting God, he trusted his own cleverness. He took his brother’s birthright when Esau was vulnerable. He took his father’s last blessing through deception.
Jacob hated to lose. He had to win, even using lies and deception. All his life he lived like that.
He did that not only with Esau but also with his uncle Laban. Laban was as bad as him but Jacob was out of his league. His life was all about winning, and deception was just a tool to win.
Jacob was not necessarily a good person. But there was one good thing he had.
He was a fighter. He did not easily give up. Jacob’s greatest weakness was also his greatest strength. He refused to give up.
The problem was not that he fought. The problem was that he fought the wrong battles.
We can see that in today’s story.
He met a stranger. Presumably, it was God. He even wrestled with God. He would not let go. He did not give up.
That was Jacob’s life. Nothing came to him on a silver platter. His life was a never-ending struggle. But he did not give up.
My friends, life is a struggle. There are always challenges. There are always problems. Sometimes, life’s challenges are overwhelming.
When things are so bad, we do not fight anymore. We don’t have energy to fight. We give up.
People stop fighting for different reasons. Sometimes they become discouraged. Sometimes they lose hope. Sometimes they become overwhelmed by fear. Sometimes they simply become exhausted.
They just let life’s problems take them over, and they become victims. I don’t control my circumstances; my circumstances control me.
That was not how St. Paul lived.
This is what he said.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)
Fighting the good fight, finishing the race that he started, and keeping the faith – that’s how he lived his life.
During the World Cup, I admired teams that fought until the final whistle. Winning is exciting, but what inspired me most was watching players who refused to quit.
St. Paul lived with a fighting spirit.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8, 9)
Jacob wrestled, but he didn’t get what he wanted. You cannot say that he won the fight.
Frederick Buechner, an American author, described the fight in this way.
“Magnificent defeat of the human soul at the hands of God.”
It was defeat, but magnificent defeat. Jacob learned to accept his loss.
He asked for blessings like when he had stolen blessings from his father.
“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (Genesis 32:26)
But he didn’t get the blessing right away.
God asked, “What is your name?” Of course God already knew.
Jacob had to say, “I am Jacob.” The deceiver. The supplanter. Before God changed his name, God first brought him to face who he really was.
Then, he said.
“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:28)
Jacob didn’t win the fight with his own craftiness. He won by surrendering. He overcame not by overpowering God but by refusing to let God go.
He came out of the fight crippled. But he changed. He changed from being a liar to a true fighter. He understood what the good fight was all about.
In this story, we can see what we encounter every day: fear, darkness, loneliness, vulnerability, emptiness, exhaustion, and pain.
But in the end, Jacob did what he must do. He faced God.
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” (Genesis 32:30)
When you are overwhelmed, face God. When everything is so dark and you cannot see anything, look to God.
This time, Jacob overcame the crisis not through his deception but by facing God. He came out crippled but blessed.
He entered the night strong. He left the night limping. Yet he had never been stronger.
He became Israel, not Jacob. He had lived only for himself all his life, but now he became the foundation of a new nation, Israel.
Life is not just about winning. Life is about fighting the good fight. You can change when you face God. God will change you.
How you started your life will not determine how you will end your life. You can change. God can change you.
Your end can differ from your beginning. Jacob started his life as a cheater, but he ended his life as a good fighter who did not give up.
There is a Korean word, 용두사미. Dragon’s head and snake’s tail. We use this expression when you start well but the end is so-so.
What struggles do you have? Are you thinking of giving up because you see little hope? What noble vision did you have in your life? Did you lose it because you don’t seem to have any power to achieve it? Do you still have faith in God? Or are you losing your faith because it seems meaningless and pointless?
Do not give up. Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Keep the faith.
God is not finished with you yet. He can turn Jacobs into Israels. He can turn defeat into blessing. He can make your ending far more beautiful than your beginning.
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