Genesis 31:55--32:32
"And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.
So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God’s camp." And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
And he commanded them, saying, "Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: "I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight."’"
Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him."
So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.
And he said, "If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape."
Then Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.
For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’"
So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.
Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves." And he commanded the first one, saying,

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"When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’"
So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, "In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’" For he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me."
So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.
And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.
He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.
Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.
And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"
So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."
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."
Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray."
And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there.
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."
Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.
Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.

This is one of the great passages of the Bible and a classic in the prayer literature of mankind! This prayer of Jacob brings us to the borderland of the spiritual mysteries of our life. We read this page from the life of Jacob and think that we are on the margin

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of high and holy ground; we feel that we can never express, yet cannot all conceal. To understand the circumstances that surround our lesson from Jacob’s life, we must go back a few chapters in our Bible and follow the history of his life.
In one of the beautiful love stories of the Bible, Isaac, the son of Abraham, was bless with a wife whose name was Rebekah. He was forty years old when the marriage took place. So, twins were born to the couple and they named them Jacob and Esau. In Genesis, the history is recorded of the birth of the twins.
"Isaac pleaded with the Lord to give Rebekah a child because she was childless. So the Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and his wife became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. "Why is this happening to me?" She asked. And the Lord told her, "The sons in your womb will become two rival nations. One nation will be stronger than the other; the descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son." (Genesis 25:21-23)
As the boys grew into manhood, Esau became a skillful hunter, but Jacob was the kind of person who liked to stay at home. Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah favored Jacob.
One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home exhausted and hungry from a hunt. "Esau said to Jacob, "I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew you’ve made." (This was how Esau got his other name, Edom-Red.") Jacob replied, "All right, but trade me your birthright for it." "Look, I’m dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?" So Jacob insisted, "Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright." (Genesis 25:29-34)
Observation: It was the ancient custom that the eldest son receive twice as much as any other child in the family at the death of his father, plus there were other advantages granted. This was known as the birthright.
This ancient event is referred to in the Book of Hebrews: "Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau. He traded his birthright as the oldest son for a single meal. And afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he wept bitter tears." (Hebrews 12:16-17)

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When Isaac was old and blind, it came time for him to bless his sons. Through an act of deception assisted by Rebekah his mother, Jacob deceived his father into blessing him first. While his brother, Esau, was out in the field hunting some wild game to prepare a dinner for his father before receiving his blessing, Jacob did his act of deception, pretending to be Esau!
When Esau learned of the deception, he made plans to kill Jacob as soon as his father’s death took place.
Genesis 27:41 says: "Esau hated Jacob because he had stolen his blessing, and he said to himself, "My father will soon be dead and gone. Then I will kill Jacob. But someone got wind of what Esau was planning and reported it to Rebekah. She sent for Jacob and told him, "Esau is threatening to kill you. This is what you should do. Flee to your uncle Laban in Haran. Stay there with him until your brother’s fury is spent. When he forgets what you have done, I will send for you. Why should I lose both of you in one day?" (Genesis 27:41-45)
It was now twenty years later since Jacob had cheated Esau out of the blessing and had trapped him into selling the birthright for a mess of pottage that our text now picks up the story.
During those twenty years spent in Haran with his uncle Laban, Jacob had gained four wives and great wealth!
Genesis 31 says: "But Jacob soon learned that Laban’s sons were beginning to grumble. "Jacob has robbed our father!" They said. "All his wealth has been gained at our father’s expense." And Jacob began to notice a considerable cooling in Laban’s attitude toward him."
Then the Lord said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.""
Jacob was now on his way back to Canaan, the land of his fathers.
As he draws near the borders of the country of his destination, memory commences to recall the scenes and events of yesteryear.
Twenty years earlier while fleeing his homeland, Genesis 28:10-22 records a divine moment in Jacob’s life. "Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone for a pillow and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from earth to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down it. At the top of the stairway stood the

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Lord, and he said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I will give it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will cover the land from east to west and from north to south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. I will someday bring you safely back to this land. I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised. Then Jacob woke up and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t aware of it." He was afraid and said, "What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God--the gateway to heaven." The next morning he got up very early. He took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named the place Bethel--"house of God"--though the name of the nearby village was Luz. Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will be with me and protect me on this journey and give me food and clothing, and if He will bring me back safely to my father, then I will make the Lord my God. This memorial pillar will become a place for worshiping God, and I will give God a tenth of everything he gives me." (Genesis 28:10-22)
In our text from Genesis 32, Jacob has another divine moment! "As Jacob and his household started on their way again, angels of God came to meet him. When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, "This is God’s camp!" So he named the place Mahanaim."
Once again we note how timely are God’s interventions in Jacob’s life. Jacob had just escaped from one company of his enemies (Laban and his brethren--Genesis 31:22-23), and another was now advancing to meet him, namely Esau with his four hundred men.
But at this juncture God’s host made its appearance, as though to show him to whom he owed his recent escape, and as if to further assure him that He who had delivered did deliver, and he might safely trust that He would deliver him.
As yet Jacob had heard nothing of his brother Esau, save that he was now settled in the land of Seir; but recalling the past, remembering the angry threat of the man, he was plainly apprehensive of the consequences of meeting him again.
He, therefore decided to send messengers before him, much as an army which is marching through an enemy’s country sends on spies

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in advance. These messengers were carefully instructed what they should say to Esau, how they should conduct themselves in his presence, and the impression they must aim to make upon him--all designed to conciliate.
When Jacob learned that his brother Esau was coming with four hundred men, he "divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; and said, if Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape."
Please note! Even though God had directly promised Jacob of His divine protection and His promise to lead him safely back to his homeland, Jacob still feared the possible response of his brother which would not be good, and he took steps to solve the problem of his brother’s anticipated anger with a human response. It is so hard for us to just believe what God has promised in His word, and we spend so much human effort in vain to solve problems which God has promised the answer. How often do we plan and scheme, and not until afterwards do we cry unto God.
Back to our story.
In verse 9 of our text we have recorded the first real prayer of the Bible! His prayer is addressed to "the God of his father Abraham and the God of his father Isaac." This was laying hold of the Divine faithfulness; it was the prayer of faith...it was God in covenant relationship.
As Christians, we come before God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore our "God and Father." It is as we plead this relationship He is pleased to bless us.
His plan completed and his traveling company is now divided into two groups, Jacob was left alone. "Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day." (v.24)
The Book of Genesis presents Jacob in two characters, as he is exhibited to us as Jacob and as Israel; the one looking at the natural man, and the other at the spiritual man, the one telling of how divine grace found him and the other of what divine grace made him.
Consider the circumstances under which Jacob formally received his new name. He was alone and night had fallen, when suddenly a mysterious stranger appeared, and in the darkness grappled with him.
"And Jacob was left alone." In this sentence we have the first key to this strange night in our patriarch’s life. On these words it has been well said, "To be left alone with God is the only true way of arriving at a just knowledge of ourselves and our ways.

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we can never get a true estimate of nature and all its actings until we have weighed them in the balances of the sanctuary, and there we may ascertain their real worth.
No matter what we think about ourselves, nor yet what man may think about us, the great question is, What does God think about us."
When the Psalmist was wrestling with issues of his faith, he writes: "But when I considered how to understand this, it was too great an effort for me and too painful until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood." (Psalm 73:16-17)
Away from the world, away from self, away from all the thoughts, reasonings, imaginings, and emotions of mere nature, and ‘alone with God’--thus, and thus alone, can we get a correct judgment about ourselves.
Frequently in the life of Jesus, the Bible tells us that He spent quiet nights with His Father alone. "And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there." (Matthew 14:23)
"And there wrestled a Man with him." In Hosea 12:4 this "Man" is termed "the angel"; that is, we take it; "the Angel of the Covenant," or, in other words, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in theophanic manifestation. It was the same one who appeared unto Abraham just before the destruction of Sodom. In Genesis 18:2 we read of "three men," but later in the chapter one of them is spoken of as "the Lord." So here in Genesis 32, at the close of the conflict between this "Man" and our patriarch, Jacob called the name of the place Peniel saying, "For I have seen God face to face." (32:30)
From dark till dawn the mysterious conflict continued. Please note that we are not told that Jacob wrestled with the mysterious Man, but "there wrestled a Man with him." Jacob was not wrestling with this Man to obtain a blessing, instead, the Man was wrestling with Jacob to gain some object from him. As to what this object is the best of the commentators are agreed--it was to reduce Jacob to a sense of his nothingness, to cause him to see what a poor, helpless and worthless creature he was; it was to teach us through him the all important lesson that in recognized weakness lies our strength.
"Wrestled with him" suggests that the Man encountered him in the very point in which he was strong. He had been a taker by the heel from his very birth, and his subsequent life had been a constant and successful struggle with adversaries. Jacob, true to his character, struggles while life remains, with this new combatant.

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"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."
Here we get the second key to this mysterious event in Jacob’s life. Jacob was now brought to the end of his own resources. One swift stroke from the Divine hand and he was rendered utterly powerless. And this is the purpose God has before Him in His dealings with us. One of the principal designs of our gracious Heavenly Father in the ordering of our path, in the appointing of our testings and trials, in the discipline of His love, is to bring us to the end of ourselves, to show us our own powerlessness, to teach us to have no confidence in the flesh, that His strength may be perfected in our conscious and realized weakness. Paul writes: "And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
"And He said, Let Me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." (v.26)
Here is the third key which unlocks to us the precious meaning of this event. Here we see the object of the Heavenly Wrestler accomplished. No longer could Jacob wrestle; all he could do was cling! The mysterious Stranger brought Jacob to the point where he had to lean his entire weight on Him. Hereto Jacob had sought to order his own life, planning, scheming and devising; but now he was "left alone." He is shown what a perfectly helpless creature he was in himself. This was a new era in the history of the supplanting, planning, Jacob. Up to this point he had held fast by his own ways and means, but now he is brought to say ‘I will not let Thee go, unless Thou bless me."
Then Jacob asks the name of the Wrestler. "What is Thy name?" The question is left unanswered! The Wrestler asks Jacob his name. He reminds him of his former self, Jacob, the supplanter, the self-reliant, self-seeking. But now...he is dependent on another, and seeking a blessing from another. No more shall thy name be called Jacob, but Israel--a prince of God, in God, with God!
The new name is indicative of the new nature which has now come to its perfection of development in Jacob. In most cases, prayer does not change things...it really changes us! Frequently in our spiritual journey, God has to wrestle us to the end of ourselves before He can bring forth His glory and divine purpose in our lives.