# 41 - Wrestling with God - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein we dive into Jacob's transformative encounter at the Jabbok, where he wrestles not only with a mysterious figure but with his own identity and destiny. Discover profound lessons on struggle, perseverance, and finding God's blessing in our most vulnerable moments.
Episode 41 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Genesis.
Sign up for The Chosen People devotionals at https://www.thechosenpeople.com/sign-up
For more information about Yael Eckstein and IFCJ visit https://www.ifcj.org/
Today's opening prayer is inspired by Genesis 25:10, “Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be Jacob any more, but your name will be Israel.”
Listen to some of the greatest Bible stories ever told and make prayer a priority in your life by downloading the Pray.com app.
Show Notes:
(01:32) Intro with Yael Eckstein
(03:24) Wrestling with God
(15:25) Reflection with Yael Eckstein
Previously on the Chosen People. Jacob looked behind him. His family and all his men were clueless as to what was happening. Only Jacob could see that they were in a divine encampment. The angels of God were before them.
This is God's camp. I have not seen my brother in a long time. I will go to him. You will go to him. I'm not sure that's necessary.
He's merely going to pass through and only wishes to have peace between the two of you.
I go, I go now, He so gestured to a few of his men.
Bring four hundred men. My lord Jacob, we have news from Esau's camp. What did you do to this man to make him hate you so much? I wanted more. I was willing to do whatever. It's top the kidd I have it, and I fear it will be taken from me. If we are to survive this sight, I must seek god most eye. I'll return Shortly.
Jacob fell to his knees and gripped the dirt. For the first time in his life. Jacob prayed with tears, his heart ached for answers from his God.
You told me that I'll be great. You told me that my osprey will outnumber the sounds of the sea. If these are the promises you've made, then these are the promises you'll.
Keep a man alone in the dark, wrestling not just with God, but with his own identity. Shall oh, my friends, from here in the Holy Land of Israel, i'm ya l Extein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Welcome to the Chosen People. Each week we'll hear a dramatic story inspired by the Bible, stories filled with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through Israel's story, we find this truth that we are all chosen for something great. Have you been impacted by this podcast? Do you enjoy listening to it? Well, I would love it if you can leave it or review. I read all of the reviews and they help me to gain a better understanding of the types of people we're reaching. And if you're really paying attention and enjoying it, I want you to enjoy, So leave me a message and let me know. Thanks again. And if you're interested in learning more about the countless lives being saved by the work at the International Fellowship of Christians and Jewsy, you can visit IFCJ dot com that's IFCJ dot com and you can see how we are on the forefront of biblical prophecy here in the Holy Land, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and sheltering the poor. Now let's begin today's saga, inspired by Genesis thirty two. Twenty two to thirty two brings us to a crucial point in Israel's history. In fact, this story is the first time that we hear the name Israel spoken by God. And this story will invite us to think about what it means to struggle on a physical, worldly level and also on a spiritual level.
A dense fog slithered through the canyons like a specter. The river Jabok hissed like a serpent through stone and brush. The air became thick with mist and tension. Jacob looked at his family, then back up at the hill where God's camp had been. He felt a tug upward and a vine thread pulling him forward. God most High desired to meet with him. He turned to Rachel with an unfamiliar intensity in his eyes.
I'm going to meet with God. Should we come with you? No, you will cross the Jabok take the camel's.
Rachel pulled Joseph in tight. The threat of Esau and his men had her and the others shaking. The thought of Jacob leaving their sight only added to the dread. Jacob placed a gentle hand on her cheek and wiped a tear from her eye with his thumb. He leaned down to kiss Joseph's forehead.
I have to do this.
Alone, Jacob. I don't understand.
I don't quite understand myself.
How far do we go in front.
Enough to put distance between you and Esau? But before goes well, I shall find you before any of that happens.
Jacob turned to his oldest son, Reuben and held his shoulders.
Keep the family safe, do you hear me? Good boy? Now mount those camels and cross. I shall be behind you.
Jacob wasn't precisely sure why he was sending his family ahead. He knew was that God Most High was beckoning him, and he had to answer the call. Deception, tricks, half truths, All the sins Jacob had committed to get ahead were catching up to him. He cheated his brother out of a birthright. He tricked his father into giving him his blessing. He deceived his father in law before fleeing with his daughters. Jacob's entire life had been about gaining a blessing from God through some sort of trick, but there were no more tricks to be played. His brother, Esau was approaching with hundreds of men behind him. Years ago, Esau had vowed to kill Jacob, and now it seemed the time had come. Jacob prayed to the Lord for mercy. He sent gifts of penance to his brother, for there was no predicting what would come of it. Jacob watched his family leave with tears in his eyes. He had acquired so much through deception and flattery, but now seemed worth it. His name was Jacob, meaning heel grabber. Everyone in his land knew what the name really meant, deceiver. At that moment, he wished he hadn't lived up to his name. Jacob scaled the hill into the mist. Shadows played off the fog. Whispers of childhood memories flooded his mind, Memories of playing jokes at his father's expense, creating ruses to get out of chores, scheming with his mother to get what he wanted. He thought about Esau's anguish when father refused to bless him. Jacob thought about the pain he felt when Larbon had deceived him. He could only imagine the misery Esau had to live with because of Jacob's deceit. Jacob stood over the precipice and looked down in the distance. Through the mist, Jacob saw a trail that by hundreds of torches.
He saw be here by dawn. What will I do?
He wondered. What fate awaited him at the bottom of that hill. Would his sins finally catch up to him? Would his brother respond to his kind gesture? Would God answer his plea for mercy. As Jacob considered these things, he felt a shift in the air. Some one was there with him. He turned and saw a figure walking toward him through the twilight haze. The moon cast shadows against his frame, large and muscular. Jacob's heart quickened.
Esau, I is that you?
The figure emerged from the smoky murk, steps, deliberate and challenging. It wasn't Esau, but Jacob certainly recognized him. Though Jacob had never seen this man's face before, he knew who he was. His grandfather Abraham once told him that God had visited him as a man. He communed with Abraham and shared a meal with him. This time, God had not come to share a meal. He came as a challenger. Jacob took a step forward. The ground beneath him felt powerful holy. Jacob's heart thumped like war drums. The stranger walked closer, and Jacob removed his tunic. There would be no more running tricks or lies. If Jacob wanted a blessing from God, he would have to face him. The man's pace quickened from a walk to a run. Jacob rolled his neck back, drew a deep breath, and charged. The damp earth slid under each stride. Jacob knew what he had to do. He felt sure that he had to wrestle with God himself and prevail. The two men converged, bodies clashing into each other like colliding waves in a storm. Jacob leaned his shoulders into the man's chest and drove his feet through the dirt. The man wrapped his arms around Jacob's waist and threw himself back. Jacob was in mid air and fell onto the ground with a seismic slap. The broom escaped his lungs and his head rang like a bell. Jacob knew instantly that he was outmatched, but it did not keep him from striving. If this man was God, then Jacob had to fight. He had to contend and accept the challenge of struggling with him. Jacob rolled away and leaped to his feet. Jacob readied for another attack and roared a challenge.
Come on, fight me ah.
The man accepted and darted toward him. Jacob cocked his hips back and met the man's advance with a blow to the jaw. He pivoted his feet, landing another jab upward. The man stumbled back. Jacob seized the opportunity and drove his shoulders into the man's waist, slamming him into the ground. He tried to make him submit, but the man rabbed Jacob with his legs rolled him to the left. The man was on top of Jacob now with his hands pinning down his shoulders. Jacob rithed and wriggled, eventually kicking his way out and standing up. Jacob walked backward, breath rising in the chilled air, intermixing with the fog around him. The two of them panted, priming themselves for another round. Jacob made the first move and launched forward, but the man tripped him onto the dirt and held him down. As they fought, memories of all Jacob's sins flooded back into his mind. He wanted God's blessing so badly that he was willing to do anything for it, even lie. But now as he rolled in the blood and sweat so dirt, there was no talking his way into a blessing. No lies, no religious babble, just him and God struggling to gain an advantage over the other. Jacob knew there was no winning, but that didn't mean he would stop. The two of them wrestled all night. Dawn was about to announce itself. The fog thinned, revealing the trees and stones surrounding the two challengers. Jacob wasn't sure how much longer he could fight. With a final desperate war cry, Jacob lunged forward. He aimed his strike too high. The man lowered his stance, buried his shoulder into Jacob's ribs, and flicked over his head. Jacob landed with a cruel and quaking thud onto the dirt. The sides of his eyes went dark. He looked up to see the upside down figure walking away.
No dn't leave Ah I'm not finished.
Jacob hurried to his feet and ran again. The man quickly turned and absorbed Jacob's blow. He slid back a few feet, then leaned his hand toward Jacob's hip and ah ah popped it out of place. Jacob shouted in intense pain. It shot through his hip and leg, but he didn't let go. He grasped onto his leg, refusing to let him walk away. The man looked at the sun's rays slowly peeking over the mountains. Then he looked down at Jacob.
Let me go, the day has broken.
Tears streamed down Jacob's swollen and dirty face.
Never, I won't.
The man tugged his leg away, but Jacob refused to let go.
Please, please bless me. I won't let you go until you bless me.
A smile appeared on the man's face. He looked again at the orange hues of the rising sun, and then back down at the poor fellow clinging to him.
What is your name, Jacob?
The man shook his head and placed a hand on Jacob's shoulder. Your name shall no longer be Jacob called Israel, for you have struggled with God and have prevailed. Jacob looked up and slowly released his grip. His body trembled with fatigue and awe as he looked upon the man's face aglow with the dawn's light. Israel. It meant to wrestle with God and prevail. But Jacob understood the more profound meaning his life. His families would be constantly wrestling and warring with God, but in the end they would prevail. They would not prevail against God. No, they would prevail with God the struggle and strive for unity, blessing and significance. But in the struggle they would share in his victories.
What is your name?
Now?
Why would you ask me for my name?
He extended his hand to help Jacob on to his feet. He blessed him, and then vanished where he came from. Jacob limped back to the hill's edge and looked down at Esau's company. Four hundred torches flickered against the silhouetted mountain range. The earliest signs of dawn peeked over the hills, gently kissing Jacob's face. It was time to face his brother. He drew a deep breath and limped back to his camel. Every stride of the camel was painful. He met up with his family and dismounted. Rachel ran to him, horror reflected in her eyes. What happened?
Who did this to you? Did Esau catch up to you?
Here?
Let's lay you down? No, no, I'm all right, it's time to go meet Esau.
We're going to him.
I thought we were running. No running, we'll be fine at least.
Let Reuben and sin and carry you.
No, I need to do this myself. It follow behind me.
The sun glistened over the horizon, melting away the last of the fog. The valley was painted in shimmering hues of amber. Jacob limped forward, content with whatever outcome awaited him.
When I go for my daily walks, I marvel at the runners who pass me by. Sometimes they seem to glide past, completely at ease, and I'm amazed that someone can work so hard and make it look so effortless. Other Times I see runners who look like they are really struggling with every step. I've always been in awe of their perseverance, but I used to wonder why these runners keep going when it hurts so much. Then my friend, a fitness instructor, told me that she learned to enjoy the discomfort of working out, because it tells her that her body is transforming. What high performance athletes know is that it is only by struggling that they can achieve their goals. That they can, as the Bible says, quote overcome end quote, and I must tell you the same is true spiritually. We overcome adversity, and we overcome through adversity. Jacob's story reminds me that this struggle is holy. It's part of our heritage as the people of Israel, and it's part of our journey as people of faith. May we, like Jacob, emerge from our struggles with the deeper understanding of who God is and who we are Amen. The story of Jacob's struggle comes up throughout the Bible and throughout Jewish tradition. Joseiah twelve to four tells us that Jacob quote struggled with the angel and overcame him end quote. Tradition explains this further that the man who fought Jacob was actually an angel of God, and his job was to create adversity for Jacob so that through the struggle he could transform and even advance in his spiritual growth. It was through this struggle that Jacob was given a new name, Israel. Appropriately, the name Israel contains the Hebrew word that means struggle as well as the word that means nobility. This is because Jacob obtained nobility by growing through struggles, and my friends, so do we. Our greatest challenges transform us into the greatest versions of ourselves. And well, none of us would choose a life of constance, struggle and never ending adversity. Difficulties do serve an important purpose in our lives. They too, are gifts from God. The Jewish ages have another interesting take on this angel from God. They look at Jacob's opponent as the embodiment of his twin brother, Esau, and all that Esau represented, the lack of moral conscience, the lack of respect for the Word of God, the devotion to the physical rather than the spiritual. In that sense, Esa is seen as the forebearer of the many nations that have oppressed the Chosen people throughout our history. So the struggle we see in this Bible story also represents the struggle between the two world views of Jacob and of Esau, a struggle that originated in their mother's womb. We know the outcome of this wrestling match. We know that this opponent cannot prevail over Jacob, even though Jacob is injured. But the moral of the story is, of course, that the Chosen people, the bearers of God's Word, will prevail, but that victory won't be without effort. It's not going to be easy. We will win, we will overcome darkness, but it won't be without injury and pain. And the Jewish people see this throughout our history even today as people of faith. It's hard being the bearer of God's word, isn't it? Both Jews and Christians experience that each and every day, and we know that even today we have to confront the esaus of our world. We have to do everything we can, not to fight, but to bring God's word, to bring God's love to everything that we do. I've got a question for you, what's the most important verse in the Bible? Part of me wonders if there's even an answer to that. How could one Bible verse possibly be more important than another. Isn't every word in the Bible e equally the word of God? Yet centuries ago, two great Jewish sages struggled over this very question. One rabbi claim that the most important verse in the Torah is Deuterotomy six ' four Schma Israel ha shemeloceno as shemrad hero Israel, the Lord, our God, the Lord is one. The second rabbi argued that most important verse in the Bible is actually Leviticus nineteen eighteen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. So what's more important, faith in God or love for our fellow man. Well, the truth is that both are pillars of.
A life of faith.
And that's what the story of jacob struggle with Esau and how we struggle to understand it is really all about our struggle as humans between the physical world in which we live and the spiritual realm of God, who created us in His image is real, and it's represented by this fight of Jacob and Esau. This is a pivotal chapter and the grand story of our people, the Chosen People, is the struggle of a nation yet unborn, of a people chosen to wrestle with the divine and with their own humanity, and.
It reverberates through the ages, through the exodus from Egypt, when we cried out under the weight of slavery and saw the mighty hand of God.
Split the sea, through our wilderness wanderings where we stumbled and complained. Yet we're fed mana from heaven, through our conquest of Cain and the rise and fall of kings exile and returned from Babylon. We are always wrestling, We're always struggling, and we are always becoming. And so I ask, what does Jacob's story mean for us today? How do we in our modern lives find resonance with this ancient tale that we know is a story of our lives. Well, maybe you're wrestling with the decision about your career, unsure of which path to take, or maybe you're grappling with a relationship that's strained to the breaking point. Perhaps you're struggling with your sense of worth and feeling inadequate in the face of life's demands. Well, Jacob's story teaches us it is okay to wrestle. It's okay to bring our fears, our doubts, and our very real struggles to God. Because God is in distant God is waiting for us to turn to him and to clean up our act. But before we could have clarity, we have to be ready to bravely ask the questions. And when we ask those hard questions that will lead to transformation, we have to remember that God is right here with us, ready to engage, ready to transform. In our wrestling. We are not alone. God is with us, and so I pray that you find in Him the strength, the grace, the transformation and the blessings that you seek.
You can listen to The Chosen People with Isle Exstein add free by downloading and subscribing to the Prey dot Com app today. This Prey dot Com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltefianu are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Bree Rosalie and Aaron Salvato. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yeile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.