day 1238-1240

“In the womb, took he his brother by the heel; and, in his manly vigour, strove he with God.”

(Hos. 12:3, Rotherham)

 We are currently discussing the important link that needs to be established between Elijah and Jacob, which the prophet calls upon in 1 Kings 18:31-32a: “And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, ‘Israel shall be your name.’ Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord …” In the process we got to arch-father Jacob’s wrestle at the Jabbok, where, according to Gen. 32:28, he wrestled “with God and with men”.

This story speaks of Jacob’s change of name and identity. Although Jacob stole the promises of God from his brother, he now had to find a way of changing his nature so that he could become the vehicle of God’s promises that needed to be made manifest.

In the previous teaching we started looking at the typological possibilities embedded in Gen. 32:24: “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.” Two specific points have already been teased out – firstly the seemingly inconsequential opening phrase “Jacob was left alone,” and secondly the appearance of the “Man” with whom Jacob had to wrestle in order to remember who he was before time, in the other reality, so that he could be remodelled in the here and now, to the image of God lost in paradise. This process is one every believer needs to work through.

At this point then the reader of this history starts to realise that there is far more hidden in the text and event than one would realise on a first reading thereof. In an article titled ‘The Struggle for the Text’ (in Hartman & Budick, eds., Midrash and Literature, p. 4), the literary critic Geoffrey H. Hartman writes about this section, noting “its capacity to leave traces, which incite and even demand interpretation of what it has incorporated”.

This is indeed the question: “What has it incorporated?” The answer to this question is of greater importance than one might initially realise. John P. Wargacki, in his article on the “Counter Typology” (http://mwbdvjh.muse.jhu.edu/journals/shofar/v030/30.3.wargacki.pdf) in this pericope, argues that it is “a moment of reversal in the divine-human relationship, epic in its implications”.

A very important indication and text that acts as typological explanation of this is found in Hos. 12:2-4: “The Lord also brings a charge against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds He will recompense him. He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, and there He spoke to us …”

Take note of the following points we need to acknowledge in this verse:

  • Here Judah is specifically presented as group (not as person), in contrast to Jacob, which is used in parallel as collective name for Israel (Adam Clark’s Commentary on the Bible). Typologically this refers to the Bride (Judah) and the Church (Israel/Jacob).
  • It is strange that Jacob is presented here in this way (specifically as Jacob and not as Israel), as in the following sentence the person Jacob is singled out with regards to a personal history that specifically happened to him.
  • The phrase “in his manly vigour, strove he with God” (Rotherman), is the correct translation, but in most Biblical translations it is articulated as “in his strength” (BBE), “in his manhood” (ESV), “when Jacob grew up” (GNB), “and as an adult” (HCBS), “And in his maturity” (NAS). This is a very important given because, as we explained earlier, the root word of “manly” is zakar, “to remember”. This struggle was thus not so much physical in nature, but rather a spiritual struggle for identity, and that struggle is to remember what his true identity was, before time.
  • The Hebrew word for the phrase “to struggle” is ‘âbaq, and the root of it is “to bedust” (BDB), in other words a description of people who, whilst they are wrestling with one another, kick up dust. Yet one cannot but read this dust also within a Biblical idiom, as carnality. It creates the impression that Jacob is here pinning God down in the flesh, and not the other way around! And it seems, strangely enough, as if God is allowing him to do this, “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” (Ps. 103:14).
  • To prevail is the word śârâh in Hebrew, which means “contend, have power, contend with, persist, exert oneself, persevere” (BDB). In Strong the following is added, which adds to its significance: “to prevail: – have power (as a prince)”. This word is obviously closely linked to Sarah (śârâh), Jacob’s grandmother, the wife of Abraham, whose name means “female noble: – lady, princess, queen” (Strong). This is of utmost importance because Jacob, once he had wrestled with God, also had a change of name, and the name he received from God, ‘Israel’, means Prince of God (Thayer). For this reason there are various sources (like James P Boyd’s Bible Dictionary) that argue that the name Israel means “who prevails with God”, as well certain older translations that present both possibilities in this one verse: “And he said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince have you power with God and with men, and have prevailed.” (KJV). [Also the YLT and WBST.] The act of wrestling is thus necessary to get to princely status, “to overcome”.
  • Seen in this light, it is now much clearer why Rev. 2:3 returns, again and again, to the notion of those who “overcome”, or “prevail”. It is not obstacles that need to be overcome – people and GOD need to be overcome! But this overcoming is also mentioned in Hos. 12:4, against all expectations: “Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him”. How can prevailing entail weeping?
  • What then does the phrase “for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed” mean? How can one prevail over God? Did God Almighty perhaps lose this wrestling match? Why could God not wrestle loose from Jacob’s grip? It sounds silly to suggest that God was not strong enough to get away from Jacob, despite the fact that God dislocated his hip. In wrestling such an injury is fatal, and would be reason enough for Jacob to be on the losing end.
  • Perhaps the most important aspect from Hos. 12:4 is that the pericope we are looking at is concluded with “and there He spoke to us”. Here Hosea prophesies that the entire history of Jacob is a typology for us TODAY, as he himself had prophesied to his sons in Gen. 49:1 – “And Jacob called his sons and said, ‘Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days‘”.

 

Think back to the question we asked earlier – What has it incorporated? We quoted from  Wargacki who answered it as follows: “(it is) a moment of reversal in the divine-human relationship, epic in its implications”. A Reversal in the divine-human relationship, indeed, with enormous implications!

Within this I find another aspect worth commenting upon, the fact that in the story related in Genesis, God is referred to as a “Man”, and later in Hos. 12:4, as “God”. [The same element is found in the New Testament, where for instance Acts 7:30-32 these two figures are likened in Moses’s burning bush.] When this chapter in Jacob’s life commences, at the beginning of Gen. 32, the context is specifically mapped out in the first two verses: “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.”

This immediately links to Jacob’s meeting with the angels a short while before in Gen. 28, where he, in a dream, saw a ladder descending from the earth to the heavens, whilst the angels of God were ascending and descending (verse 12). It is very insightful that God said to Jacob in verse 14 that “your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth”. To later be wrestling with the Angel in the dust is clearly God’s plan for Jacob, who will wrestle a generation “who sleep in the dust of the earth” (Dan. 12:2) into waking. God’s statement in verse 15 is then of utmost importance and meaning: “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go … for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” In verses 16-17 Jacob narrows down the meaning by just linking it to one place: “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’” For this reason he calls the place Bethel (verse 19), the “house of God”.

When Jacob then also finds the angel in another space in Gen. 32, he realises that it is not only Bethel that is a gate to the heavens, but everywhere he goes! He cannot also name this place Bethel, and thus names it in a way that reflects his change of thought on the matter. The name he chooses, Mahanaim, means “two camps” (BDB). He comes to the realisation that everywhere his foot lands, God places a gate which opens the heavens. Wherever he camps, there the angels camp with him!

But with this we also find another mystery. Remember what we explained earlier, about the word “manly”? The root for the word “womanly” is nâqab, which means, “to pierce, perforate, bore, appoint” (BDB), in other words to open a gate by perforating/ penetrating/doing violence, or in other words, to thus become a gate! Since man is both male and female (according to, for instance, Gen. 5:2), the capacity resides within everyone to become a gate to before time/Eden/the east/another reality/heaven/eternity/third dimension/Canaan. In this way we tap into this realm by remembering! The fact that the arch-father Jacob wrestled with God “in his manly vigour”, opened a gate to another reality for all his descendants. And according to Hos. 12:4 he made it possible for all “those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust” (Job 4:19), to have God set up camp with us.

 

 

 

  • Selah: Explain the last paragraph to someone, and be dazzled at its enormity!
  • Read: 27-29; John 9-11.
  • Memorise: John 8:8-10.