“Then Jacob said to Joseph: ‘God Almighty appeared to me …’” (Gen. 48:3, NKJV)
We are still discussing the process whereby Jacob obtained a godly nature, in Genesis 32. This epoch-making event, where Jacob wrestled with the Almighty, as Jacob explained it to his son Joseph (Gen. 48:3), stands out as one of the most prominent in the entire Biblical history. We are required to try to find out, along with Job 21:15 (DRB), “Who is the Almighty …?”
We saw that it is one of the most important happenings in God’s biography – the incident where God Almighty presents himself as weak so that his son Jacob can increase in power and authority! The mystery of God’s nature is what Jacob had been seeking, and found in a dust fight with the Almighty – a God who cannot be triumphed over, who possesses all power and authority, who is willing to lose so that “the lowliest, weakest person will be … glorious … will be godlike” (Zech. 12:8, MSG) . In this “weakness of God” (1 Cor. 1:25, KJV) is nestled the greatest paradox of this strange God.
In this teaching we need to try to come to an understanding of this characteristic of the Almighty God. It is not coincidental that we here specifically refer to God as Almighty. The Free Dictionary explains this concept as follows: “Having absolute power; all-powerful: almighty God.” The Collins English Dictionary in turn defines it as: “having unlimited power; omnipotent, as God”.
In Hebrew the name God Almighty is translated as El Shaddai, and can in broad terms be contextually defined as “God, the All-powerful One” or specifically, as in Gen. 49:24 and Ps. 132:2 & 5, as “the Mighty One of Jacob”. Although the term “Almighty” had been used in earlier instances, it is noteworthy that this title is in this case linked to Jacob in particular, which most probably points to the wrestling match between the Almighty and the arch-father. The title points to God’s unlimited power and authority over all things.
The first instance this title of God is found is in Gen. 17:1: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.’” With such a character sketch it makes sense that the way in which God is presented in the rest of Scripture is all part of his Almighty nature:
- He is “Possessor of heaven and earth” (Gen. 14:19)
- He is “[the One] who built all things” (Heb. 3:4)
- He is “the King of heaven” (Dan. 4:37)
- He is “the God of all flesh” (Jer. 32:27)
- He is the “God who makes everything” (Ecc. 11:5)
- He is the “Everlasting God” (Gen. 21:33)
- He is “the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King”(Jer. 10:10)
- He is “the everlasting God … the Creator of the ends of the earth” (Isa. 48:28)
- He is “wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered? He removes the mountains, and they do not know when He overturns them in His anger; He shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars; He alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea; He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; He
does great things past finding out, yes, wonders without number.” (Job 9:4-10)
- He “does whatever He pleases” (Ps. 115:3)
- He is “God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome” (Deut. 10:17)
God’s Almighty power, as it is described above, brings all of us into a position of submission, because the “power belongs to God” (Ps. 62:11):
- “To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.” (Jude 1:25).
- We can then also understand why Jesus prayed the following in Matt. 6:13: “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.”
- This is also what the four living beings before the throne of God were praying: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” (Rev. 4:11).
- But David sketched it in these unforgettable terms: “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.” (1 Chr. 29:10-12).
Seen in this light, it is very important to understand why God presents Himself as Almighty in this wrestling match with Jacob, in other words, why does He present Himself as “the invincible Warrior” (Ps. 46:11, MSG), whilst, strangely enough, allowing Jacob to triumph over Him?
For this reason the link that is established in Jer. 10:6 between the Name/Names of God and his Almighty nature is of great importance: “your name is great in mightiness”. Remember that this name, YHWH, according to Theopedia, means “He causes to become”. Thus: The Almighty wrestles with Jacob to cause him to become mighty! But the only way in which this power is transferred to Jacob is if God becomes weak. Clearly – when He is is weak, He is actually strong. AND THIS IS THE GODLY CHARACTERISTIC THAT NEEDS TO BE ROOTED INTO JACOB, BUT ALSO IN EVERY OTHER BELIEVER (Hos. 12:4).
But still the question remains – why?
To answer this question, we need to briefly look at the identity of the Angel who was wrestling with Jacob; the prophet makes it clear that Jacob was indeed wrestling “with God”. At this point we know that the “Angel of the Lord”, as He is referred to throughout the Old Testament, is one of the pre-incarnation manifestations of Jesus, but as it is made explicit in Hos. 12:3, it is also God! Indeed: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut. 6:4).
With this as point of reference we can understand that Jesus is also undoubtedly God, and is thus ALSO Almighty, because “in him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9, KJV). Selah! Rev. 1:8 makes it very clear: “’I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”
Jesus thus also carries the Name Almighty. Suddenly the picture of Jacob wrestling with the Almighty makes much more sense! Jesus’s power lies in the fact that He voluntarily made Himself weak. Remember the powerful words of Michael Card’s song El Shaddai:
“Through the years you made it clear,
that the time of Christ was near,
But couldn’t see what Messiah ought to be.
And Though your word contained the plan,
they just would not understand,
Your most awesome work was done,
through the frailty of your Son.”
The Angel who had to lose in the wrestling match with Jacob was the perfect prototype of what Jesus, Son of the Almighty, and in all aspects also Almighty in His own right, had to come demonstrate to humanity – the power nestled in submission, of bowing the knee, of pouring out yourself (the Hebrew meaning of Jabbok).
Obviously Jesus, as the Son of the Almighty God, could at any point during His earthly road of suffering, call on mighty heavenly support, including legions of angels (Matt. 26:53). He could even leave the cross if He wanted to (Matt. 27:40), but He understood the principle of power in weakness, and chose this suffering. Phil. 2:5-8 explains this attitude that Jesus showcased: “Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
Herein lies the power of the cross of Jesus. Therefore it becomes clear that Jesus asks this of all his followers: “He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.’” (Mark 8:34b-35). This attitude will lead to the fulfilment of God’s seemingly twisted logic, and the fulfilment of “the power of the Almighty” (Luke 1:35), that which led to the incarnation of Jesus, and obviously then also to the incarnation of the Christ in me and you who are willing to die with Christ. How striking is Heb. 5:8-9: “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him”.
Once Jesus had made the choice to be poured out, to submit, to obey completely, Phil. 2:9-11 becomes possible: “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Every member of the Bride of Christ is called to the same act of being poured out, of submission. We obtain this attitude by, like Jacob, wrestling with God.
- Selah: Explain 2 Cor. 13.9 to someone.
- Read: 33-36; John 15-17.
- Memorise: John 15:16.
- For a more in-depth understanding: Read J.I. Packer’s book Knowing God.
