Jacob’s Terrible Night of Wrestling
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to avert the threatened danger. Then he pleaded for divine protection:
“I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth,
which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant... . Deliver me, I pray Thee,
from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him,
lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.”
Jacob decided to spend the night in prayer, alone with God. God
could soften the heart of Esau. In Him was the patriarch’s only hope.
An Angel Wrestles With Jacob
It was a lonely, mountainous region, the haunt of wild beasts,
robbers, and murderers. Unprotected, Jacob bowed in deep distress
upon the earth. It was midnight. All that made life dear to him were
exposed to danger and death. Bitter was the thought that his own sin
had brought this peril upon the innocent.
Suddenly a strong hand was laid upon him. He thought that an
enemy was seeking his life. In the darkness the two struggled for the
mastery. Not a word was spoken, but Jacob put forth all his strength
and did not relax his efforts for a moment. While battling for his life,
his guilt pressed upon his soul; his sins rose up to shut him out from
God.
But in his terrible extremity he remembered God’s promises. The
struggle continued until near break of day, when the stranger placed his
finger on Jacob’s thigh, and he was crippled instantly. The patriarch
now knew that he had been in conflict with a heavenly messenger. This
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was why his almost superhuman effort had not gained the victory. It
was Christ, “the angel of the covenant.” Jacob was now disabled and
suffering the keenest pain, but he would not loosen his hold. Penitent
and broken, he clung to the Angel; “he wept, and made supplication,”
pleading for a blessing. He must have the assurance that his sin was
pardoned. The Angel urged, “Let Me go, for the day breaketh”; but
Jacob answered, “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.” His
was the assurance of one who confesses his unworthiness yet trusts
the faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God.
Jacob “had power over the Angel, and prevailed.”
Hosea 12:4
. This
sinful, erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He had
fastened his trembling grasp upon the promises of God, and the heart
of Infinite Love could not turn away the sinner’s plea.