Stories that Stick: Jacob Wrestles

Genesis 32:22-31

The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ Then the man said, ‘You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked him, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’ The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Note: This message includes Bethlehem member Nils Snyder sharing reflections about his favorite story from the bible.

Nils Snyder and his family caught my attention early in my tenure here at the Minneapolis Campus. They were regulars at the earliest service and they made an impact: lowering the average age of that service and bringing a delightful energy that is inevitable with three very young children in the space. Nils brings his own kind of energy. Some Sundays, when I don’t have responsibilities in the Sanctuary, I wander the halls and peek in the various Sunday school rooms to listen and learn about what Bethlehem kids are up to. I always made a point to swing by the Sunday school room where Nils was teaching. Without fail — he would challenge them to wonder and wrestle with the Bible story for the day. No surprise to me that he chose the story of Jacob wrestling with God from Genesis.

Nils, along with his wife, Alyssa, have been teaching Sunday school since they came to Bethlehem. And their kids Bjorn, Signe and Mette are quick to say yes whenever I’m asking help of leaders.

When not at Bethlehem Nils is busy investing in relationships, as he specializes in leasing, sales and investment property management around the Twin Cities. He also enjoys cooking, reading, playing with kids and traveling.

Tonight’s story starts with Jacob sending his tribe away. He’s all alone. The last time he was alone was back in Genesis, Chapter 28. He had barely escaped his brother Esau when God visited him in a dream promising abundant blessings — land, property, descendants.

Now, Jacob’s on his return trip home, alone again, but this time God shows up differently — not as a protector full of promises for a bright future, but as a rival ready to fight. We know Jacob to be a trickster. He cheats and deceits and stirs up trouble. He runs from the inevitable conflict that comes.

Not this time. This time he stays put. He faces the threat and engages in a wrestling match. Turns out the opponent is God. Turns out, when you wrestle with God you come away with both a blessing and a limp.
This story gives an intimate glimpse of life lived in relationship with God. You are not always safe. You are not always comfortable. A relationship with God is not a passive faith but a faith that refuses to let go, give up, move on. It’s a faith that holds on to hope. And in those times when that feels like too much of a reach, know that God keeps a hold on you.

As Nils points out: Jacob is determined, persistent, relentless to get the blessing he seeks. It doesn’t come easily. There is push and pull and pain and struggle for sure. Jacob lives the rest of his days with a limp. And it’s precisely because in the push and pull and pain and struggle God never lets go. God stayed present in the wrestling. It’s in engaging with God that Jacob is transformed.

This story is for you. So hear God’s good news. God takes hold of you and will not let go. God’s in it with you — whatever that looks like for you — right now, in this moment, God is present and ready to go to the mat for you, to the death in fact, which God in Christ has already done for you.