"I will not let you go unless you bless me." Genesis 32:26
The thing about Jacob is, that he is an unlikely hero in scripture. Born with his hands on the ankle of his brother. He was the ultimate momma's boy. When his mother said to do something that would ultimately cheat his older brother out of his blessing, He did as he was told. He also stole his brother birthright by deception. Now, after years of working for his distant relative Laban, he is coming home to pay for his sins.
I think Jacob was worried about how Esau would greet him on return. After all, last time he saw his brother Esau wanted to kill him. He was not the soft and feely type. He was a hard man who let bitterness stew overnight. The evidence that Jacob knew this is how he goes back home, by sending presents on to his brother ahead of him. But, this is a changed Jacob coming home.
In Genesis 32 we read of a story where it says a man wrestled with Jacob until daylight (Genesis 32:24). This was a battle of which Wrestlemania has never seen. The wrestling match of conscious, of pride, of Jacob's heart and spiritual foundation. And when the man says, "Let me go" verse 26 Jacob says he will not until he blesses him. Maybe Jacob didn't know much, but he knew this man was spiritual and he wanted his blessing before he went on.
It is interesting that Jacob did not know this man's name. I think this is a pre-incarnate view of Jesus. Sometimes that happens in scripture. Jesus said that Abraham saw his day and was glad for it. We need to realize that Jesus is God. As God he has always existed. He is actually the reason that everything exists. So, when Jacob asks him his name, the response is "Why is it that you ask my name?" Part of the reason for this is because Jacob realizes he is wrestling with a divine being. The actual question the man asks could be rephrased "Why do you ask about something that is too great for you to understand?" That is why Jacob responds in verse 30 "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved."
Sometimes in the face of God's silence, when God hides himself. I think God wants us to find the determination of Jacob. The boldness, the courage, the strength, to say to God, I am going to seek you out. I am going to grab a hold and not let go. I am coming after you and not resting until I find you. In a sense, it is almost like a divine hide and seek if you will. The question becomes, "Do you care enough to look?" God has actually promised to allow himself to be found by those who seek him. But, there is still more than that, it is God himself who gives you the desire to look for him.
Are you willing to say as Jacob did "I will not let you go unless you bless me."? Are you will to ask, seek and knock until your arms are weak and knees are sore? "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened." Matthew 7:7-8
