Wrestling with God

A Night on the Jabbok

“Myth is stories about the way things never were, but always are.”

Marcus Borg

In modern culture the word “myth” has come to mean something that is not true. But myths are stories that reflect the truth of a culture, even if they are fiction. There are many wonderful myths in the Bible. One of my favorites is the story of Jacob wrestling with the “man” who turns out to be God on the banks of the Jabbok. As I've written before, Jacob had done just about every underhanded thing he could possibly do in duping his brother, Esau, out of his birthright, and stealing his father, Isaac's, blessing. After many years in exile being duped in return by Laban, his father-in-law, Jacob was told by God to return home to his kindred and promised that he would be blessed. But Jacob was still afraid of Esau, so he divided his wives and children, his servants and herds and flocks, into two groups and sent them on ahead, thinking if Esau and his army of men came upon one group and killed them all, at least the other group would survive. Jacob spent the night alone, until a man came and wrestled with him. They wrestled all night, but the man could not prevail against Jacob. He did manage to wound him by striking him on the hip socket and putting it out of joint. Finally, he asked Jacob to release him but Jacob demanded his blessing first. The man blessed him and gave him a new name, Israel. Jacob named the place Peniel, believing that he had wrestled with God there, yet his life was preserved. His brother, Esau, met him with open arms, embraced Jacob and kissed him and they wept for joy. (Genesis 32 & 33)

Now, this is a wonderful story, which may or may not have actually happened, but more important than that, it is a story of humankind. Which one of us has not been through an ordeal resulting from our own wrong-doing? We all know about karmic consequences, don't we? Which one of us has not spent many a night tossing and turning, wrestling with our own fear and guilt? And who has not been wounded, sometimes even crippled, by that ordeal? Some wounds stay with us for life, just as Jacob's did. When we are able to prevail even though we are broken, we receive the blessing of acceptance—sometimes even joy. Jacob knew he did not deserve God's blessing, and yet he received it many times over. He knew he did not deserve his brother's love and devotion, and yet he received it. We know that if our transgressions were counted and weighed against us, we would be in deep trouble—and yet we are not. The story of Jacob on the Jabbok wrestling with God is a myth, which speaks to a deep truth about us all.

                                                                      In the Spirit,

                                                                           Jane