A life that points to Christ
Jacob
From Jacob we learn that God does not wait for us to become worthy before He meets us; He wrestles with strivers and schemers and refuses to let go. His life teaches that grace can transform a grasping heart, and it points to the God who came down the ladder to reach us.
“And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”Genesis 32:28
“And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.”Genesis 28:15
“And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”Genesis 32:26
“By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.”Hebrews 11:21
Their story, honestly
Jacob's name meant heel-catcher, and he lived up to it, grasping his brother's heel at birth, buying Esau's birthright, and stealing the blessing by deceiving his blind father. He fled for his life, and alone in the wilderness at Bethel he dreamed of a ladder to heaven with God standing above it, promising to be with him. Jacob spent twenty years being out-schemed by his uncle Laban, learning slowly what it is to be deceived. Returning home in fear of Esau, he wrestled all night with a stranger who was God, and would not let go until he was blessed. God renamed him Israel and touched his hip, so he walked away limping and blessed.
What their life teaches us
First, Jacob teaches that God pursues people before they are good. God met the deceiver at Bethel with pure promise, not a lecture. Second, the wrestling teaches that God will bless us, but often by first breaking our self-reliance; Jacob left the fight limping, and the limp was the sign of grace. Third, his long years under Laban show that God can use even the consequences of our sins to shape us. The heel-catcher became Israel, one who struggles with God and prevails, which is to say, one who finally clings.
How their life points to Christ
At Bethel Jacob saw a ladder joining heaven and earth, and Jesus later told Nathanael, you shall see heaven open and the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of man. Jesus is the ladder, the true meeting place of God and humanity. Jacob wrestled and clung and was blessed with a new name; in Christ, the striving sinner is given a new name and blessed by grace, not by winning. God met a schemer and would not let go, which is exactly what He does with us in Jesus.
Questions people ask
What does Jacob wrestling with God mean?
It pictures a whole life of grasping brought to a crisis where Jacob finally clings to God for blessing rather than seizing it by trickery. He prevails not by strength but by holding on, and he leaves with a limp, a mark that his self-reliance had been broken by grace.
How could God bless such a deceiver?
That is the scandal and comfort of the story. God met Jacob at Bethel with promise before Jacob had changed anything, and stayed with him through decades of consequences until he was transformed. It shows that God's grace goes first and does the changing.