Jacob and his persistence

https://odb.org/2026/01/13/hold-on-to-god

Genesis 32:22–28 (NIV): 22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Jacob used tricky moves to get the best of his twin brother Esau, “wrestling” Esau out of his birthright to their father’s inheritance (Genesis 25:33) and life blessing (27:27-40). But stealing the blessing kept Jacob on the run, forcing him to flee his father’s household, depend on his cunning father-in-law, and live in fear of his brother’s wrath.

Later, he found himself alone, wrestling all night with a man who was God Himself. “Let me go,” the man told Jacob, “for it is daybreak” (32:26). But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (v. 26). Finally Jacob was seeking a blessing of his own, holding tight to God even until his name was changed to reflect his changed heart. (Patricia Raybon, Our Daily Bread 13th January 2026)

If you’re familiar with our Old Testament personalities, you would know that Jacob was a cunning man who used deception to get his way. The Jews pray to the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob is the grandson of Abraham, the founder and originator of the Hebrew faith and people, whose covenant relationship with the LORD God formed the foundation of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah who fulfilled the Law and restored Man’s relationship with God.

As the story goes, Jacob cheated his elder twin brother (they were fraternal twins) of his birthright by exchanging it with a bowl of soup and later pretended to be Esau (by wearing goatskins so he appeared to be hairy like Esau) and tricked his father, Isaac who was by then of very poor eyesight, to give him his blessings (which was akin to a will for material possessions but coupled with a spiritual heritage and legacy).

However, Jacob ran away from home after that as he feared for his life. Fortunately in the later years, he was reconciled back to Esau. But not before he had the encounter with an angel of the LORD (believed to be God Himself) known as Jacob wrestling with God (see Genesis 32:24-28). That was the turning point in Jacob’s life as he emerged from the encounter injured at the hip and with a new name “Israel” which the tribe of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Hebrews, took to become their name and the name of their nation.

There are probably many spiritual lessons we can deliver from this encounter of Jacob with God. One lesson that stands out is Jacob’s persistence in not letting go despite the being he was wrestling with was far superior to him, a mere mortal. The LORD Himself as the angel was also very understanding and pleaded for Jacob to let him go before daybreak, knowing that if the day breaks and Jacob sees His face, Jacob will perish. So the LORD accommodated Jacob’s persistence and blessed Him, bestowing upon Jacob the spiritual legacy and inheritance that carried on across generations until our Lord Jesus Christ. In the end, Jacob obtained Isaac’s blessings through trickery but God’s blessings through persistence.

For our own application, the spiritual lesson this morning is that if we are persistent and faithful to seek Him and His Kingdom and not let go, He will surely bless us richly with His heavenly blessings. Reminds me of Jesus’s exaltation that we seek first His Kingdom and its righteousness. It’s a blessing that’s much, much more valuable than material wealth because if we are obedient and not rebellious, our name in the Book of Life is assured and our place in the mansion of many rooms is assured. Seek the spiritual blessings of God like Jacob did as His blessings are eternal and everlasting!