Ultimately, rather than try to win this struggle, or succumb to this struggle, I realized that the struggle itself was the goal. I had, like Jacob, wrestled with an adversary I never saw, whose name I never learned, but whose presence I deeply felt. – BRUCE FEILER
Imagine the fear gripping Jacob as he camps by the river Jabbok. Emotions long ago repressed pierce his heart as he ponders tomorrow's reunion with his twin brother. Submerged guilt gushes to the surface of his soul. Twenty years ago he had fled Esau's wrath, knowing full well what the rugged outdoorsman would do if given the chance for vengeance. Could Esau still be awaiting the opportunity? That's why dread seizes Jacob as he sits in the darkness by the brook. In the morning he must obey God's command and walk straight toward his brother as steadfastly as he once ran away from him. "Surely," Jacob predicts, "Esau's anger tonight is similar to my shame, erupting like a volcano long dormant. He must feel as much hate as I do regret."
As he sits by the brook, he reenacts in his mind the unfortunate series of events that led him here. The blow-up never would have happened were Jacob not his mother's favorite. That plot of deception and thievery was her idea. Rebekah first convinced Jacob that he, not Esau, deserved the major portion of the inheritance reserved for the firstborn. Then she came up with the master plan. Jacob would dress, even smell, like his older brother, taking advantage of his father Isaac's failing eyesight. The paternal blessing meant for Esau would be given to Jacob, the imposter. And Rebekah's plan worked to perfection. Jacob became the illegitimate heir, Esau the helpless victim.
Jacob briefly pauses his reminiscing, as if to delay for a moment reliving the painful years that followed. Rebekah's plan had one serious drawback: Esau's angry reaction. Why didn't she—why didn't they—think of this beforehand? What made them assume Esau would passively accept having his birthright stolen? What they got in return was the end of their interaction as mother and son. Rebekah was forced to give Jacob the most gut-wrenching advice imaginable. He must leave her and flee to Haran to stay with her brother, Laban, until Esau's emotions cooled. When he left home that day, little did Jacob know he would seldom, if ever, see his mother again.
The years living with Uncle Laban were filled with passion and poison. Before one month passed, Jacob found the love of his life. Rachel was Laban's youngest daughter, and Jacob adored her more than life itself. She was well worth the seven years of labor Laban required of him before giving blessing to their marriage. Even when Laban tricked Jacob into first marrying his oldest daughter, Leah (in one of history's greatest "what goes around, comes around" moments), Jacob remained undaunted. He would work seven more years (which he did), seven times seven if need be, to have Rachel as his bride. When at last that day came, all the pain of the past seemed like a bad dream from which he had awakened. His fairy tale ending had come. Rachel was his wife.
As if the wait to wed each other wasn't frustrating enough, the years of childbearing were not kind to Jacob and Rachel. They soon became the dreaded barren couple. Despite all efforts, Rachel could not give Jacob a son. Leah, on the other hand, seemed to always be pregnant. Four times Rachel heard the announcement ring through the land, "Leah has borne Jacob a son!" The only consolation for Rachel was the knowledge that Jacob loved her more.
Overcome with jealousy and frustration, Rachel came up with a plan of her own. She convinced Jacob to twice impregnate her personal maidservant Bilhah. The result was a pair of sons Rachel could take credit for and Leah could not claim. Not to be outdone, Leah offered her maidservant Zilpah, who bore Jacob two sons as well. Then, to add insult to injury, Leah herself gave birth to two more sons plus a daughter for good measure. The scoreboard indicated a rout: Leah, eight sons (including two by Zilpah) plus one daughter; Rachel, two sons (both by Bilpah). In the culture of the time, it was a defeat almost too great for Rachel to bear.
And then, just when hope had almost vanished, the unexpected happened. Rachel became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Jacob named him Joseph, and from day one he became the favorite. Such partiality would later cost father and son dearly. In light of what had happened to him and his mother, Jacob should have known better.
Jacob heard a divine summons shortly after Joseph was born. The message to his soul rang loud and clear: "Leave Haran and go back to Canaan!" Yahweh, the God of Abraham and Isaac, was ordering him to return home. But there was one major problem with Yahweh's command: Canaan was also the home of his brother Esau.
Now, on the eve of his return, Jacob sits in fear by the river Jabbok contemplating his next move. Earlier today he had lavished his brother with gifts, sending wave after wave of servants to Esau with the same message: "These gifts are from Jacob, your brother. May he find favor in your eyes." In case this doesn't soften Esau's heart, Jacob plans to protect his family from total onslaught by dividing them into two separate camps as they approach Esau and his kinsmen. If an attack ensues, perhaps one group will be able to escape.
There is one detail, however, that Jacob has not yet finalized. A single question remains unanswered in his heart. "Jacob, will you really obey God's command tomorrow and risk everything? Will you, Jacob, put yourself and your family in harm's way, no matter the cost?" As he searches his soul for an answer, Jacob's spiritual wrestling turns physical. He receives a wound to one of his thighs, compliments of "God's messenger," a tear of tendon from bone from which he will never fully recover. But he also receives a blessing from God, a promise of future generations that will ensure his legacy. Most important of all, he receives a transformation of his deepest self, an inner paradigm shift. He limps away from the brook that night saying, "I will obey!" For the first time in his life, Jacob completely surrenders his will to God's will.
The next day Jacob will have a poignant reunion and reconciliation with Esau. Living in Canaan once again, he will father a twelfth son, Benjamin, the second borne to him by his beloved Rachel. Tragically, she will die during childbirth. Jacob will honor her memory by elevating his love of Joseph and Benjamin above the rest of his sons. When Joseph grows old enough to flaunt this special treatment, the elder ten will retaliate by kidnapping him and selling him to foreigners. In Egypt, Joseph will receive acclaim as an interpreter of dreams and will rise to the second highest office in the land. His once adversarial brothers will travel from Canaan to Egypt and bow before him, requesting famine relief. Joseph will offer forgiveness to them reminiscent of that given by his uncle Esau to Jacob years earlier. Before dying, Jacob will experience one more reunion, perhaps the most touching of all literature. He will tearfully embrace his most favored son, long assumed dead, and will live his last days in luxury in Egypt. In his final hours he will bless all twelve of his sons, assured that in them the promise of future generations will be fulfilled.
Yes, these subsequent events will prove riveting drama indeed. But never forget—Jacob never did—that the pivotal moment of his life was the night he wrestled with God by the river Jabbok. There, alone in the dark, he had his point of clarity.
Jacob was by no means perfect before or after that wrestling match. His main flaw, inherited and/or learned from his mother, was an almost pathologic tendency toward favoritism. At birth, he exited the womb clutching Esau's heel as if trying to propel himself ahead. As the pride of Rebekah's eyes and a willing participant in her plan, he succeeded in gaining favored status. As a husband and father, he elevated Rachel and her sons above the rest. Even on his deathbed Jacob spurned tradition by crossing his arms and placing his right hand— the one carrying the highest blessing—on the head of Joseph's youngest, Ephraim. Manasseh, the oldest, became Esau's protégé
Ironically, the one who played favorites has become one of the most highly favored men in history. Jacob, along with his grandfather Abraham and father Isaac, form the trunk of the Jewish family tree. His twelve sons are its lowest and most prominent branches. The name given to that nation, Israel, is Jacob's nickname, the one bestowed upon him by God at the river Jabbok. It is a combination of two Hebrew words—sara and el. Fittingly, it means "struggle with God."
