Wrestling With God

Finally, the audacious possibility exists that he was struggling with God Himself. After all is said and done we are told:

So Jacob named the place Peniel, meaning, 'I have seen a divine being face to face, yet my life has been preserved.' (Genesis 32:31)

Jacob is consumed by fears and doubts. On that dark night he fought with the untouchable God who had promised his forefather Abraham unbounded blessing and limitless progeny, and given him a life of dialectic: a barren wife taken from him twice, a son whom he was forced to banish, and the ultimate near death trial of the Akedah. The contradiction between promise and reality continued in the life of his father Isaac and his mother Rebecca, who were also barren for twenty years. And in his own life, Jacob, who was promised that he would inherit the land, as forced into a long exile. Finally, returning home, Jacob must flee for his life from his vengeful brother. As he crosses the River Yabok, Jacob struggles with death and destiny.