“Wrestling”

The Present Truth 9, 38.

E. J. Waggoner

Wrestling was much more common in the ancient times than it is now, because warfare was then a hand-to-hand matter, and victory in a battle depended more on the athletic skill of the combatants, than it does these days of long-range rifles. The great battles were often little else than huge wrestling contests. This is why the Apostle Paul describes the warfare of the Christian as wrestling. “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6: 11, 12.This contest is to be carried on with the strength that the Lord gives, and the armor that He supplies. The wrestler is exhorted to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Ephesians 6:10 He is to strive, but it is to be according to the working of God in him. Colossians 1: 29 The power all comes from God, and it is really God that gains the victory over the enemy, working through the man who yields to Him. Jesus says, “…In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16: 33 Therefore we read, “This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith. And who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5: 4, 5.

In the thirty-sixth Psalm, verses eleven and twelve, (Psalms 36:11, 12) we have a reference to this wrestling against the wickedness of this world. “Let not the foot of pride come against thee, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me. There are the workers of iniquity fallen; they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.” The hands and feet play the principal part in wrestling. Each wrestler seeks to trip up his antagonist with his feet. There is no foot so dangerous in wrestling as the foot of pride, because “pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16: 18) Therefore it is that the psalmist prays to be kept from the foot of pride. Only He can keep us from this dangerous foe, because He is meek and lowly in heart. Whoever abides in Him will be kept from the pride of man.

It is an unfortunate thing that most people have made a wrong use of the account of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel, who was the Lord Jesus Himself. They read the account of His wrestling all night, and then in the morning receiving a blessing, and think that means that we are to wrestle with the Lord in order to get a blessing from Him. Because of this mistaken idea, many people fail to receive the blessings that they might otherwise have. Let us study the case a little.

WRESTLING AGAINST GOD

A moment’s thought should be sufficient to show us that the Lord is not our adversary. He is not opposed to us. Therefore we do not have to fight with Him. Wrestling is fighting, and it is a dangerous position for one to occupy, to be fighting against God. God is for us, to protect us from all that come against us. We do not want to fight with the only Friend we have.

But of course the idea of fighting is not in the minds of those who speak of wrestling with God. Their idea is that of striving with Him to get Him to give us His blessing. But God has come to us with His blessing before we ever felt the need of it. “Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from His iniquities.” Acts 3: 26 “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8: 32 If we were half as anxious to receive the blessings of God as He is to bestow them upon us, we should have more than we ever dreamed of.

But did not Jacob wrestle all night with the Lord? Yes, he did, but do not forget that he did not know that it was the Lord. He thought all the time that it was an enemy. And that illustrates the position of those who think that they must wrestle with the Lord for a blessing. Unconsciously they are regarding the Lord as their adversary, instead of their Helper.

Now let us see what we are to learn from the case of Jacob. When was it that he first found that the One with whom he was wrestling was not a man, but the Lord Himself?-It was when the Angel put forth His hand, and put Jacob’s thigh out of joint with a touch. Read the account in Genesis 32: 24-28. How much longer did Jacob wrestle after he found out that he was wrestling with the Lord?-Not a minute, because such a thing was impossible. It was the dislocation of his thigh that made him know with whom he was wrestling; and no man can wrestle with a thigh out of joint. A man with his thigh out of joint would be at a greater disadvantage in wrestling, than a man with only one leg, because in addition to having only one leg to stand on, he would have the inconvenience and the intense pain of the useless one.

What, therefore, did Jacob do as soon as his dislocated thigh made known unto him with whom he was wrestling?-He did the only thing that he could do, namely, he threw his arms around the Lord for support. If one were wrestling or walking, or even standing still, and his thigh should suddenly be thrown out of joint, he would immediately fall to the ground. So Jacob would have fallen, if he had not held on to the Lord. And this we learn from the record. As soon as Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, the Angel said, “Let Me go, for the day breaketh.” And Jacob replied, “I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.” This shows, what we should naturally conclude, that as soon as Jacob learned that it was the Lord with whom he was wrestling, he ceased wrestling, and threw himself upon Him for support.

And it was then that Jacob prevailed. During all the night of wrestling he had not been able to gain anything, but as soon as he stopped wrestling with the Lord, and hung helpless upon Him, he gained a blessing. And so it will ever be. “For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and rest shall ye be saved; and quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30: 15 “Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” Isaiah 26: 4.

Then instead of striving with the Lord, let us yield to Him, and allow Him to do our fighting for us. See Psalms 25: 1, 2. We shall find all that we wish to do, in keeping our wills subject to His. Power belongs to Him, and He will exert all in our behalf, if we will throw ourselves upon Him.