Of Jacob, the prophet Hosea says, "In his mother's womb he grasped the heel of his brother; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he begged and wept for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there- the lord Almighty, the Lord is his name! You must return to your God; maintain love and justice, wait for your God always." (Hosea 12:3-6)

I'm not sure I entirely understand why some people seem like they struggle from the time they are born until the time they die. From a spiritual standpoint I understand that a curse on man came with Adam in the Garden of Eden and the world has never been right since. The curse is indeed...well, a curse. There was nothing good about it. The struggle that ensued for Adam and Eve, and for all the Adams and Eves after them, has been difficult.  But, for some, it just seems like they are marked for pain and suffering. It's almost as though God, or someone, has it in for certain individuals. From the very start, even before self awareness, Jacob was at odds with those around him.  Maybe his name (Deceiver) caused him to be a fighter. I'm sure the other school kids had a blast with his name on the playground. But scripture indicates that he was a fighter from the womb and thus his name, not the other way around. His childhood was only the beginning of his challenges.

The passage says, "He struggled with God as a man." I'm sure that Jacob wrestled with being second all the time. He was tired of taking second place and walking in the shadow of his older brother. He wanted to be first, just once. Maybe some thought he would grow out of it; that fighting spirit, the hot temper, the petty jealousy and competitiveness, the rash conflicts in which he seemed to find himself. Perhaps Isaac and Rebekah thought he would learn from the school of hard knocks that lying and deception only get you into more trouble.  Whatever anyone else thought, it was not to be so. Even as an adult Jacob deceived his father, wrenched the birthright from his brother and fled in fear of their anger and displeasure. It's sad really. A man with the family blessing, rich by worldly standards, yet destitute and homeless, running for fear of his life from his own family member. Hardly a blessing he received from his father. Ironic, isn't it?  What Jacob wanted and jealously coveted for his entire life he now possessed and he was more miserable than he had ever been.

That's not the end, either. Jacob probably figured, once a deceiver always a deceiver.  He probably figured he was born that way.  Maybe he felt God created him to be deceptively flawed.  Even if God hadn't, it was no use trying to change.  His fate was sealed and he was powerless to change his character. He resigned himself to be at odds with the world, unhappy and miserable inside and out. Until one day...Rachel. Things seemed to be taking a turn for the better.  "Perhaps," he would have thought, "my bad luck streak is finally coming to an end." In fact it was just a cruel trick. Just when his hopes were rising that life had taken a turn for the better he himself is deceived by his own relative.  Maybe it was this humiliating "face rubbing" that caused Jacob to be desperate. Life had sunk to an all time low as his own sins were visited upon him.

Scripture says, "he wrestled with the angel." There is debate about who the angel was.  Many scholars believe it was a pre-incarnate manifestation of the Messiah. Regardless, the deceiver had his fill of self.  He recognized that this moment was his only hope; that he could not go on living like this.  Though he had the woman of his dreams (plus one), a family blessing from his father and worldly wealth he was fully convinced and cognizant that this angel, and he alone, could remove the curse that had dogged him his entire life. "He begged and wept for his favor..." Friends, it is futile for us to try to change under our own power.  We need to have a "come to Jesus" moment just as Jacob did.  We need to come to the end of our schemes and plans in this life.  We need to come to a place when nothing but God's blessing on our life will suffice.  We need to be broken, weep, grasp a hold of him and never let him go until we have that life change. From that time on Jacob walked differently.  He came away with a new name. He came away with a different- blessing, the blessing of God, not men. We never see Jacob deceiving again. I believe we "must return to our God." Nothing else will do.  Everyone has to wrestle with God through the night until they know that they have been changed and blessed. Lay a hold of God today and let him transform the life that you have found yourself powerless to change. There is hope in Jesus if you will call out to him.