Christian Living

When God Stages His Own 'Defeat'

by Ezekiel Olukolajo
07/08/23
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When God Stages His Own “Defeat”!

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. Genesis 32:24-30;

The contest of Jacob with the Angel that appeared and wrestled with him in the night at Jabbok remains a great mystery. As we all know, a mortal man has absolutely no strength, power or wisdom to confront or prevail against an angelic being. Angels excel in divine power and great strength, and we have seen an instance where just one angel killed over one hundred and eighty-five thousand (185,000) soldiers in a single night (2Kings 19:35).

When we place the account of how a single angel killed 185,000 soldiers in few hours, side by side with the account of how Jacob fought and prevailed against the Angel that wrestled with him at Jabbok, we can’t but come to the conclusion that there are more to the incident than we have seen or read. The secret behind the victory of Jacob is a mystery that must be unraveled in order to calm our raging minds as humans.    

If anyone believes or thinks that Jacob prevailed against the Angel that wrestled with him in Jabbok on the account of his strength, braveness or wisdom, that fellow must have been inconceivably deceived. From the account of the incident that happened during that day before his encounter with the Angel that night, we see how a completely timid and fearful Jacob schemed and made plans on how to meet and appease Esau his brother, after about twenty (20) years of deceitfully taking the firstborn blessing meant for him (Esau). Jacob knew that his meeting with Esau would be an unpredictable war that he had absolutely no power or strength to fight on his own. So, to think that the same Jacob, who was terribly afraid and troubled to meet with Esau his brother, had what it takes to confront or win a wrestling against an angel, must be the joke of the millennium.

In trying to unravel the mysteries behind what actually happened that night, that a mortal man like Jacob would wrestle and prevail against an Angel, we are being drawn to consider certain possibilities. Firstly, could it be that God joined forces with Jacob, and fought from his (Jacob’s) side against the Angel that wrestled with him that night? This is a possibility when we consider the fact that Jacob, on his own, had no strength or wisdom to confront the Angel. However, with the incredible strength and energy that came from God’s support, Jacob was able to confront and prevail against the Angel that wrestled with him.   

Secondly, could it also be that God withdrew the strength, glory and divine ability of the Angel, so that he was reduced from an angelic being to a level comparable to that of mere mortals? This appears like another possibility, especially to enable God to create a level playing field for the wrestling that was about to take place between the Angel and Jacob that night. Otherwise, there’s no other way we can find explanation for Jacob’s gallant victory over the Angel that night. The matter is better interpreted like what is written in Jeremiah 12:5A: “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses?” 

Either way, what appears to be undeniable from the account of Jacob’s unusual victory over the Angel that wrestled with him that solemn and silent night at Jabbok, is that, God can choose to come down so low to the level of a man, if He decides to in His wisdom and sovereignty. Yes, God can descend really so low just to meet a man at his lowest levels in order to achieve a divine purpose and counsel.

There was this interesting short video clip I watched on the internet of a wrestling contest between a man and his five-year-old son. Talking about size and weight, no exaggerations, the father was about 25 times bigger than his son, so there was absolutely no basis for comparison in terms of strength, energy, power or wisdom. But, guess what! The five-year old son won the wrestling contest! What happened? With a few knocks and kicks from the boy, the father didn’t even attempt to raise a finger, but fell down flat on the floor. While lying down on the floor “helpless”, and pretending to have no strength to stand up, the boy quickly jumped and spread himself on him. Without any resistance whatsoever from the father, the referee counted ‘one’, ‘two’ and ‘three’, and boom, that was the end! The boy was declared a winner!

Jumping up excitedly round the stage, it was not difficult to tell that the five-year-old boy had this great ecstatic feeling that he was strong and so brave to have knocked out his hefty father in the wresting contest. Of course, everyone, except the boy, knew that the man, out of deep love for his five-year-old son, was the one who staged his own defeat in the wrestling contest, just to let his son win and get the medal.      

This story appears to be the story of God and man, and equally resonates with the accounts of what played out when Jacob wrestled and prevailed against God at Jabbok that silent night. Look at what the Angel said in Genesis 32:28: “And hesaid, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed”. In other words, the Angel declared Jacob “Prince” – literally the prize winner, not just in a contest with humans, but also in the contest with the Almighty God! How can this be, except the Almighty God Himself staged His own “defeat” in the wrestling in order to let Jacob win.  

There are many known instances where God at various times decided to descend so low to meet men at their lowest levels. The greatest of these, is when the Almighty God laid aside His divinity, left His glory above and decided to reduce Himself to become a man in order to save man. God, out of unexplainable love allowed Himself to be subjected to the same experiences of man, allowed Himself to be mocked, tortured, maltreated and crucified like a helpless victim just because He embarked on the assignment of saving humanity from sin and eternal destruction.

Out of love, it is unexplainable how God can do anything and go to any length. To rescue and redeem humanity from judgement of sin and destruction, the love of God was demonstrated when Jesus (Emmanuel – GOD WITH US) descended from above to die for humanity. The Bible, in Philippians 2:5-8, says “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”.

In the way Jesus came to this earth and allowed Himself to be crucified like a helpless sheep before the slaughterer, it is not difficult to see that it was the Almighty God Himself that staged His own “defeat” on the cross of Calvary just to reach out to humanity with His divine love. God permitted satan to “win” and have his ways when Jesus decided to not exercise His God-head power and ability to fight and rescue Himself from the cross. However, what looked like triumph of evil didn’t last beyond three (3) days. Jesus rose victoriously from the dead to live eternally.  

It was the encounter that Jacob had that night, when God allowed Himself to be “defeated” in the contest that took place in Jabbok, that completely changed the course of Jacob’s life. God’s love was fully demonstrated in letting a mortal man like Jacob prevail against the Angel that wrestled with him in Jabbok, so that he could win the fierce battles against his earthly and eternal destiny. It is not difficult to establish this, considering that Esau, an avowed enemy, who had resented Jacob his brother for more than twenty (20) years, and had the plan to destroy him and his family and possession, came the following day to drop his sword, kiss and freely forgive Jacob. That’s what happens when God allows a man to win against Himself.

The whole story of redemption of man looks like a stage play. God, being the Author and Finisher, has perfectly written the script, and He is also the Major Actor. Now, I hope you won’t allow all His efforts to be in vein over your life. Just like Jacob became a new man with a new name (Israel) that same night in which God allowed him to win, the expectation of God is that you don’t allow His efforts to be wasted, especially because it’s because of His love that made Him accept “defeat” at the cross just because He wanted to pay your debt and set you free from sin and satan eternally. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit”. 1Peter 3:18.

Shalom!

Ezekiel Olukolajo
July 2023 Copyright