"Jacob Wrestling with the Angel" by Eugène Delacroix (mural completed in 1861, Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris)
In this week's text, Genesis 32:22-31, Dr. Levison ponders the mysterious person with whom Jacob wrestles. Is it a man? Is it an angel? Is it God? "One of the important things about being a person of faith is discerning God's presence in apparent absence," he says.
Later, Rev. Williams emphasizes Jacob's persistence in prayer: "I will not let you go, unless you bless me" (v. 26). And in the course of intense wrestling through the night, we find Jacob at daybreak, both bruised and blessed. He greets the new day by naming the place Peniel, meaning "face of God."
Resources:
- "Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown" by Charles Wesley (UMH 386)
- The Elusive Presence: Toward a New Biblical Theology by Samuel Terrien