1. Jacob realized that his own way of scheming and tricking others would not work in God's promised land, and that he must admit this and rely on God's sufficiency alone. 2. When God disabled Jacob's hip to show His power, Jacob was humbled and could only cry out for God's blessing, recognizing God as greater. He believed in God's power to bless even through weakness. 3. God insisted Jacob confess his sinful nature as a supplanter who had wronged his brother. Only by confessing his sins could Jacob receive God's forgiveness and blessing of a changed heart.

1. LIFE LESSONS LEARNED FROM A WOUNDED WRESTLER
1. ADMIT THAT YOUR WAY DOESN’T WORK. - By crossing the Jabbok Jacob was going to be entering into
Esau’s territory, but God saw something even more significant than that. By crossing the Jabbok Jacob
would be entering into the land that God has sworn to give to Abraham’s descendants -- the promised
land. God wasn’t about to allow Jacob to enter the promised land -- the land of His blessing or favor --
on his own terms or in his own strength.
2. BELIEVE IN GOD’S SUFFICIENCY. - God proved to Jacob that his way wasn’t going to work when He
disabled Jacob with a single touch that dislocated his hip. With his hip dislocated Jacob realized the
greatness of the One with whom he wrestled. We know that Jacob realized that it was actually God he
was wrestling because he said, “I saw God fact to face...” (v. 30). With his hip dislocated all Jacob could
do was hold on and cry for a blessing from this God-man. The Bible teaching us some interesting things
about being blessed. Hebrews 7:7 says, “Without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater.” So
by crying out for a blessing Jacob was acknowledging that God was greater than him. By seeking God’s
blessing he was humbling himself and exalting God. He realized that only God could provide the blessing
he so desperately needed and he believed that God was sufficient. God said to the apostle Paul, “My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). In his
weakened condition Jacob was able to believe in God and so God’s power was made perfect through his
weakness. But so many times we find it so difficult to do something so simple as believe in God.
3. CONFESS YOUR OWN SINFULNESS. - Jacob demonstrated his belief in the sufficiency of God by asking
Him for a blessing. However, God first insisted that Jacob tell Him his name. Why? Didn’t God already
know his name was Jacob? Of course. The name Jacob means “supplanter” which is one who displaces
another deceitfully. And that is exactly what Jacob did by tricking his brother out of his birthright and
stealing his blessing. So by speaking his name Jacob was confessing his true nature to God. By speaking
his name he was confessing to God that he had sinned against his brother. From this we learn the
principle that God will not bless a person unless they first confess their sin. John taught this truth when
he wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). And the Psalmist experienced this truth when he said, “Then I
acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to
the Lord’ -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). The greatest blessing that God can bestow
on a man or woman is the forgiveness and cleansing from sin and that blessing can only be received
when we first confess our sin to Him.
4. DESIRE A CHANGE OF HEART. - As soon as Jacob spoke his name and thereby confessed his sin, God
changed his name. For the Hebrews your name spoke of your character or nature. And as we have seen
with Jacob, his name certainly reflected his nature -- the state of his heart. By changing Jacob’s name
God was showing that He had changed Jacob’s heart. Now we read that his name was changed to Israel
because he had struggled with God and with men and had overcome. This overcoming came only when
he confessed his sin and had his heart transformed. It wasn’t that Jacob overcame God in the wrestling
match so much as it was that he overcame his sin by confessing it and desiring to be changed. We must
go beyond merely confessing our sinful heart and desire a changed heart -- a holy heart. In the book of

2. Ezekiel God promised to change our hearts when He said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit in you;” (36:26). We must desire a change of heart the way David did when he prayed, “Create in
me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Like Jacob we must
come to God with a genuine desire to be transformed.
5. ENTER THE PROMISED LAND OF FORGIVENESS AND CLEANSING.
Now humbled and weakened in himself, Jacob could enter the promised land because he was strong in
faith. In this passage Jacob began in the darkness of night which was symbolic of his spiritual condition,
but after his encounter with God the sun rose above him (God could have ended the battle at anytime.)
-- he had literally passed from darkness to light. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “*God+ called you out of darkness into
his wonderful light.” And again in Colossians 1:13 we read, “For he (God) has rescued us from the
dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”