Jacob was an heir to the covenant promises of Abraham, but he did not realize the truth of his position in God, so he struggled spiritually for years. He did not comprehend his divine destiny or the fact that he was to be the father of Israel. He did not enjoy the provisions that had already been given to him, but manipulated and deceived others to try to obtain what he wanted.
Faith is a fact, but faith is also an act. What Jacob needed to do–and what we as believers need to do–is realize who we are in God and act upon that knowledge. You are an heir of God's promises! You do not have to struggle to receive these promises. You do not have to wrestle to claim them. If you are a born-again believer, you are already an heir of the promises of God.
The name "Jabbok" means a "place of passing over and of sudden advancement". At Jabbok, Jacob got a spiritual breakthrough and came to the realization of who he was in God and the promises he had inherited. Not only was his life changed, his name was changed. If you would know yourself as you are known by God, you would realize that not only has He created and redeemed you, He has endowed you with all of the tremendous promises of the Abrahamic covenant.
At Jabbok, Jacob lost his greatest natural strength. He was always running. Running from Esau, running from Laban, running in fear from his problems. No more. During the "wrestling match", Jacob's hip was supernaturally touched and came out of joint. Jacob limped away from that experience a new man--weak in the flesh, but changed in his spirit. At Jabbok, he received a new name: Israel. His new name represented his new nature, that of someone who had power with God and man.
At Jabbok, Jacob came to know God through relationship rather than religion with all of its associated trappings of vows, traditions, and memorials. How long will it take you to come to "Jabbok" spiritually? It took Jacob a long time, and many heartaches to arrive there. Years later, Jacob declared, "...the days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been..." (Genesis 47:9).
God knew Jacob's weaknesses before he ever chose him to be an heir of the promises of Abraham and the father of the tribes of the nation of Israel. So why did God chose Jacob instead of Esau? Because He had to chose between a man who placed so little value on his birthright that he would sell it for a bowl of soup and one who wanted it so badly that he would manipulate in order to get it.
"Few and evil have been my days"--that was Jacob's testimony. What will be the testimony of your life? What epitaph would be written upon your gravestone if you were to die today? How long will it take for you to come to your spiritual Jabbok?
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