theophany- short excerpt

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A short  portion of a article  with references to a theophany from The
Teachers Commentary........................................................


The wound of grace (Gen. 32:24-32). On the night Jacob prayed, he went out
to plan his own way to gain Esau's favor. He prepared a number of gifts for
his brother and sent them on ahead. He trusted God—and then took out
insurance.
That night a "Man" whom Jacob assumed to be an angel or theophany (a
preincarnate appearance of God in human form, v. 30) wrestled with him. In
the struggle the Man touched the back of Jacob's thigh. Some commentators
feel the ball and socket there were thrown out of joint. Others say that a
ligament (sinew, or tendon) was torn. Jacob was left with a permanent limp.
Sometimes a wound is a very special act of God's grace. Jacob struggled to
hold onto the man, for after suffering the wound he must have realized how
much more powerful this Visitor was than he himself, and he wanted His
blessing.
How often we need to be wounded for the same reason! It's easy for us to
trust our own skills and abilities. But sometimes a wound (physically, or
in a broken relationship, or in the failure of a much-loved plan) will
remind us to cling to God again, totally dependent on Him for blessing. How
good it is that God doesn't hold back from hurting us—for our own good.
In this experience Jacob received a new name: Israel, "he who strives with
God." Jacob had struggled with God, refusing to give up until God blessed
him. That name may well represent the transformation of character that had
begun in Jacob. But now the wound remained, a constant reminder of Jacob's
need for God. A Jacob wholly dependent on God can become an Israel. What
can we become if we let each wound draw us closer to the Lord and make us
more dependent on Him?

May God Bless.
Lynna Lunsford

Ephesians 4:5
One Lord, One faith, One Baptism