2250 AM (1510 BCE) – THE FLIGHT
Laban gritted his teeth, “Only because your God came to me in a dream and threatened me. Only because of that, am I letting you go. Everything you own belongs to me. Your children and your wives, your livestock and your slaves. They all belong to me, as do you.”
The hate in Laban’s eyes was so obvious and violent, that Jacob knew that every essence of Laban wanted to not only kill him, but all his wives and children. He looked back down at the pile they had just made and felt grateful for the local customs of the Chaldeans. Jacob would go his way, and Laban would go his, and one would never violate the sanctity of the treaty—not in Chaldea.
So, they went their separate ways. Jacob, and his wives Rachel and Leah, and all their family servants and strong men went with them in long caravans of camels, flocks, and men, headed to the first of what would be many oases along the route to some terebinth tree at Mamre near the place of Shechem in Canaan.
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As Jacob got nearer to Shechem, scouts returned and notified him that they saw Edomite encampments.
Jacob blanched.
Esau.
It was just over two decades ago that Jacob fled the wrath of Esau. Would Esau still want vengeance? Would he be another Laban? Jacob felt like he just could not get a break.
Jacob organized some gifts to send his brother, if only to see his intentions. He would send the gifts, and if attacked, he could send his family the other way. But that wasn’t necessary. Esau seemed ingratiated. He did not even want to accept the gifts. He wanted to accompany them and to provide them a place to stay and to celebrate their reunion …
Whatever.
Jacob had a date with the Creator of the universe at the Terebinth Tree at Mamre. They were so close. He could not allow distractions. They had at least two more days of travel. And after those two days of travel, Jacob was ready to send his wives to settle their tents near Jabbok, where there was water and a reasonable grazing area. But that would be two days in the wrong direction, so he would send them ahead.
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“Rachel,” Jacob said, as she and Leah turned to him, “I need to meet with Adonai in the morning. I will let you know how things go.”
Rachel looked deeply into Jacob’s eyes and then kissed him passionately, “Be safe. You want to take some of the strong men with you?”
“No,” Jacob replied without hesitation, “Adonai has brought me this far. Should I start doubting now? Besides, you know me, I can outdistance a horse!”
“I suppose so,” she smirked lightly, “always the clever one, you are.”
“Yeah. Well, take care of Joseph for me. I will be back in a few days.”
Jacob lifted his arm and touched Rachel’s shoulder, giving her a warm smile. After a moment, he grabbed his pack and left. The journey on foot to the Terebinth tree would only be a day and a half.
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He made great time. Evening arrived as he was just arriving at Penuel. He set his pack down and stretched. He was hot and hungry. His mind was deciding what to do for food, when suddenly he was tackled. Hitting the ground hard with a sickening thud, his attacker landed hard on him.
Jacob shrieked in pain, but then his adrenaline and survival instincts kicked in. Easily freeing himself from the hold, he used his legs to leverage the other person over, and landed on them, pinning their face into the dirt.
Just when Jacob thought he had his assailant pinned, he surprised him with a new maneuver, and Jacob would go flying. Unwilling to let go, he would use the momentum to pull, push, and toss his assailant along with him. Hours passed, and Jacob was sure that he would pass out from dehydration or hunger, yet his will would not break, and somehow, his strength did not fail him.
Even more hours passed. The attack went from terrifying to kinda fun to just irritating. But time and again, the tables turned, and then turned, and then turned again. Jacob could not defeat his opponent, but his opponent could neither shake free of Jacob nor pin Jacob.
And then a strange thought crossed Jacob’s mind, “You can’t fight someone this long without getting to know them. But you already know this person, don’t you?” And that was certainly true. Jacob did know this person—not that Jacob had ever seen this person or could even tell you his name. But there was some uncanny familiarity, no doubt.
Finally, Jacob got his opponent into a hold that surprised even himself. His opponent could not get footing or toss Jacob off. He could not even move more than a wrist, but that was more than enough. The greater light was starting to rise, as rays of light peeked warily over the distant rocks, when suddenly, the adversary touched the only thing he could reach, Jacob’s hip.
The pain was excruciating. Jacob wailed, but he would not let go. Finally, the man spoke, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
“Alright,” Jacob said, but held him firm as he struggled to escape, “only if you bless me, so that I know you are not my adversary.”
“Fine,” he said, as Jacob let him loose, and they both finally stood, looking at each other. “What is your name?” he inquired.
“My name? I am Jacob,” Jacob responded.
“Ah,” the man said with a light chuckle.
“What?” Jacob demanded, half embarrassed, half offended.
“Heel catcher. That could not be a truer name for you. But I have one yet better. You will no longer be known as Jacob, but Israel.”
“Israel?” Jacob scoffed.
“Yes, Israel, for this whole night you have wrestled with God and persevered. You will continue to wrestle with God, and you must still persevere.”
Jacob looked at the man, trying to understand the cryptic exchange. “Who are you? What is your name?”
“Why do you want to know my name?” the person replied.
Jacob just stared dumbfounded.
Then the person placed a hand on Jacob’s shoulder, and one on his head, and Jacob closed his eyes as he said, “May Adonai bless you in all you do. And may he keep you well where you are. And may Adonai’s face shine on you when it is darkest out, and still be gracious to you when you need it most. And may Adonai turn his face to you so that he may watch for when you have need. And may Adonai give you peace … so that you may stop running away.”
Jacob opened his eyes to thank the man for the amazing words, but he was gone.
Jacob looked around to try and find his pack. He noticed that the ground was disturbed by that night’s wrestling. And while a large circle of sand and dirt was violently displaced, what became surprisingly obvious to Jacob, was that only one set of footprints could be found coming to that location. Jacob did not know what to make of it. It was mysterious, indeed.
Jacob found part of a tree that he could use as a staff. He grabbed his bag and hobbled away. The pain in his hip was distractingly intense. There certainly would not be any more running until this pain subsided.
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With tenacity and great pain, Jacob could finally see the grove of terebinth trees ahead. The greater light was already getting well along in the sky. Cresting another long hill on the way up to Mamre, Jacob saw the Terebinth tree he was ultimately looking for. It was old and knotty. It was almost as wide as it was tall. It looked very worn. It looked as Jacob felt. It was, no doubt, the same tree that Abraham had met with Adonai over a hundred years before.
And there was a man standing there.
“Greetings, Jacob,” the man called out.
Jacob looked in amazed disbelief. It was his adversary. “You!” Jacob said in accusation, “You did this to me!” Jacob shouted, lifting his staff in the air, “Why did you do this to me?”
“Dear Jacob, I am not your adversary. You just think I am. I have a purpose to everything I do, and I need not answer to you.”
Jacob opened his mouth to argue, yet again, but remembered the teachings of his father Isaac, and gently closed his mouth, preferring to just listen.
Adonai continued, “You are wonderful, Jacob! You bring laughter and joy to everyone around you … well, almost everyone, anyway. I enjoyed our wrestling, but you have to understand that wrestling with me will cost you in the end. So, hopefully, I have your attention? Perhaps have humbled you a bit?”
Jacob contemplated his words, “I would say so. Definitely humbled, no doubt.”
“Look, Jacob,” Adonai started again, “I want to share with you this new thing I am going to do. I am glad you came home to Canaan, but Canaan … well, it’s not really your home. I am going to rename Canaan one day, after you, Israel. But first Canaan must be changed, as you and your people will have to be.”
Jacob breathed sharply. He thought to himself, “Israel? Really?”
Adonai answered his thoughts out loud, “Yes, Jacob, Israel. Really. You see, from you will come a total of twelve princes, and they will be the new nation I promised Abraham. But if you and that new nation stay here, when the sin of the Canaanites comes to its fullness in 400 years, they will either destroy you for following me, or convince you not to follow me altogether. Both would be disastrous to my plans for the world.”
Jacob shifted his weight. His hip certainly did ache, he was listening, but he said nothing.
So, Adonai continued, “For now, I want you to go be with your family and your father and live in this land for a time. But a time will come when I will need to move you all to a land that is not your own. It is ok. You must go. Still, your people will become slaves in that land. As a result, you will come to hate the false gods of that land. I will come to your people and deliver this promised nation from slavery, and you will reclaim this promised land here, in Israel. Now go and be with your family. They are waiting for you in Bethel.”
Used with permission by the author. Find the author’s complete works online: Complete Works of Mack Samuels
