Hos 12:3-4 | KingComments | STEP | In attention is drawn to three events in Jacob’s life. These serve as examples for the whole of Israel, the twelve tribes. They are his birth ( ), his ‘victory’ at Pniel ( ) and the cleansing of his house in Bethel ( ). The first example concerns his birth. Taking by the heel can mean cheating. It is an allusion to the name Jacob, which means ‘heels keeper’. The explanation can also be positive, when we see that Jacob was, so to speak, already in the womb of the mother busy to possess the birthright, of which it turns out later how little value his brother Esau attaches to it. Esau sells his birthright for a dish of lentil stew ( ). However deceitful Jacob may have been, he has always been interested in God’s blessing and appreciated it. And that is what the people lack. That is why we can see in the reference to Jacob’s birth an exhortation for the people to stretch out and dedicate themselves to the blessing God wants to give. But not in the manner of Jacob. Jacob often wanted to obtain God’s blessing in the wrong way, namely through his own effort. He had to learn that this is not the way it goes with God. Moreover, his own effort makes him struggle with people. That way of doing things has to be unlearned and that happened with the second incident that is mentioned of him: his contention with God at Pniel. That is an allusion to the name Israel, which means ‘prince of God’ or ‘warrior of God’.

‏ Hosea 12:3-4

The Womb and Maturity

In Hos 12:3-4 attention is drawn to three events in Jacob’s life. These serve as examples for the whole of Israel, the twelve tribes. They are his birth (Gen 25:24-26), his ‘victory’ at Pniel (Gen 32:22-32) and the cleansing of his house in Bethel (Gen 35:1-15).

The first example concerns his birth. Taking by the heel can mean cheating. It is an allusion to the name Jacob, which means ‘heels keeper’. The explanation can also be positive, when we see that Jacob was, so to speak, already in the womb of the mother busy to possess the birthright, of which it turns out later how little value his brother Esau attaches to it. Esau sells his birthright for a dish of lentil stew (Gen 25:29-34).

However deceitful Jacob may have been, he has always been interested in God’s blessing and appreciated it. And that is what the people lack. That is why we can see in the reference to Jacob’s birth an exhortation for the people to stretch out and dedicate themselves to the blessing God wants to give. But not in the manner of Jacob. Jacob often wanted to obtain God’s blessing in the wrong way, namely through his own effort. He had to learn that this is not the way it goes with God.

Moreover, his own effort makes him struggle with people. That way of doing things has to be unlearned and that happened with the second incident that is mentioned of him: his contention with God at Pniel. That is an allusion to the name Israel, which means ‘prince of God’ or ‘warrior of God’.

How Jacob Prevailed

Jacob contended with God at Pniel. It has been said that Jacob wrestled with an evil angel. That should then be an interesting explanation that opens a new perspective. It would then have been a guardian angel of Esau. But that does not fit with the history mentioned in Genesis 32 (Gen 32:22-32). It also does not fit with what Hosea says here. It is clearly written in Hos 12:3 that Jacob contended with God.

It is also clear that God in the form of an angel contended with Jacob. Everywhere in the Old Testament the form God takes when He shows Himself to people is that of an angel. Often there is then talk of ‘the Angel of the LORD’. In our verse “Angel” should be written with a capital letter.

The point of Hosea in quoting this history is to show how Jacob wrestled and prevailed here. Jacob wrestled in his maturity. But that did not give him the victory. It was in that power that God had to strike him. God hit him in his hip muscle, which contains the strength to walk. From that moment on Jacob walks crippled, as a constant reminder of his wrestling with God.

Yet Jacob has prevailed. Not by his strength, but by his weakness. His weakness has become the strength by which he has prevailed. In this he has gained the experience of Paul, who in his weakness is told by the Lord: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2Cor 12:9a). Jacob prevailed by weeping asking God for mercy. He fought with the weapon of prayer (cf. Col 4:12). This does not require physical strength, but spiritual strength. Therefore, God always allows Himself to prevail.

The moment when someone begs God for mercy is always the moment when the fight stops and God is no longer an opponent, but becomes a supporter. You cry because you repent for your sins when you realize how much evil and wickedness there is in your life. You beg for mercy because you may trust that God will forgive all that evil and wickedness. Jacob won the victory by being weak. When we are lame and broken and can do nothing more than cling to God, we will experience His grace. Then God’s hidden treasures of blessing will open for us.

What a blessing it will be for Israel if they use Jacob’s method of fighting. What a blessing it will be for the Christian who learns to fight like Jacob did here.

At his birth Jacob has, as it were, already demonstrated that he appreciates the blessing of God by keeping his brother’s heel. In his fight we see that he receives the blessing by taking the right attitude towards God. Then there comes another event from which Israel and also we can learn the necessary things. It has to do with the relationship between God and His people. This is expressed in words “there He spoke with us”, which means fellowship.

It says “with us” and not ’with him’. Jacob represents the whole people. Hosea says as it were: ‘In His speaking to Jacob He spoke to us. What He says to Jacob there applies equally to us.’ A people that longs for fellowship with God has to get rid of the idols. That is what happened at Bethel. After Jacob cleansed his house, he meets God in Bethel (Gen 35:9-12). Ephraim and Judah should also do what Jacob did – cry out to God, humble themselves, get rid of the strange gods – but they did not do it.