The life of Jacob in the bible was filled with conflicts
His many problems began very early in his young life
Jacob stole his brother's birthright aided by his mother
Twenty years after he planned a reunion with his brother
He was scared and feared his brother would still be angry
He gave Esau many of his cows, sheep, goats and camels
All were gifts from Jacob to make up for what he had done
It was his sense of guilt that made him try to appease Esau
The night before they reunited Jacob was extremely worried
He decided to remained on the banks of the river in prayer
The next morning he knew he would meet an angry brother
Sleep did not come to his tired eyes during his night of unrest
A strange man suddenly appeared to Jacob in the late night
The stranger began to wrestle with him until the early dawn
It is believed that Jacob wrestled with his own guilt and fear
As a man his guilty conscience appeared to fight with him
By the river the two men wrestled fiercely without speaking
Jacob dared not give in to the stranger because he feared him
He could not see the stranger's face but was extremely scared
The man touched Jacob's hip joint and it shrank from the socket
From that time the Jews ceased to eat meat with the hip joints
Because Jacob's hip joint was damaged so badly in the struggle
As a result Jacob walked with a noticeable limp until his death
Jacob named the spot "Peniel" where he fought with the stranger
The bible is filled with many such tales of the believers of Jesus
It is a privilege for us to have the bible to enjoy the living Word
Blessed are those who accept God's Words in their hearts as a guide
As we need daily food the Word sustains us until our journey's ends
copyrightŠIrene2009
