Behold the conqueror crossing the Jabbok. He is alone: no retinue, no court, no fighting men to give him aid. He has not the proud gait of the mighty, but leans upon a staff, limping from a fresh, debilitating injury. His bodily movements have not the strength and power of his brother, but betray a profound weariness, as one who has spent all the strength of body and spirit against an opponent too great for him. His eyes are red and downcast, weighed down from a night of sleeplessness and tears. His face is not young and fair, but creased with lines of care and grimacing with constant pain. About him is an aura of care, for he goes to meet his fearsome brother, he goes to meet his past.
Yet look closer at this wanderer, and a deep, concealed power can be seen. He has not the spirit of the broken, distressed man that he is. He looks about with confidence, as a man who sees an unseen host marching behind him and before. The promised Land he now treads is not just a distance concept, but a present reality; for he has obtained the promise and he walks with the authority of one entering his own birthright. Though beset by weaknesses, he is yet possessed of a terrible strength, for he has wrestled with the Most High and prevailed. Even his weariness and pain seem to be a princely adornment, for they are the marks of his weakness and prayer by which he received the blessing. The very presence of God himself is about him, and the sun shining upon him seems a token of this blessed company. He faces his brother and his past, but he faces them with a new name and a new character, for he is Israel, the prince of God. Many failures, sins, and defeats still like before him, for Israel is still Jacob. But though old Jacob resists, this is when his victory is truly won, this is when he conquers himself and becomes who God made him to be. Many dark and evil years like upon Jacob and his descendants before Joshua leads them to possess the land of promise, but it was on this day, at the fords of Jabbok, that Israel truly conquered the land. Behold the mighty victor! He possesses none of the strength David, the faith of Abraham, or the righteousness of Daniel, but he conquers nonetheless, for he who prevailed with God through prayer and strong crying cannot help but prevail with men. This is the day everything changed. This is the day Jacob became Israel and Israel became a Nation and a people. It was the day that a limping wanderer crossed the Jabbok with the Sun of Providence shining upon him.
