Was he filled with regret for his years of deceit that forced this fateful match? The divine messenger had wrestled the truth out of him, refusing to bless him until Jacob owned up to who he was. He confessed he was Jacob, the “heel grabber” (see Genesis 25:26). He’d played tricks on his brother Esau and father-in-law Laban, tripping them to gain advantage. The divine wrestler said Jacob’s new name would be “Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome” (32:28). Jacob’s limp represented the death of his old life of deceit and the beginning of his new life with God. The end of Jacob and the start of Israel. His limp led him to lean on God, who now moved powerfully in and through him.

Did his years of duplicity that brought about this disastrous match fill him with regret? The angelic messenger had extracted the truth from him, declining to provide him blessings until Jacob accepted his true identity. Admittedly, he was Jacob—the one described as the “heel grabber” in Genesis 25:26. In order to gain the upper hand, he had tricked both his father-in-law Laban and brother Esau. Jacob’s new name would be “Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome,” according to the heavenly wrestler (32:28).

Jacob’s limp served as a metaphor for the end of his dishonest previous life and the start of his new one with God. the beginning of Israel and the end of Jacob. He leaned on God because of his limp, and God began to operate strongly through and in him.