Before Jacob or Esau was born the Lord foreknew them. Jacob he loved but Esau he hated. Esau is a type of the flesh. The flesh is unredeemable, it cannot be saved, and it must be crucified. Esau sought a place of repentance, but he could not find it.
But Jacob was different. He sought the birthright and the blessing of God and was determined to get it.
Jacob had a bad start, he came from behind. Inside the womb there was a struggle, the flesh always seemed to have ascendency-but there came a time-it’s called the breaking of day-When he prevailed.
When the man-child is born, it is caught up immediately to the throne of God. It is the manifestation of a son of God, one who walks in the spirit and never fulfills the lust of the flesh. It is the renewing of the mind, or the salvation of the soul, where the soul of man is saved or born-again. The mind and emotions are brought under the control of the spirit of man.
It is through our spirits unbroken connection-with the Spirit of God, that the thoughts of God flood the soul of man because his spirit is fixed-set on God. It is a conscious contact with God. A spiritual mind set. It is a walk with God.
Rom 8:6 for to be carnally (flesh, the seat of carnal desires) minded (the result of thinking) is death (absence of the life of God); but to be spiritually (mind of Christ) minded (the tendency or inclination of the mind, it’s bent. The will follows or obeys the dominant interest of the mind) is life and peace.
Isaac commanded Jacob not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, and sent him to the house of his mother’s father to get a wife, so he journeyed until the sun set and laid down and set his head upon a rock and fell asleep.
Gen 28:12 and he dreamed, and behold a latter setup (stationed, appointed) on the earth. And the top of it (head of a family) reached (to touch, contact,) to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood (to station himself) above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy Father, and the God of Issac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee I will give it and to thy seed.16) and Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate (entrance, a meeting area) of heaven.
The Lord revealed himself to Jacob in a dream-he saw the entrance-the meeting place-but it was out of reach. He even made a vow to God to tithe, but for the next 14 years Jacob got continually robbed and cheated, he could not lay hold upon the blessing-it was still out of reach. Jacob had another dream Gen 31:10 the rams which leaped (ascension) upon the cattle were ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled. The lord showed him how get out of a bad situation and come out of it prosperous, but he still had to deal with Esau the flesh.
Gen 32:24 and Jacob (he seized or he seizes. Heal catcher, supplanter) was left (remnant) alone (apart from); and there wrestled (striving. To bedust, bring to dust or powder, float away as vapor.) a man with him until (as far as, up to) the breaking (ascension) of the day. (Dawn, rising up) And when he saw that he prevailed (to be able) not against him, he touched (to strike, to reach.) the hallow (middle, symbolically and figuratively meaning “power) of his thigh ;( loins, generative parts, genitals) and the hollow of Jacobs thigh was out of joint,(dislocated) as he wrestled with him. And he said, let me go, for the day breaketh.(ascension) And he said, I will not let you go, except you bless me.(to bow the knee.) And he said unto him what is your name? And he said Jacob. and he said your name shall be no more called Jacob, but Israel;( He will rule as God) for as a prince hast (to persist, perseverance) thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him and said, tell me I pray thee thy name. And he said, wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel ;( to look into His face) for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. (Deliverance, to recover). And as he passed over (to go beyond) Peniel the sun (daylight) rose (to dawn, to shine forth, to break out) upon him, and he halted (to limp, to be lame, crippled, disabled) upon his thigh. (He limped on his hip)
Jacob was left all alone, no one could help him. This was something he had to go through by himself. He had to break through but he was powerless, all he could do was hang on and not let go of God.
When the Lord saw his determination that he would not let go of him no matter what- That he would not give up. When the Lord saw that the night was now almost over and that it was the breaking of day-He crippled him-He struck him in the private parts. The word thigh is loins in the Hebrew-euphemistically of genitals-an inoffensive term substituted for one considered offensively explicit. It is used in Gen46:26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body-(Loins. It is the testicles of man which produce seed).
It is through our acceptance of our powerlessness to produce, that we receive the Lord’s deliverance. First the Lord must cripple our natural power so that we never depend upon ourselves again. To be delivered is to be lifted up out of the realm of temptation-deception-darkness-into a different realm-the daylight.
Our whole attitude and outlook has changed, our thought life is on a different level-a higher place. Temptation for other things have no more power. We no longer struggle or wrestle with God, he has defeated us. We no longer have any other desires except Him
Jacob went through a personality change-his name was changed. His desire to be blessed came to pass because he would not let go of God. The Lord met Jacob in his darkest hour and God granted him deliverance by permanently crippling him-he no longer depended upon his own strength to produce.
God did for Him what he could not do for himself. He came out of the darkness into the light. It is in His light that we see. It is the breaking of day. The word breaking has several meanings in Hebrew. To go up, to ascend, to take away, to lift, to offer. It is an ascension to a higher life. It is the place Jesus prepared for us. The word is translated as mount up, ascending, light, leaped, cheweth, burn, recovered, offering. It is the burnt offering-the flesh reduced to ashes, the spirit ascending. It is to mount up with the wings of eagles, it is the fire continually burning-the lamp stand.