State Wrestling

Tonight is the championship round of the traditional Iowa State Wrestling Tournament.  This is a big deal in the state of Iowa.  The tickets for tonight have long been sold out and many will listen to the event on the radio (on the station I work for of course) and/or watch it on TV.  Wrestling is a big deal in Iowa, it is something Iowa is proud to be the best in.

So, let me tell you a story about a great wrestling match in the Bible.

"That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.  After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.  So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.  When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.  Then the man said, 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.'

But Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.'

The man asked him, 'What is your name?'

'Jacob,' he answered.

The the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.'

Jacob said, 'Please tell me your name.'

But he replied, 'Why do you ask my name?'  Then he blessed him there.

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.'

The sun rose above him as he passed Paniel, and he was limping because of his hip."  Genesis 32:22-31

I will not write about this story.  Instead I encourage you to listen to my pastor's sermon on this passage because he did a great job of explaining it.  Follow this link and listen to the November 8, 2015 sermon today.

Photo courtesy of Radio Iowa