Recently, I read that Israel means "to wrestle with God." Since I know that the meaning of words can get distorted through translation, I decided to email a friend of mine (who's very knowledgeable about religious history, whether the word "wrestle," is correct. He wrote back...
"Yes. To wrestle, literally, according to a passage in the Old Testament...Jacob wrestled the messenger from God, and afterwards was known as Israel."
For some reason, I really like the concept of "wrestling with God" (literally), and I have a lot of respect for the ancient Hebrews for viewing such a term ("wrestler") positively.
We hear a lot of talk these days about "submitting" to God. Or "loving" God. Or holding God "in awe." And that's all fine and good. But there's something about the word "wrestling" that appeals to me - perhaps, ultimately, that's what we're actually doing with God! Wrestling for the truth. Wrestling for His acceptance. Wrestling for His protection. But He won't go down without a fight...Then again, neither will We...
-Todd
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