Interesting Passage About The Biblical Jacob

[mtj]

Q. I’m confused about who wrestled with Jacob the night before he was to meet with his brother Esau. My NIV bible states it was GOD himself. My Chumash (Sages commentary) states it may have been Satan that wrestled with Jacob. If it was Satan why did he give Jacob the name Israel and why would Jacob ask Satan to bless him? If it was GOD, what was the purpose for the confrontation?


A. Good question.
Without a doubt, this section is indeed one of the most difficult to understand in the Bible.
The identity of Jacob’s assailant has been the subject of over 2000 years of speculation. Jacob didn’t know who ambushed him. He assumed it was a man; from Jacob’s view, his assailant could have been anyone — maybe even Esau himself! As the wrestling match continued, Jacob finally realized that he was fighting with an angel. The Midrash identifies the mysterious assailant as the guardian spirit of Esau.
The battle between Jacob and the angel represents the archetypal struggle between good and evil. Some of the Hellenistic Judaic thinkers suggests this entire episode reflected an inner struggle within Jacob’s own soul, and may have even occurred in a dream or vision. Given the surreal nature of the narrative I think this clearly was the case. Jacob’s struggle with the angel in terms of a visionary experience.
God wanted Jacob to know that Esau was not his real enemy, rather, Jacob’s himself! The angelic being Jacob wrestled was really a symbolization of himself. Once he learned to resolve his inner conflict, dealing with Esau would prove quite easy.
When the Sages described the mysterious assailant as Satan, they wished to convey an important symbolic lesson. In the Tanakh, Satan is not an enemy of God, nor is he a “fallen angel” — such a notion is a Christian myth. God uses Satan to test the moral caliber of a man, and in this case,
Again, let me reiterate that God uses Satan to help Jacob realize that his real enemy is none other than himself!

[Thor Twain]

It wouldn't surprise me if the whole show came down to something like this... something about the battle between good and evil within all of the characters... within all of US. I still wouldn't be happy with a dream, but just something along these lines where the whole show has been about redemption and the good winning out.

[mtj]

Ah, the eternal battle between good and evil.
It has raged for the longest time, and it still lives within each one of us.
And now, it's time for a Native American Parable...

In a tribal village, many years ago, a young Indian boy found the need to seek the wise counsel of his grandfather. He was filled with anger toward another boy he felt had done him a personal injustice.

Patiently, the grandfather listened to his grandson's version of the encounter. After a while, he said: "Let me tell you a story. I too, have felt a great hatred for those who have taken so much, with no sorrow for the wrong that they do. But I have learned that hatred eats at you ...inside... and does not hurt your enemy. It hurts only you."

"It is like taking poison and wishing that your enemy would die from it," he went on. "I have struggled with those same feelings many times. It was as if there were two wolves fighting inside of me. One was good and did no harm. He lived in harmony with all around him and did not take offense when no offense was intended. He would fight only when it was right to protect himself and his family."

"But the other wolf..." he said..."Ah! He was filled with much anger and the smallest thing would set him off into a fit of rage. He fought with everyone, much of the time, for little or no reason. He could not think because the anger and hatred gnawed at him from morning till night."

The grandfather stoked the campfire thoughtfully before going on: "I must tell you that it was difficult to live with these two wolves battling inside of me, for both of them tried their best to dominate my spirit." The old man pulled the young boy closer to him before proclaiming: "But after many years and much soul searching, only one of those wolves ultimately survived."

With overwhelming curiosity, the boy looked up into the leather worn face of the old man. "But, grandfather," he asked, anxiously, "which one was it? Which one of them lived?"

The grandfather sighed and looked out into a night laced with glorious stars and answered:

"The one that I fed," he said. "The one that I fed..."

If you go through all the LOST characters, especially the ones who crashed on the island on Oceanic 815, this battle within has gone on for years.
Except for Rose, Bernard and Hurley.
They seem to be the "golden ones".
But the rest of them, have violence, murder, addiction and anger issues.
So, if indeed, we are to see "redemption", I would guess it will be in the ending that has each of these characters learn to feed the "good wolf".
I think Sawyer was just about there.
That is why I am hoping that his love story with Juliet is not over.
I think there were a lot of undercurrents in that scene with Rose and Bernard, and what they said about love, as it pertains to Juliet and Sawyer.
In many love stories, it all boils down to sacrifice.
What you are willing to do, no matter what the sacrifice, to make sure that the one you love will be spared.
That was Juliet at the end of Season Five.
And I can see some redemption for her and Sawyer, if the writers hold true to the ending scenario they have promised us.
We'll see. :rolleyes: