What does Genesis 32:21 Mean?

Context Summary

There is a fulsomeness in Jacob's address to Esau, which sounds inconsistent with the noblest manhood and the firmest faith. Why should he speak of "my lord" Esau, and endeavor to appease his wrath with soft speeches and rich gifts? Evidently much had to be effected in his character before he could become one of the great spiritual forces of the world, and his supreme discipline came in that midnight wrestle. The Angel who wrestled with him could have been none other than the Son of man, who is also the Angel of the Covenant and Son of God. It was not that Jacob wrestled with the Angel, but that the Angel wrestled with him, as though to discover and reveal his weakness, and to constrain him to quit reliance on his own strength and to learn to cling with the tenacious grip of a lame man, who dare not let go, lest he fall to the earth. Ah, it is well to be even maimed, if through the withered thigh we may learn to lay hold on the everlasting strength of God, and learn His secret Name! [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 32

¹  Jacob's vision at Mahanaim
³  His message to Esau
⁶  He is afraid of Esau's coming
⁹  He prays for deliverance
¹³  He sends a present to Esau, and passes the brook Jabbok
²⁴  He wrestles with an angel at Peniel, where he is called Israel
³¹  He halts