John Calvin Commentary Genesis 32:26

"And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." — Genesis 32:26 (ASV)

Let me go. God concedes the praise of victory to His servant and is ready to depart, as if unequal to him in strength—not because a truce was needed by Him, to whom it belongs to grant a truce or peace whenever He pleases, but so that Jacob might rejoice over the grace afforded to him.

This is a wonderful method of triumphing, in which the Lord, to whose power all praise is entirely due, yet chooses that a feeble man should excel as a conqueror, and thus raises him on high with special praise. At the same time, He commends the invincible perseverance of Jacob, who, having endured a long and severe conflict, still strenuously maintains his ground.

And certainly, we adopt a proper way of contending when we never grow weary until the Lord withdraws of His own accord. We are, indeed, permitted to ask Him to consider our weakness and, according to His paternal indulgence, to spare the tender and the weak. We may even groan under our burden and desire the end of our contests. Nevertheless, in the meantime, we must beware that our minds do not become relaxed or faint; rather, we should endeavor, with collected mind and strength, to persist tirelessly in the conflict.

The reason the angel assigns, namely, that the day breaketh, is to this effect: that Jacob may know that he has been divinely taught by the nocturnal vision.

I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. From this it appears that at last the holy man knew his antagonist, for this prayer, in which he asks to be blessed, is no common prayer. The inferior is blessed by the greater, and therefore it is the prerogative of God alone to bless us.

Truly, Jacob’s father did not bless him otherwise than by divine command, as one who represented the person of God. A similar office was also imposed on the priests under the Law, so that, as ministers and expositors of divine grace, they might bless the people. Jacob knew, then, that the combatant with whom he had wrestled was God, because he desired a blessing from Him, which it was not lawful to simply ask from a mortal man.

So, in my judgment, the passage in Hosea (Hosea 12:3) ought to be understood: Jacob prevailed over the angel, and was strengthened; he wept, and made supplication to Him. For the Prophet means that after Jacob had emerged victorious, he was still a suppliant before God and prayed with tears.

Moreover, this passage teaches us always to expect the blessing of God, even if we have experienced His presence to be harsh and grievous, to the point of the disjointing of our limbs. For it is far better for the sons of God to be blessed, though mutilated and half-destroyed, than to desire a peace in which they will fall asleep, or to withdraw from the presence of God, thereby turning away from His command to riot with the wicked.