Roosters have always fascinated me. Once we had backyard chickens and purchased a dozen chickens from a disreputable seller. When they hatched they were all Leghorn roosters. Coupled with that we had a little bantam with her brood which included 4 more roosters, so we ended up, temporarily, having 17 roosters in a suburban backyard making a great cacophony.
Whilst roosters can crow at any hour of the day or night, they primarily crow at daybreak which is why they are regarded as the harbingers of the sun. In Celtic and Norse folklore their calls symbolise vigilant warnings against evil, possibly why roosters can be found on weathervanes.
We know it was early (John 18:28) when Peter denied Jesus. The rooster had crowed twice. We also know that Peter cut off the high priest's servant's ear as he wrestled with the horror of Jesus being taken away to His death. Jesus had then told Peter to let Him go, that He had to drink the cup that the Father had given Him (John 18:11).
We have another incident in the Bible where dawn was breaking and a man wrestled with an angel to stop him leaving (Gen. 32:24-26). Jacob named the place, ‘Peniel’, “for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face’” (v30).
Think about further similarities in both these records. Both Jesus and the angel had missions that no man could interfere with, wrestle as they might. Both Jacob and Peter were blessed with name changes.
Jesus wants to wrestle our rebellion from us. "Like Jacob wrestling with the angel and asking for a blessing, our wrestling with the man of God will extract everything that hinders His control of us and will reduce us to complete surrender." (The Power You Have Available, p241). When you surrender you will be given a stone with a new name on it (Rev. 2:17) -- the name of our God (Rev. 3:12). What better blessing awaits those who love their Saviour and have made Him their Lord and King!
“Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.
They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Saviour.
Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob” (Psa. 24:3-6 NIV).