And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:28
Jacob grew up being reminded of who he was every time he heard his name. It’s like being called a name except in this case, it really was his name. It all started back when he was born. Jacob’s birth, like all of his life, was ordained by God and teaches us some very important lessons, one of which we shall see today. When the Lord answered Isaac’s prayer for his wife Rebekah to conceive (for she was, at this time, childless) He gave Isaac even more than he had asked for — instead of a child Rebekah was pregnant with children; two to be exact!
Jacob was the second to be born of the twins and he came out holding onto his brother’s heel, thus the name Jacob which means heel-catcher. Jacob’s brother Esau was nothing like you would expect a twin to be. When he was born he looked like a hairy garment (Genesis 25:25) whereas Jacob was, shall we say less hairy. Esau would eventually sell his birthright as the first-born son to his brother Jacob for a bowl of stew. So, you see that Jacob’s name continued to apply even as he grew into a man; he was still a heel-catcher.
The lesson for us from Jacob’s life is that, no matter who you were or who you are right now, you can, by the power of God, become who God created you to be. Many people grow up being called names and having negative things said to them and about them. For some, those words reflect who they were at that time. For others, their life came to reflect those words spoken about them or over them.
For Jacob, a wonderful thing happened; he wrestled with the Lord and the Lord prevailed. Jacob’s life was changed forever; he even walked differently from that time forward. And something else very significant happened to Jacob at that time — God gave him a new name. No longer will he be the one who is always holding onto the heel of his brother, he is now going to be Israel, which can be translated “a prince with God”. Jacob has basically become a whole new person with, not only a new name but also a new nature to go with the name.
You do not have to remain as you are or always be what you have always been. You, like Jacob, can have an encounter with God that will give you a new walk and a new nature and a new name. Everyone who knew Jacob growing up would know that his old name suited him and even defined him. If they saw him after this God encounter, they may have mistaken him for the same old Jacob, not realizing (and maybe even not able to comprehend) that he was no longer Jacob but was now, in fact Israel.
If you are born again, you are an entirely new person. Others who knew you before may think they know you now but, you are not that person they knew, you are a new creation in Christ. You have had your encounter with God and just as with Jacob, it was life changing. Any names people would call you before no longer apply to you. Now, you have only God’s word to define you. God has a new name for you just as He had a new name for Jacob!
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