Israel has risen and fallen, has been made glorious, and left in ruin. Through Israel, however, the ancient promise has come—
salvation to the world. And from this man came the actual name of this great nation that we have come to know and love. All you have to do is go back in the pages of biblical history to the story of one of God’s Chosen, a flawed yet believing man named Jacob, as outlined in the book of Genesis. Te story of Jacob’s transformation is one of my favorite por- tions of Scripture. Profound and multi- layered, this text pinpoints the moment in which our great Patriarch, Jacob, received his new name—Israel, henceforth bearing the name of the nation that would bring salvation to the world.
Before looking at this familiar text found in Genesis 32, I want you to have some insight on Jacob. Consider Jacob’s lin- eage—we could say that he is brought up in a believing home. His grandfather is Abraham, the father of the Jewish People, the one whom God calls out from the heathen nations, “cuts” His covenant with for the Promised Land of Israel, and promises a heritage through his son, Isaac. Tis promise is not only a blessing for the Jewish People, but also a blessing to all the families of the earth. God uses Abra-
ham’s example of faith as righteousness for all. Jacob has the faith of his grandfa- ther Abraham, and also the testimony and the life of his father, Isaac, as his heritage. His mother’s favorite, Jacob was a quiet man, perhaps even a bit passive (Genesis 25:27).
Very early on, in Genesis 25: 29-34, we see another aspect of Jacob’s personal- ity—he was opportunistic. We read the story of how Jacob traded for his brother’s birthright at a time when his brother is in need. Esau comes in from the wilder- ness starving, and rather than just giving him a bowl of lentil soup, Jacob trades it for his birthright as the firstborn son. Very shrewd—very opportunistic. Tat weakness of character is evident when, in Genesis 27, Jacob lets his mother talk him into deceiving his father in order to steal his brother’s blessing.
Te very name Jacob gives us a hint of this character trait. In Hebrew, Jacob, or Yacov, means “heel holder,” just as he came out of the womb grabbing his twin brother’s heel, and also means “supplanter.” By
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implication he is a deceiver.
Genesis 28 makes it very clear that Jacob already knew his calling when he had a dream at Bethel, where he saw the ladder to heaven with the angels ascending and descending—he had experienced visita- tions, and thus he had a certain level of commitment to God. He tithed. He had a revelation of who God was, and he was brought up in a believing home. He had character flaws, not unlike each of us.
DESPERATE AND ALONE WITH GOD In Genesis 32, we find Jacob is in an ab- solutely desperate situation. His brother Esau has declared his commitment to take Jacob’s life for taking advantage of him, obtaining his birthright, and stealing his father’s blessing through outright decep- tion.
Jacob has leſt home and is running for his life:
Tat night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. Aſter he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was leſt alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he
wrestled with the man. —Genesis 32:22-25
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