Fully Devoted: Israel, Act 1Sample

Jacob to Israel

This arc of the biblical narrative started with a man of faith named Abram, who accepted the calling to go to a distant land and enter into a covenant partnership with God. Along the way, Abram’s name was changed to Abraham and he became the father of a son named Isaac. Isaac grew up and got married to a woman named Rebekah. 

God is building a family, and that family will become the nation of Israel. And the name of this nation actually comes from the next generation of Abraham’s family. While pregnant with twins, God spoke these words to Rebekah:

 ... “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” Genesis 25:23 NIV

Those twins were named Jacob and Esau. Esau was the older brother and Jacob was the younger. Before they were ever born, God told Rebekah that Esau would serve Jacob. This is not how the ancient world worked. The firstborn son was expected to lead the family after the father passed away. Because of that, the firstborn son was always given the largest portion of the inheritance to match the huge responsibility. 

But that’s not the case with these brothers. Over the course of their lives, we witness a sequence of events that seem to indicate that Esau didn’t really want the responsibility of being the firstborn, while Jacob was desperate for it.  

Jacob, whose name can mean “deceiver,” was hungry for the role of the firstborn. Through his cunning deception, he was able to scam his brother out of that responsibility because Esau was hungry for a bowl of soup. 

Jacob’s deceptive ways continued when he tricked his father into giving him the blessing that was meant for Esau. This led to Jacob needing to flee for his life. After arriving at his uncle’s house, he once again displayed tremendous hunger and determination—corrupted as before by his choice to trick and deceive the people around him.

Jacob’s life continued to be defined by good intentions worked out using bad methods. Then he had an encounter with God that changed everything.

So Jacob was left 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. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Genesis 32:24-28 NIV

Jacob wakes up in the middle of the night and jumps straight into a wrestling match that lasts until the sun comes up. Even after having his hip ripped from its socket, Jacob refuses to let go. He is so desperate for this blessing that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get it. 

And this man blesses him. This man gives him a new name. 

... “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Genesis 32:28 NIV

His entire life, Jacob had carried the name “Deceiver.” That name wasn’t just what people called him—that name defined who he was. But then, through a miraculous encounter, he was given a new name, and with it, a new identity. 

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Genesis 32:30 NIV

Jacob realized that he was actually wrestling with God. And his new name, Israel, literally means to struggle with God. 

Have you ever struggled with God? Have you ever wrestled with doubts? Have you ever been desperate for God to show up in your life in a miraculous way? You are not alone. 

In fact, this is the story that the Hebrew Bible is inviting us into. The rest of the Old Testament is telling us the story of Israel, the people of God, as they wrestle and struggle with God.  

It’s a story full of struggles, failures, and doubts. It’s also a story of grace, redemption and forgiveness. It’s the story of God and the story of us.

The same God who gave Jacob a new name and identity can, and will, do the same for you. What defines us, as disciples of Jesus, is not the sins of our past, but the grace of God—and that grace takes every part of us and makes it new. 

Journaling Questions 

• What verses from the reading today made you think the most? Write them down in your journal. 
• How has God changed your name as you have held on to Him? Write down some truths that direct your understanding of who you have been made to be in Christ.
• What do you think about wrestling with God, and how have you wrestled with Him?

Memory Verse

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV