In the midst of wrestling with God, when asked what his name
was Jacob had to admit that he was Jacob.
He was a deceiver, a swindler, a schemer. (Genesis 32:22-32)
Being a deceiver, a swindler, a schemer, was a family trait. Jacob's mother, Rebekah, helped him deceive
his father to receive the blessing. (Genesis 27:5-17) After that Jacob went to live with his uncle
Laban, who deceived him by giving him Leah when he had served for seven years
for Rachel. (Genesis 29:20-27) Then
Laban schemed over and over changing Jacob's wages time and again. (Genesis
31:4-7) As Jacob was heading back to his
homeland with his family and goods, his wife Rachel, Laban's daughter, deceived
her father concerning the idols she had stolen. (Genesis 31:30-35)
We see that this was a family trait and it needed to
go. We may say "this is just the
way I am" or "that is just the way my family is." But if it is a character trait that is not
honoring to God it must go.
By asking Jacob to admit who had been, I believe God was
putting His finger on that thing in his life at that time so it could be dealt
with. In the wrestling encounter, I
believe God wanted to get at that core issue in the life and family line of
Jacob. That day when Jacob confessed who
he had been God gave him a new name, a new identity. Jacob was now Israel, which God had always intended
him to be. It probably took a little
while to not think or act in the same way he always had. Sometimes it takes a little bit to walk into
the fullness of our new identity.
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