67 God Changes Jacob to ISRAEL

Jacob then wrestled with one that had the appearance of a man. We know this to be the Angel of Jehovah or a preincarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bereshit Rabbah says it was the guardian angel of Esau (BR 77: 3). Whether it was Esau’s guardian angel or not, Hosea 12: 5 identifies the “man” as an angelic being and not an earthly man. The wrestling went on all night until the morning. The text says that the angel did not prevail against Jacob. This is not because He was not able. Angels are significantly stronger then men. It was because He wanted the struggle to last. Jacob was going to come out of it a better more refined man. Finally when the Lord wanted the wrestling to end He gave Jacob’s thigh a debilitating supernatural blow like Isaiah received in Isaiah 6: 7. As a result Jacob’s hip was dislocated. Still Jacob would not release his hold on the Angel until He blessed him. Interestingly the Angel asks Jacob his name and he answers “Jacob.” The Angel then said, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” So God calls Jacob Israel, which in Hebrew is יִשְׂרָאֵל Yisrael, or a combination of the two Hebrew words sarah and el and it literally means “he who strives with God.” The word plays offer significance to our understanding of Israel and Jacob. He strove with Laban, Esau and God Himself as he took the Abrahamic Covenant he was prophecied to receive.