28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”
I have read this passage many times and I have missed an important part of this verse. I have always seen the “struggle with God” part, but today the “struggle with man” jumped out at me. Jacob has been running from his past for years. He has repeatedly acted out his name, Deceiver. He got his brother’s inheritance, his brother’s blessing from his father, and most recently the wealth from his father-in-law. He is on his journey back to meet his brother and try to make amends. He has sent a tribute offering to his brother and he has stayed one final night by himself. During the night he has wrestled with God. He ultimately lost the wrestling match and spent the rest of his life with a limp. The final act before his wrestling partner leaves is a blessing. He gets his name changed from Deceiver to Israel, god-struggler. The reason his name gets changes is because he has finally confronted his sin against God and his sins against people. The moments spent alone in that place, apart from those he loved, forced him to face himself. He realized that he might lose everything he held dear in the next day or two, and he deserved to lose them. He had to face his own sin, wrestle with it, and ultimately recognize that it defeated him. He realized he lost the battle with sin years ago, but only during this night was he willing to admit it. In admitting sin’s victory, his name was changed. Have you ever wrestled with your sin? The part that struck me today was that he also struggled with men. His struggle was with God, but that struggle was played out in his relationships with other people, his father, his brother, and his father-in-law. That night he lost the battle with God and won the battle with people. When he admitted that God had won, that God had authority over his life, his battle with people ceased. And God changed his name to symbolize that change in character. Do you need a name change? Do you willing let God win in your battles with sin?
The Arnold Journey 