The name, Israel, or Yisrael is mentioned over 2,570 times in Scripture. The first occurrence is recorded in Genesis 32:28 and the last is found in Revelation 21:12
In the first, Jacob wrestled with an angelic being. The whole world has been affected by the outcome of that encounter. With unyielding determination, Jacob clung to the angelic being. After wrestling all night, the Angel said, "Let me go for it is daybreak!"
Jacob responded, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The angel asked him, "What is your name?" "Ya'acov," was the tearful answer.
The angel replied, "`No longer will it be said that your name is Ya’acov, but Yisrael, for you have striven with the Divine and with human (yourself and evil men) and have overcome--and he blessed him there" (see Genesis 32:26,27,29-30).
Yisrael. It is a name given as a blessing. What does the name mean? How is it a blessing? Answers to these important questions provide both a picture of, and a standard for, the children of Israel.
"Jacob" is derived from the root word a’kov; meaning to seize by the heel; to circumvent (tripping up the heels); to restrain (holding by the heel); to stay; to supplant. Jacob was so named because he grabbed his brother's heel during their birth; and later, fulfilling his name by seizing the moment, Ya’acov acquired the firstborn blessing of his father.
The prophet Hosea, in chapter 12, foretold the future of Israel and Ephraim. He emphasized this wrestling match again.---"wrestled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor." There, our forefather confessed his name to be Ya’cov, one who acquires by supplanting. Then, after Jacob made lamentation, and after he prevailed, Yahveh called him, Yisrael
Then once more, this time at Bethel, the Holy One again appeared to Jacob, and He said to him, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name" (Genesis 35:10).
Of this encounter, Hosea says, "He found Him at Bethel, and there He spoke with us, even the LORD, the God of hosts; Yahveh is His name" (Hosea 12:4-5).
Yahveh Elohim gave Jacob the name Yisrael, and at the same time, there, "He spoke with us." Through this blessing, the Father (Yahveh) also spoke to Jacob's seed, to all who were in Jacob's loins when He called him Israel. He spoke to all that were to become part of "Israel." To those who will confess their sins and prevail in prayer that blessing still available for the asking. "Hold On!"
THE NAME MEANS--
The name Yisrael is derived from two words: "Sarah", a root word meaning to fight, to prevail, to have power as a prince; and "El", meaning strength, might, especially as in the Almighty. Moreover, "wrestled and striven" are both translated from the word sarah. In his encounter with the Angelic Being, Jacob demonstrated the ability to stand, as a prince." Jacob's struggle was spiritual, in prayer, as well as physical. And in it, the patriarch prevailed. Not that Jacob defeated God, but that he finally attained God's covenantal requirement of yielded submission....he persisted in refusing to let the Angel go until he had blessed him."
Jacob held on, and thus he prevailed. For these reasons, His name was changed to Yisrael, which name means:
A Powerful Prevailing Prince,
A Soldier of God,
One Who Rules With The Almighty.
Jacob was called to be Israel: a powerful, prevailing prince, a warring prince who would fight the spiritual battles of the God of Israel.
What can we learn from Jacob's experience?
Through repentance and perseverance, in the power and strength of the Almighty, Jacob was given the name Yisrael.
His call to be Israel was issued to him as a "natural" man, and it was a call to prevail, to be able, to be strong, to gain mastery, to triumph, to be victorious.
While in this life, in the power and strength of the Almighty, we must persevere and seek victory. Further, after Jacob wrestled with the Angel, he thereafter walked with a limp (Genesis 32:25,31-32). After we have a personal encounter with Messiah, we too will realize that the battle is the Lord’s. We are to rest in His strength and promises. We must "Pray without ceasing". The Battle is the Lord’s.
Lareshet Eretz! Possess the Land!
The people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel are called to be victors. God promised: "I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies" (Genesis 22:17).
The heirs of the patriarchs are to possess, to yaresh, the Land. They are to occupy, by driving out previous tenants and possessing in their place. They are to seize, inherit, expel, impoverish (literally), ruin, cast out, consume, destroy, disinherit, and dispossess the enemy. They are called to succeed-utterly. (Geneses 27:28)
Where is Israel to be a victorious possessor of gates? Israel is called to gain mastery in this world. For in Heaven there is nothing over which to triumph. Things already are in order there. Thus, Israel's prevailing, her "possession of enemy gates," must occur here on the earth.
Over what must Israel prevail?
Israel must struggle against, and gain mastery over, spiritual wickedness. The call is to "struggle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the powers and world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).
God's chosen people are called to destroy "arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Israel's heirs are called to fight-as representatives of Yahveh Elohim-while on this earth. (2 Chronicles 20:15,19,21-22) They are to fight a strong fight--and they are to prevail.
A REAL BATTLE
Remember how the Prophet Daniel was in prayer and fasting while seeking the Lord for wisdom and understanding for three full weeks. The Angel appeared to him in chapter 10 and said:
--"The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. I must return to fight with (him); and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come.
Daniel’s encounter establishes these great truths:
Even a prophet, greatly beloved and in fasting for three weeks was prevented from receiving his answer by the powers of darkness
Two powerful angels had to come together and fight this demon of Persia before one of them could come to Daniel. These angels and Daniel were alone, The people of God were happy in Babylon and not in their Prayer Closets.
And of greatest significance to us: We were warned of the Evil Prince of Greece who is with us to this day. This spirit was partially successful with Esther and Mordecia and later through Antiocus was even able to capture and to desecrate the Temple of God. Note how the "Heathen Rage" today; rest assured: "Satan is alive and well".
Spiritual warfare is no light matter and only through the power of God can we prevail! Where is your prayer closet and where is your prayer partner?
The Two-fold Call of Yisrael
''The above Truth must be tempered with this fact: "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." For our God is "Spirit" and to inherit His Eternal Kingdom, which is His Kingdom over Israel, one must be a "spiritual" being. (1 Corinthians 15:50). (John 4:24);
The call to be Israel begins here, with people living in flesh and blood bodies. The Creator's established pattern is, a seed is first sown in a natural body and it is then raised in a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:36-50) And the same is true for Israel. The call is twofold; it begins in the physical realm and is culminated in the spiritual.
Jacob was given his title because he refused to let go. He would not quit. So he was renamed Israel. Such is the call for followers of Israel's Messiah today. For Yeshua said, "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved" (Matthew 10:22).
Who Will Rule?
To be Israel is to rule with the Almighty. Thus, the "Who is Israel" question forces the next question:
Who will rule with the Almighty?
Sadly, some want exclusive rights to the title of Israel for the wrong reasons. They fight for it because they want to be preeminent. They want to be one who reigns. Yet, Yeshua said, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all" (Mark 9:35).
To please the Messiah of Israel, one first must become a servant of servants. Servant and Israel are inseparable concepts. Moreover, the title of Israel is a title that is bestowed. Jacob was given the name Yisrael. So it is for us. Only God decides if we are truly of Yisrael. Today men selfishly attempt to grasp the title unto themselves, but it can only be bestowed by the Almighty.
To find out what happened next to the blessing given to the one who wrestled and prevailed, we ask: To whom did Jacob give his blessing?
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