Day 5 – Genesis 32:27-28

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 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.” ^[1]

What is your name? What have you named your children? What, if anything, do their names mean? I often wonder what parents were thinking when I hear the names of some children. It seems that parents today are so reckless in naming their children, naming them after buildings, products, places they visited, favorite celebrities, and a plethora of other things. Names mean something. When we lay our hands on our children and tell them who they are, destiny is being spoken into them. Without careful thought to what we name children we are causing our children to begin their lives with a handicap.

Think of Jacob and the impact of what he was named on his life. Jacob was the second of twins. His brother came out of the womb before him and because he was red and hairy his parents named him Esau, meaning hairy, or in other translations, Edom which means red. His brother came out of the womb second grasping his heel, and so he was named Jacob, meaning, literally, “he grasps the heel” or figuratively, “he deceives.” Imagine living your life knowing every time someone calls you they are announcing you as a deceiver, and a liar. If you know the story of Jacob you know that he was named well. He stole his brother’s birthright and tricked his father-in-law, but he came by his qualities well. His mother and uncle, who were brother and sister, were tricksters.

Thank God we do not have to be bound by an ill-gotten name. Jacob eventually had encounters with God or with and an angel of God. It was during one of those meetings, at a place called Peniel, that the angel of the Lord asked Jacob his name and changed it from Jacob, a liar and deceiver, to Israel, meaning he struggles with God or, more importantly, Prince of God. This name change was later confirmed during another encounter at a place called Bethel (35:10). What is your name? What are you called? Not just your given name, but your nick name, your street name. Be careful how you name children, and what you allow people to call you. You may very well be speaking into being a character you do not want to have or your children to have. If it has already happened, it is not too late. Today an encounter with God can change your name and in the process change your character.

Lord Jesus, You are so gracious and kind in Your dealings with us. You put up with our foolishness and continue to provide us relief from the mistakes of our past. Some of Your people are hampered with names that neither give You glory or do them any justice. Give Your people today wisdom to carefully name their children. Bring transformation and change to other’s character as they wrestle with You by changing their name. From this day forth may we all be known by who we are in You and not by what, where, or who we have been, in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.