Focal Verse: "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.'" (Genesis 32:28)
This summer the ladies in our Wednesday night Mom's Bible Study are studying Women of the Bible. While I was preparing for a lesson on Leah and Rachel, I couldn't help but see something peculiar in my reading as I was studying about Jacob, Leah and Rachel's husband. The conclusion I've made about this peculilarity may or may not be correct, but I am certain the lesson is absolutely applicable. Bear with me a little on this one. We'll be going through a lot of necessary background before getting to the point.
In Genesis chapter 32, nestled between Jacob preparing to encounter his estranged brother Esau and his meeting up with Esau in chapter 33, is the story of Jacob wrestling with God. Although the passage isn't the easiest to understand, the point I want to focus on is God renaming Jacob, whose name means "he grasps the heal" or "he deceives." His new name, Israel, is what God chose to call his beloved nation.
Looking back a few chapters, we see that God renamed the patriarch of this nation, Abraham (who was Abram) and the matriarch Sarah (who was Sarai). Immediately after renaming them, they are both referred to by the narrator with their new names.
However, if you look at the events after Jacob wrestling with God and being renamed Israel, he was still referred to as Jacob. He wasn't referred to as Israel until Genesis 35:21. Looking at the placement of this change, it came on the heels of Jacob burying his beloved wife Rachel, who tragically lost her life in childbirth. He wasn't called Israel until after Rachel died.
Go with me on a sidenote for a second for a little more background on Rachel. You see little of Rachel's character in the Scripture, so it's hard to know if she was a godly woman. I have my doubts. What you do see of her is fighting with her sister Leah over having children. Even her motivations for wanting children seem questionable. After all, when her servant Bilhah had Jacob's second son, Rachel named him Naphtali, because she had "struggled with her sister and won." Also, when she finally was able to give birth herself, she named her son Joseph, which means "may he add," because as soon as Joseph came out she was wishing for another. But to cap it all off, Rachel stole her father Laban's gods as they were about to flee from him. And when her father came to look for them, she deceived her father to hide them. This doesn't sound like a woman who is dependent on God Almighty.
So that brings us back to Jacob. Jacob was in love with Rachel and in total worked 14 years just to have her as his wife. Even as Rachel was dying in childbirth and named her second son Ben-Oni, which means "son of my trouble," Jacob named him Benjamin, which means, "son of my right hand." Although Rachel's devotion to God may be a little hard to distinguish according to Scripture, Jacob's devotion to Rachel was crystal clear.
That brings me to a truth that is absolutely Scriptural, whether or not my theology on this particular instance is correct. Sometimes God may need us to sever a relationship with someone close to us for him to do his complete work in us. It's a very real possibility Rachel was a stumbling block to Jacob. She had his heart, but her own heart was divided in any kind of devotion to God.
(Now, before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I am NOT talking about severing a marital relationship. I firmly believe Scripture is clear that divorce is only permissable with infidelity, and even then I believe God desires to restore and heal the marriage in a way only He can. God is clear on His stance on marital vows. Instead, here I am talking about other relationships that may be a hindrance to us.)
Jesus said in Matthew 5:30, "And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." Obviously Jesus was using the hand as a metaphor, but his point was clear. Whatever causes us to sin, or separates us from God, or keeps us from doing God's work, needs to be cut off.
That might mean putting distance between a good friend and yourself. It might be ending a relationship entirely. It might mean finding another job if you're tempted to pursue an extramarital relationship in the workplace.
And on the opposite spectrum, it could mean separating from a spiritual colaborer so you can each be more effective in God's work if you worked separately.
After Jacob left Rachel's tomb, he traveled and settled in the Promised Land, the place God had planned for him all along. One reason I question my example of Jacob and Rachel is because even after he is referred to as Israel, the narrator switches back and forth between both names in the events succeeding this one. However, I still believe we can gain a valuable lesson through this presumption. Sometimes we will be required to give up that to which we cling in order to flourish in our spiritual Promised Land, being mightily used by God.
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