From Jacob to Y'sarel

[Shmanu YAH]

shalom mishpacha, baruk h'shem YHWH - weh baruka h'ba b'shem YHWH , "blessed is your coming in the name of YHWH" ....Yahushua,

                                          I pray all is well with you and yours.

In this message I'd like to deal with the decree of transformation through name and purpose of the patriarch - Y'acob aka "Jacob".

When we first look at the birth of this man we see he is not born alone but a twin, in b'reshyth \ Gen. 25:22-26 we read: "And the children struggled together within her. And she said, If it be so, wherefore do I live? And she went to inquire of YHWH. 23 And YHWH said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels. And the one people shall be stronger than the other people. And the elder shall serve the younger 24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment. And they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel. And his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them". ... we see before their birth they were already at each other in the womb no doubt a "power struggle" even before they came into a world they knew nothing of. As their mother went to seek clarity of this problem she received a understanding she was not just carrying two sons but Two NATIONS, meaning they had to be strong from the very start.

We also read even tho Esau came out first, but his younger brother came out holding onto his heal showing this fight ain't hardly over! Esau may have been more physically powerful at birth but Jacob is a fighter and conquerer as prophesied in vs. 23 "the older will serve the younger". As we move forward in the chpt. 30:33, we see Jacob still trying to outwrestle his brother Esau by having the nerve to ask for something as important as a birthright for something as simple as a bowl of lentils and bread. He successufully negotiates aka "hustles" his brother but this brings up a question we all should ask ourselves: Is any man willing to sell his birthright for a pot of lentils, really worth that birthright? Well after mentally wrestling his brother and succeeding it's on to his father (... OH OH!)

 If you read Gen. 26:2-4 You will see Jacob is not alone in his path and destiny but his methods may be his own. As we forward to chpt.. 27:8-13 we also see his emah R'bqah aka "Rebecca" (a name meaning capturing\ fettering) gets involved and helps him to obtain the birthright blessing of his father Yitzchq aka "Isaac".

As we continue through these passages we see how the deal goes down with the deception of mother and son towards Isaac to get that coveted Birthright ( I guess Rebecca saw something in Jacob that Esau lacked). Like the prior hustle this was deception but still with a purpose. Now lets get to some - "what goes around comes around", In Gen. 29:18-25, After Jacob ran away from his brothers wrath He is tarrying with Laban and loved his daughter Rachel to the point he had to have her but we learn if you deal through deceit, eventually you may get dealt with in deceit. Gen. 29:18-, And Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter,19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man. Abide with me. 20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel. And they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her 21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. 23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him. And he went in unto her. 24 And Laban gave Zilpah his handmaid unto his daughter Leah for a handmaid 25 And it came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? Did not I serve with thee for Rachel? Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?, we see another hustle taking place but this time Jacob is on the receiving end ... Oh well. Jacob used machination to beguile his father but his father-in-law machinated him and we see he gets another 7 years out of Jacob just to give Jacob who he really wanted ... Rachel.

Still not to be outdone Jacob found a way to increase his wages of the flocks, we read in 30:37-42 this master supplanter even gets the mastery of the flock in both quantity and quality by peeling white stakes in rods and setting them before the animals to promote breeding ... this man can even manipulate beast! (through help of a dream) In 31:7 of this book we hear Jacob dialoging with Rachael and Leah about his father-in law-deceiving him and changing his wages 10 times (not to Jacob's benefit) and he tells them they must leave Laban and go back to the land of his kindred so Jacob waited till Laban went to shear his sheep and "broke camp" with wives, children and animals without letting him bless them, kiss them goodbye or bid them shalom ... now was that honorable?

As we get to why the name change we read in Gen. 32:24-31, And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was disjointed, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for thou hast striven with Elohim and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, said he, I have seen Elohim face to face, and my life is preserved 31 And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he limped upon his thigh.

In vs. 24 the word in Hebrew is "shchur" or what we call "dawn", he wrestled till the ascending of the dawn shows us: when the light comes ... there is no longer a need to for struggling.

remember: Wrestling was nothing new to Jacob be cause he was doing it with his brother even before he was born, we saw in Genesis 25:22-23,
And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of YHWH. 25:23 And YHWH said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.  .....- and decades later the Most High replaced Jacob's opponent from a physical one to a spiritual one!

In 32 vs. 25, we see Jacob is still a relentless fighter even when in pain. To understand the re-naming by someone who obviously has the authority to rename him lets look at his birth name: Y'acob which means "heel catcher" or "supplanter" as we have seen him being one that has NO problem "tripping people up" even if they are his family ( just imagine what he did to friends ).

I stated earlier when he wrestled his brother in their Mother's womb and came out second holding onto Esau's heel, he knew this fight ain't hardly over, ...well when he wrestled that "special being" sent from YHWH, this time he had to accept >>> this fight is over!!!

Now the new name is more important because it shows more importance than strife with mortal men but with with higher powers and he was and his seed will be ALLOWED to prevail.

The whole purpose of this wrestling match with this unknown being was to break Jacob down from his own strength and ways that he relied on and make him submit. If you know anything at all about wrestling, it not only requires strength but also balance and flexibility, when you wrestle you need to plant both your feet for stability and "get your best hold". As we understand the largest and strongest joints in the body is those Hips that holds the two largest bones in the body the thigh bones, If either hip is dislocated not only do you loose your balance you also loose leverage and consequently strength! Jacob was put in a position where he now had to finally stop fighting and start --> HOLDING ON .... OH OH! .

We read his name only now becomes not accurately "Israel" but more like Y'sar'el which means "rule With EL",

We have heard foolishness from the unlearned that this name is a combination of: ISIS , RA and EL ... pure stupidity! , In original Hebrew it's compiled from "Sar" which means "ruler" in the masculine, and "El" short form of "Elohym" which means in plurality "all mights, all powers". We see for Jacob \ Israel this was not temporary but a permanent physical affliction even till his final bed when he told his sons to make a promise to him in Gen. 47:29, And the time drew near that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me: bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt;. ...... (actually "under the thigh" also meant the testicles).  

This was a old traditional doing that we see back in Gen. 24:2-3,

that Abraham also did, "And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh. 3 And I will make thee swear by YHWH, the Elohim of heaven and the Elohim of the earth, ..... " In Jacob's case he had been crippled near that part (the hollow of his thigh) and Joseph was called to promise him near the point of his affliction.

Now going forward in our own lives are we willing to submit to the Most High YHWH or do we have to be broke down from our "so-called strength" like Jacob and MADE to hold on both physically and spiritually?

selah, ..... shalom