Israel: The Kingdom’s 42nd Immortal Generation
Today’s Focus: Introduction
Scripture: Genesis 32:24-28
Greetings Kingdom Citizens
This will be, in my eyes, one of the most unique but important topics I have had the privilege to study and to understand. You may ask why are we studying about Israel? We know that they are God’s chosen people and we know that we should love Israel or we will be cursed. We have heard all these things and have read them in scripture but what is the depth of our understanding on this topic. One of the things God has shown me in this season is an importance to understand who you are. This study will open your eyes a little more and moreover you will begin to understand why there is such a focus on shifting from the institutional model of church to the household model. Let’s get right to it.
The first time that we see the word Israel in scripture is when God changes Jacob’s name to Israel. In Genesis 32:24-28 we see the story of Jacob wrestling with a man till the break of day. Jacob thought that he was wrestling with Esau because remember Jacob stole Esau’s birthright and tried to gather all the spoils he could to try to make it right with him. However this “man” whom Jacob was wrestling with touched the hollow of his thigh and his thigh was out of joint. The “man” said “Let me go” and Jacob said “I will not let you go until you bless me”. Now the man asked Jacob what was his name? Jacob told the man his name. Now this is very important because names carried meanings in that day. The name Jacob means “supplanter, offender, crook or deceiver”. Now does this name fit the mold of who Jacob was? Absolutely because he used deception to steal the birthright. So Jacob telling the man his name was also a confession of what Jacob did.
Genesis 32:28: And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Now this is where it gets good. The changing of one’s name was a symbolic of the change of creation and purpose. The change from Jacob to Israel is to understand that Jacob wrestled with his past sins and overcame them by holding on to God. No longer is Jacob a deceiver (sinner) but now he is a prince (saint). So what does the name Israel mean?
Israel is the word in the Greek spelled Yisrael and this is how the word is broken up:
Yi – This is the masculine Hebrew word for “He”
Sra – comes from the root “sry” which means “to strive or to save”
El – The word for God
Israel in Hebrew is two words: Sarah (rule, strive, fight) and El (God)
So what we have is this meaning for the word Israel:
“He has striven with God or He has been saved by God or God rules”
Do we see this? So Jacob name being changed to Israel is to mean that God rules him and He has been saved by God. What was he saved from? His past sin. Now this is not the end of this story because the man would tell Jacob something very unique that you must remember because it will come back in this study to reveal a powerful revelation. The angel told Jacob in verse 28 that he was a prince and has power with God and with men and hast prevailed. What is a prince? A prince is a son of a king who becomes the inheritor of all of what the king has. Hmm, this should sound very familiar. So Jacob is the firstborn son of Israel. This is crucial to remember because this would become the type and shadow for the Immortal Generation of the Kingdom.
Peace, Love and Grace from the Father,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
