Reading the scripture today, I feel invited to Genesis 35:10. God speaks to Jacob and changes the man's name to Israel. This is the second mention of a name change for Jacob-Israel (See Genesis 32:28.). Are these two accounts in the Bible, because we readers need to be reminded, or because Jacob-Israel needed to be reminded, and God repeated the message to the man?
Shakespeare wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," implying that names don't matter that much. But in my experience names DO matter. What a person is called does have influence on who the person becomes. Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue" comes to mind.
This scripture shouts, "PAY ATTENTION," because God changes a man's name. Something startling has begun. Jacob-Israel will never be the same.
What new name does God want to give to you? To me? What changes are being made thereby?
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