In the letter to Pergamum, Jesus addressed the victorious members of all His churches, those who overcome by holding to a faith in Him and seeking to follow His ways. He extends to them a new promise:
17 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes … I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it.’ Revelation 2:17 (NASB)
Just as we have been born anew through faith, Jesus promises to give us a new name. It will be intimate and private, known only to the two of us, just as we surrendered to Him alone in the hidden recesses of our heart.
God had given new names to His treasured followers in the past. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, started out life as a deceiver, which is what his birth name means. It then took a bigger deceiver, his father-in-law Labon, to humble Jacob over a twenty period of hard years, whittling down his self-reliance. When he finally fled with his large family, Jacob was caught between an angry Labon behind him and an angry brother, Esau, in front. With God’s intervention, he settled with Labon, but Esau had promised to kill Jacob because of his deceptions two decades earlier. This brought Jacob to his own point of surrender – he had to stop living life in his own power and schemes, and start relying on the living God. Here Jacob began to lean on his faith, and on the promises God had made to him, his father, and grandfather years earlier.
9 Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, Lord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the favor and of all the faithfulness, which You have shown to Your servant; for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. 11 Save me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. 12 For You said, ‘I will assuredly make you prosper and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be counted.’” Genesis 32:9-12 (NASB)
God met Jacob where he was. He wrestled with Jacob all night, coming to him in the form of a man.
24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have contended with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:24-28 (NASB)
Jacob had prevailed, seeking God with great persistence throughout the entire night. He finally gave up his pursuit of control through manipulative, self-seeking ways, and surrendered to the Presence of the Living God. At this moment, the Lord gave Jacob a new name, Israel, which means Prince of God, or One Who Wrestles with God. The Lord would make Jacob the anchor of His elect people, Israel, with Jacob’s twelve children becoming the twelve tribes. The fruit of this genealogy would be Jesus Himself, born of a virgin in the tribe of Judah.
God uses imperfect people to achieve divine results. He looks at the heart, and its capacity to turn from a reliance on self to a faith and dependance upon God.
Reflection
Like Jacob, many of us have also “wrestled with God”, by day or by night. The challenges within and around us build up to the point that we realize only a divine intervention by the Living God can bring us through to a successful resolution of peace. Those who overcome this world through faith in Christ are given a new and special name, a shared intimacy with Him that we will own throughout eternity in His kingdom.
We are redeemed by our faith in Jesus, through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.
Lord Jesus, grant us Your power by the Holy Spirit to live a life of faith, overcoming the challenges of this world in faith and purity. Help us to follow You, walking in Your name, loving and forgiving others with a generous heart. Grant us a new name reflective of our intimate walk with You through highs and lows of life, overcoming all obstacles within and around us, to see You and be with You throughout eternity. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Zion’s Glory and New Name
1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
2 The nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal headband in the hand of your God.
4 It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;
But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
And your land, “Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married. Isaiah 62:1-4 (NASB)
Times and Seasons - The Book of Revelation FOR TODAY 