Genesis 32:28(NKJV)
28And He said, “Your name shall no longer
be called Jacob, but £Israel;
for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
I found this
interesting today. (Actually I would
find it interesting any day) How does
one struggle with God and prevail?
Struggle against men and prevail I get, but prevail against God?
God is all
powerful. How can a man prevail against
that? He's quicker than man, smarter
than man, in better shape than man, more influential than man, how can a man
prevail against all of that?
Just don't get how
that is supposed to work. Let's take a
look at the definition of prevail
pre·vail
- to be widespread or current; exist everywhere or generally: Silence prevailed along the funeral route.
- to appear or occur as the more important or frequent feature or element; predominate: Green tints prevail in the upholstery.
- to be or prove superior in strength, power, or influence (usually followed by over ): They prevailed over their enemies in the battle.
- to succeed; become dominant; win out: to wish that the right side might prevail.
- to use persuasion or inducement successfully: He prevailed upon us to accompany him.
Pasted
from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prevail>
Oh, didn't realize
that's what prevail meant also. Jacob
was able to reason with and persuade both God and men. I get it now.
In the words of
Emily Litella:
I like how you explained this. My initial take of it was that it was a personal accomplishment...like he did let himself be defeated. He suffered through trials and tests and didn't let them overcome him. He prevailed through the struggles that God had as part of His plan for his life.
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