Jacob’s name change represented a change in his person. God can change Jacob into Israel, the crook into a prince. He can change sinners into saints. He can change a thief into a generous philanthropist. He can change takers into givers. He can change the angry into the peaceful. He can change a war lord into a peacemaker. He can change the selfish into the unselfish, the persecutor into an evangelist, the impure into the pure, the profane into the sanctified.
“So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:27-28 (NASB)
