Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.
Asking for a name is asking for an understanding of the individual. By asking for the name, Jacob is looking to understand the nature of the Man who is God. But the Man returns with a question which is in itself an answer.
“Why is it that you ask about my name?”
The answer is that no answer will be given. And the answer is that the nature of the person, which is reflected in the name, should already be understood even if the name isn’t known. In other words, “You don’t need my name, you know already who I am.”
The giving of a name implies ownership of a person or thing. Just as God changed Abraham and Sarah’s name, the Lord changed Jacob’s. The ownership is understood in the act. Following the question, the blessing is given. God has blessed the man because He is pleased when a man dependent on Him requests a blessing.
In order to bring about such an event in any of us, God will begin with our senses. We are physical beings and so He will use our physical experiences. But we are also rational beings and so He will come to us through our memories, our reason, our logic.
And finally we are spiritual beings and so He will come to us by communing with us on a spiritual level. This is how He meets with Jacob; this is how He deals with Israel; and this is how He deals with us.
May we allow Him to deal with us as individuals seeking His approval and not man’s?
Taken from Charlie Garrett
Thank you & Blessings
Rev. Nosipho Cele