Hello again everyone! I pray that all is going well and everyone is blessed. I was going to write about the significance of names last week, but the Lord had me write a little more then I was expecting to write, so I decided to split it up! Last week I wrote about Jacob wrestling with the Lord and how we need to fight for our blessings, whether it be looking after the Lord, or taking it from circumstances in your life or from the devil himself. This week, I'm going to focus more on how Jacob's name was changed to Israel.
The first verses I would like to highlight is Genesis 25:24-26 which deals with the birth of Jacob and his brother Esau. "24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob." Jacob literally means "he grasps his heel". Imagine a man on the floor and he's grabbing your heels. When you try to walk, what happens? Either he is dragged around with you wherever you walk, draining your energy or you fall down. That's why Jacob "he grasps his heels" figuratively means "he deceives."
If you continue to read the story found in Genesis about Jacob, you find that the character of Jacob is a deceiving one. First of all, he steals the birthright of his brother as the firstborn twice! Then he works 21 years for his father-in-law, Laban. In the last seven years of working for his father-in-law, he promised to take the spot and speckled livestock (in other words, the blemished ones) as payment for his work. While working for him, he began to tend all of Laban's livestock, and, with some tricky maneuvers, steals the good livestock and gives Laban the weak livestock. Then he flees from Laban, taking his wife and children with him, and his livestock (at least he left Laban's livestock) without giving word to Laban. Finally, he reaches that river where he must cross and meet his brother, Esau, who wasn't the happiest with him, and he wrestles with God. That is where the Lord changes his name to Israel. The meaning of the name Israel means "wrestles with God."
Why would the Lord care to change the name of Jacob? It's just a name. Let's put it in literal terms. Hey, deceiver! It's time for lunch. Hello, my name is deceiver. I bless you, deceiver, in the name of the Lord. It's not just a name. To an extent, it's who you are.
Now lets look at the history of Israel. I don't know how much of the Bible everyone knows, but the Bible is not just some book that Christians swing around. It's a history book, the history of the nation of Israel. All throughout the history of Israel, you see Israel struggling to stay in the will of the Lord. First, under the command of Moses in Exodus to Deuteronomy. Then with trying to conquer the region of Canaan in Joshua. Then we see in the book of Judges the people of Israel constantly serve God until the death of the standing judge, then they fall into idol worship, back into the hands of God when the next judge comes into power, and then back to idol worship. We see the same problems when they asked the judge Samuel for a king in the books of Samuel. Then the same thing when they're ruled by the kings in the books of Chronicles and Kings, and in the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and the other prophets. And finally, we see their rebellion when they stumble over their own law and execute the Christ, the very man who came to save them. And even to this day they stand and continue to wrestle with God.
What about God? What about His names? He has hundreds and hundreds of names. You can tell me if each of these names describe who He is. Jehovah Jireh, the provider. Jehovah Nissi, the Lord is my banner. Jehovah Shalom, prince of peace. Jehovah Rapha, our Healer. Immanuel, God with us. Might Savior, our Horn of Strength, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our councellor, our Heavenly Father, Awesome God, our Rock, our Fortress, the Lamb, the Messiah, the Christ, OUR EVERYTHING! "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14) He is all you need. Who else is like our God? There is no one like Him. There is no god like Him, there is no one like my Rock and my Salvation.
What about you? What is your name? My name is James Alexander Hood. If you look up the meaning of my names, James is English for "He who supplants" and is ironically derived from the name Jacob. To supplant means to replace. The name Alexander means "defender of man, warrior." So I am the replacement defender of man in the Hood! All jokes aside though, every name has a meaning, and people often do not really seem to mind calling their children some interesting things. In First Chronicles 4:9, a boy was called Jabez, which is Hebrew for pain. Isn't that nice?
I believe that God gives us new names. Jesus changed the name of Simon (to hear, or to be heard) to Peter (rock) in Matthew 16:17-18. In doing so, He changed Peter's life and his purpose, and he became one of the greatest leaders of the early church. Your name today on this earth, the one your mother may have given you, is not the name the Lord has given you. I believe I have a different name. I am not a replacement defender of man, but I am a conqueror of man, a shepherd, and a worshipper in spirit and in truth. Most importantly of all, I am a servant of Christ. Now I pose to you a question. What is your name? What do you think God has given you as a name? Before you rush and post a comment with what you think your name is, I want you to go before the Lord and ask Him to reveal to you what name He has given you. I can assure you, something will come up that will tell you what your name is. Once you've done that, go ahead and comment and let us know =) God bless everyone, and may He keep you safe in the shadow of His wings.
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