Jacob becomes Israel

Jacob is another one in the line of patriarchs whose name was given or changed by God, adding to my growing list of examples of the importance of NAME in God’s sight. Jacob’s case is somewhat different than the others, because the name switch does not appear to have taken root in our thoughts; we usually think of him as Jacob. We usally say, “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” not “Abraham, Isaac, and Israel.” His descendants, however, are known as the Children of Israel, Israelites, or Israelis.

God first told Jacob of his new name at the time of their midnight struggle – referenced by the prophecy in Jeremiah 30:7 as a time of Jacob’s trouble for God's people in the future. Jacob's new name has great meaning for those who sense they may go through that time of trouble, for Jacob (Ya`aqob) means "supplanter," while Israel (Yisra'el) means "God prevails."

27 So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
29 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. 

Genesis 32:27-29 (New King James Version) 

In verse 29, Jacob asks the name of the One with whom he had struggled, the One who gave him his new name, but apparently does not receive an answer. If it was answered is not recorded. Why? Or was the answer secreted away by those who have explained that the Name is so holy that it cannot be written or spoken by mortal man? What could the answer have been? Could it have been Yeshua? I wonder. We know that no man has seen God at any time, so if Jacob struggled with God (32:28) or God appeared to him (verses below), it would have to have been God's Son, known to us in the New Testament as Yeshua/Yahoshua.

God reiterates Jacob's new name:

9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.
10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.
11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 

            Genesis 35:9-11 (New King James Version)

While looking for God-given names in the Bible, I found some names I've never heard of before. I will review those next time.

On to Isaac

Now we are on to the next name, Isaac. I am hoping the detailing of these in the Bible named by God is not exhausting. I find it fascinating!

We can't forget Ishmael, who was named and blessed by God and also would become a great nation, as we today well know. After Ishmael was born, the child Abraham hoped would bear the promise but came to represent humanity's efforts to help God along where God seems to fail, along came Isaac, the child Abraham and Sarah had despaired of ever seeing; Isaac, who was born to them long after they should have been great-grandparents, had they only had children earlier in life.

18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 

Genesis 17:18-20 (New King James Version)

Isaac is a transliteration of the word Yitzhak in Hebrew, meaning "he laughs." Abraham and Sarah may have laughed in disbelief when they heard the Angel say Sarah would have a son in her old age, but when she became pregnant, they must have been full of happy laughter, and the day he was born, they probably sat together, holding him, laughing in joy for a long, long time.

In the verse above, Yitzhak gained a new meaning, "child of the covenant."

Abraham, Sarah, now Ishmael

Abraham and Sarah were long past child-bearing years, and since there was no apparent hope of any pregnancy any time soon, Sarah thought she would help God along with his promise to make Abraham the father of a multitude. She convinced Abraham to take her maid and produce a son for them. The plan was successful, producing an offspring who would become father of the Arab peoples and would have consequences for generations to come - for all the children of Abraham.

Ishmael, too, had a God-given name.  Here is the way the Bible tells how it was given:

10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”
11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her: “Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”   

 Genesis 16:10-12 (New King James Version)

Ishmael, (Yishmael) means "God will hear" - a foreshadowing of God's saving care for him and his mother, Hagar, when they were banished from the camp due to Sarah's jealousy.

"You shall call his name Ishmael." That has a familiar ring, doesn't it? It sounds like Matthew 1:21. Name IS important to God, even for a child that was not to be part of his covenant with Abraham. Why?