What is Your Name?

From the day he was born, it was clear that God had called and gifted Jacob to further his divine purposes that the entire world and was the one appointed by God to carry the bloodline that would ultimately lead to the fulfillment of that prophecy.

Jacob was blessed and destined for a prestigious future. Strong enough to single-handedly lift a massive flat rock off a well to save three young men and able to wrestle all night with an angel of God. He was incredibly productive leader who had fled his homeland only to return a wealthy man.

But, Jacob was also woefully flawed - a person who desperately needed mercy and grace - and a new name. And because of the grace of God, he received it. In this series, we will see how flawed people experience the grace of God. And, we will see how that experience of divine grace leads to lives of significance.

The man said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel.” - Genesis 32:27-28

From the day he was born, it was clear that God had called and gifted Jacob to further his divine purposes in the world. Jacob’s grandfather Abraham had received a prophecy that all the world would be blessed through his family. Jacob, though not the first born in the family, was the one appointed by God to carry the line that would ultimately lead to the fulfillment of that prophecy.

Jacob certainly seemed like the kind of man who was destined for a prestigious future. Apart from Samson, he was probably the strongest man in the Bible. In Genesis 29, he was able to single-handedly lift a massive flat rock off a well that three young men were unable to lift. And, in the watershed incident of his life, Jacob wrestled all night with an angel and, apparently, would have won except that the angel exerted supernatural power to make him lame. 

And, Jacob was an incredibly productive leader too. When he had to leave his homeland to flee to another country, he was penniless. Twenty years later, when he returned, he had become what would be a multi-millionaire in our day.

But, Jacob was also woefully flawed. When he was born an instant after his twin brother Esau, Jacob’s mother saw him grab his older brother’s heel. Sensing that this was evidence of his character, she named him Jacob, meaning, the “heel grabber.” This was a Hebrew idiom for a person who used any means to grab what doesn’t belong to him. And Jacob lived up to that name. When we read his story, we find ourselves asking again and again, “Can God forgive and then use such a scoundrel for His glory?” And, the answer to this question is what gives us hope in our own walks with God.

Jacob, the grabber, is like us. He is a person who desperately needs mercy and grace. He needs a new name. And because of the grace of God, he receives it. In this series, we will see how flawed people experience the grace of God. And, we will see how that experience of divine grace leads to lives of significance.

The man said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel.” - Genesis 32:27-28