Jacob means deceitful, and is taken from the word “heel”, meaning “heel grabber”. Just as a heel is crooked, so his name connotates “not being straight “.
Jacob truly lived up to his name on the day when he wore Esau’s clothes, pretending to be him to steal his blessing. What you sow, you inevitably reap, and only a few years later he was tricked into marrying the wrong sister by Laban. Then later his own children deceived him with Joseph’s blood stained garment.
Deceit was his name, and the fruit of deceit became his life.
The Scriptures speak of God giving us a new name, and this new name represents a new character and a new identity. For Jacob this was publicly seen in the name of Israel, which was given to him. But privately God also gave him an affectionate nickname- Jeshurun – the straight one!
Just as God is transforming Jacob’s crookedness, to upright and straight behaviour, so God is promising us all a new name (Is 62:2, Rev 2:17). A new identity. A name that signals strength in the very area where we were weak.
Ps Enoch Lavender was born in Australia, raised in Norway, spent time living in China and is now based on the Gold Coast of Australia. He has been studying Hebrew and the Jewish roots of our faith for the past decade, and has a keen interest in the Middle East from a Bible prophecy perspective.
Contact Enoch and Olive Tree Ministries
0 Comments