“Jacob: God Will Provide”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Most of the familiar names from the Bible, many of which are still
popular today, are actually compounds, incorporating the name of God. The
“ELL” sound, spelled “el” in English, is short for “Elohim,” the common Hebrew
word for God. And so in Hebrew the name “Michael” is actually “me-kaw-ale”
and means “Who Is Like God?” “Daniel” is “daw-nee-ale” and means “God Is
My Judge.” “Gabriel” is “gab-ree-ale” and means “Man of God.” This
is why so many names from the Bible end in “el,” all having a such compound
meaning in Hebrew: Samuel, Ezekiel, Nathaniel, Muriel, Ishmael, and nearly a
hundred more Bible names all ending in “el,” including Israel, “yis-raw-ale,”
which means “Prince of God.” The proper name for God in the Old Testament is commonly pronounced
“Jehovah” in English, but in Hebrew it’s actually “Yahweh.” This name of
God is abbreviated with the “AAH” sound, spelled “ah” in English. And so
there are nearly 50 names in the Bible ending in “aah.” The name “Isaiah”
is actually “yesh-ah-yaw” and means “Yahweh Is My Savior.” “Zechariah” is
“zek-ar-yaw” and means “Yahweh Remembers.” “Hezekiah” is “khiz-kee-yaw”
and means “Yahweh Is My Strength.” The name “Joel” combines these two
abbreviations, “yah-el,” “Joel,” and so means, “Yahweh is God.” When our son was born in 1993, we didn’t realize that “Jacob” was the
#1 boy’s name in Kansas that year. It seems that Kansas and our family
were trendsetters, because according to the Social Security Administration from
1999 thru 2012 Jacob was the #1 boy’s name in the entire United States every
year for an amazing 14 years in a row. Each year millions of couples all across America name their precious
little boys Jacob, but what does this ancient Hebrew name actually mean?
Despite having studied Hebrew for a college degree in Biblical languages, I
didn’t really think about the meaning at the time. I obviously like the
name Jacob. But, although it is a Bible name, the meaning of Jacob is
really not meant to be inspiring or complimentary, like most other Bible names.
It is actually more of a condemnation, even an insult. At the end of today’s Old Testament Reading, Esau, the brother of the
very first Jacob, says, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? He has deceived me these
two times!” That is a reference to the Hebrew meaning of Jacob, “ya-aqob.”
It is a compound of the Hebrew word for “heel,” “aqob,” and literally means, “He
Grabs the Heel.” This goes back to when the twins Esau and Jacob were
born. Esau was born first, and his brother came out grabbing Esau’s heel.
And so he was called “ya-aqob,” “Jacob,” “He Grabs the Heel.” But, it means more than that. The dictionary says that in English
a “heel” can mean a “contemptible person.” “Jacob” has basically the same
meaning in Hebrew, a contemptible person, in particular a person who is
deceptive, who takes dishonest advantage. “He Grabs the Heel” means he
doesn’t play fair, or by the rules. The British would say it’s “not
cricket,” or “according to Hoyle,” and he’s a “bad egg.” “Isn’t he rightly
named Jacob?” We see in today’s Old Testament Reading that Jacob was
indeed a real heel. Our Fall Sermon Series is on Life Lessons from the Old Testament.
These are not only positive examples, but also negative examples that we can
learn from. As Paul says in Romans, “EVERYTHING that was written in the
past was written to teach us.” There is such a negative example with the parents of Esau and Jacob,
Isaac and Rebekah. For, Genesis tells us, “Isaac . . . loved Esau, but
Rebekah loved Jacob.” That is the background of today’s Old Testament
Reading. The tragic results of this favoritism Isaac and Rebekah showed
toward their sons, which split apart their family, is itself a sad but important
negative example and lesson for all parents. A few chapters earlier in Genesis, we read how Jacob tricked Esau into
selling him his birthright as the firstborn son. But, there was still the custom
of fathers bestowing a final blessing upon their sons, and great importance was
attached to this blessing. So, Isaac could yet give special honor to his
favored son, Esau. Until, in today’s Old Testament Reading, Rebekah helps
Jacob deceptively steal that from Esau too. And it was all so completely pointless and unnecessary. For, even
while their mother Rebekah was pregnant with Esau and Jacob, the Lord had
explained to Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be
born of you . . . and the older will serve the younger.” The great glory of the Hebrew people was that the human ancestry of the
promised Messiah would be traced through them, as the Lord had promised Isaac’s
father, and Esau and Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, “Through your Descendant all
nations on earth will be blessed.” God had already decided even before Esau and
Jacob were born that the Messiah’s lineage would not be through Abraham, Isaac,
and Esau, but through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This fantastic spiritual honor and blessing was far greater and more
glorious than anything Esau would receive as firstborn. Jacob should be
assured that he and his line will endure and be greatly blessed, for through him
the Messiah will come. But, Jacob and his mother Rebekah, don’t trust God,
or treasure this spiritual promise and blessing. They were an extremely wealthy family, and Jacob and Rebekah’s focus is
instead on earthly treasure, material things. They fear that Jacob will be
left out by father Isaac, who favors Esau. And, so, Jacob lives up—or
rather down—to his unflattering name, and at the prompting of his mother he once
again resorts to scheming and deception. “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob?”
says Esau. “He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now
he’s taken my blessing!” It’s a really strange quirk of history that 4,000 years after this
family drama, so long ago and far away, here on the other side of the world the
#1 boy’s name —by far—in 21st century America is Jacob. But, perhaps that
is appropriate. For, like Jacob of old, we often focus more on material
things than spiritual blessings. Like Jacob of old, we often resort to
scheming and deception. Like Jacob of old, we are contemptible sinners in
the sight of God. Later, the feud between Esau and Jacob became so bad that Esau planned
to kill Jacob, and Jacob had to flee far away from the very home and all the
things he had schemed to get. But, that low point was also a turning point
in Jacob’s life. As he fled he had a dream, from which we get the expression “Jacob’s
Ladder.” “He saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to
heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There
above it stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father
Abraham and the God of Isaac. . . All peoples on earth will be blessed
through you and your Descendant.” At this low point in his life, when his schemes have all failed, when
his attempt to deceitfully inherit his father’s estate has forced him instead to
leave it all behind and run away, God reaffirms to him the promise of the
Messiah, the Savior. “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and
your Descendant.” That promise was God’s Absolution, God’s word of grace
and forgiveness, for the chastened, and despairing, and repentant Jacob. There is another Bible name with a very significant meaning. In
Hebrew “Joshua” is actually “Yeshua,” and means “The Lord My Savior.” The
Greek form of Joshua is Jesus. That’s what Jesus would have actually been
called during his lifetime, Yeshua, “The Lord My Savior.” And that’s who
Jesus is, the great Descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through whom all
peoples on earth are blessed, the promised Messiah, the Lord YOUR Savior. When your sinful schemes go wrong, when you are chastened and
despairing, when you reach that low point in life, God has also for you Good
News of Absolution, grace, forgiveness. As the Apostle Paul says in
Ephesians, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins. . . And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation.” Peter writes in his First Epistle: “Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an
inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—reserved for you in heaven.”
The life lesson we learn from Jacob is to treasure this promised heavenly
inheritance above anything earthly and material. Paul puts it this way in
1st Timothy: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be
arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put
their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” The solo which opened today’s service, which is a paraphrase of Psalm
42, puts it this way: “I want You more than gold or silver, only You can
satisfy; I love You more than any other, so much more than anything.” Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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