Scripture: Genesis 32:22-38
Listen link: https://www.lcepc.org/Sermons
What’s in a name? Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” Naming things is a sign of authority and ownership. In the first pages of Genesis, Adam was given the task of naming all the animals, signifying his rule over them.
Parents name their children and we insist on that as a parental right. I really believe that most of the time people are trying to give good names to their kids. They also want unique names. If you have an ordinary name like Bob, there might be three or four of you in one class. Jason told me that happened to him. In one class his teacher said, “Jason, I need to speak with you.” And five boys got up and headed for the teacher’s desk. That’s not going to happen if your name is unique.
But there’s a lot of worse stuff that does happen to kids whose names are a little too strange. We might wonder about some of the names children are getting these days. There are some pretty strange ones out there. I googled it.[i]
Would you name your baby after your favorite car? Audi is alive today. How about: Adeline? Maybe for a girl, but there’s a boy out there with that name! I also found kids named Pilot Inspektor, Fifi Trixibelle, Daisy Boo, and Jermajesty Jackson. I read about kids named: Audio Science, Ocean, Moon Unit, and Buddy Bear (That’s not a nickname in this case!). Then there’s Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily (that’s one name people, for one unique child). Sometimes kids get named after things. There’s, Banjo, Facebook, Hashtag, and Camera (not Cameron, Camera! as in taking pictures). There’s Nutellla, Yoga, and Burger. Then there’s a little boy born in Sweden. They pronounce his name, Albin. But you just have to see how they spelled it (Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116). Ok, one last one for my grand finale on this fiasco of funny baby names. How would you like to grow up with the name, Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii?
Some governments do reserve the right to ban a name and prevent it from being used on a child. I’ll just share three real examples of that. The government of New Zealand barred a couple from using the names Fish and Chips, for their twins. In Norway, a woman was for jailed for two days for naming her child, Bridge. Then there’s Chow Tow. Thank goodness, the Malaysian government banned this name. Chow Tow translates to ‘Smelly Head’.
Maybe we can understand why government officials would step in sometimes to ban certain names. But, we still wouldn’t like it if a state law said that the local government should name all the children. It’s a parental right!
I wonder if the name Jacob was strange back when it was first used, back when a little boy earned that name just because he was holding on to his twin bother’s ankle as he was born. The name, Jacob, means “he grasps the heel.” That phrase is now a Hebrew idiom for “he deceives.” But I do have to wonder, is it that “grasps the heel” already meant “deceives” before Jacob was born? Or did a simple descriptive phrase that became a baby name, come to mean “he deceives” because of Jacob’s reputation?
The Bible says Jacob got his name from his first act as an infant. In that moment, Jacob wasn’t deceiving anybody. He was grasping at Esau. But God had said something about that little earlier. In Genesis 25:23, “The Lord said to [Rachel], “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
There’s nothing there about deceit, just ambition. But as Jacob grew up, there was something about his personality that came to shape his reputation, and led to every deceiver among the Jews being called a “Jacob.” When he took his brother Esau’s birth right, wasn’t that just a little too high a price for a bowl of stew? When God makes a promise, I don’t think we need to help him make it happen, or help him keep his own promise, by doing things that take advantage of other people, or hurt them in anyway. But Jacob, and his mom too, thought otherwise.
God chose one family for the purpose of building a new nation, but ultimately for the purpose of revealing himself to the world as a humble, approachable man named Jesus, who would offer himself to save the whole world from sin and death. We read about Abram, whose name God changed to Abraham. Then his son Isaac, whose name never changed because God gave it to him before he was born, and lastly Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.
The focus is on how God specifically cared for each one and made sure that His Covenant that began with Abram would be maintained through the descendants of Abraham that God himself chose for the purpose. The honest stories, showing the weaknesses and sins mixed in with the faith of these characters, prove that God’s sovereignty doesn’t depend on our obedience. That is not to say that God doesn’t care about our obedience. He certainly demands it of us as faithful stewards of the life and the gospel entrusted to our care and ministry.
Our story zooms in for a detailed look at Jacob’s reunion with his brother Esau after a 20-year absence. The reason this is important is because it is here, the night before they meet, that Jacob wrestles with God in prayer all night and receives the blessing anew, along with a new name, Israel.
Jacob was about to "face the music" with his angry brother. At least, all Jacob knew was that Esau was angry enough to kill Jacob. That's why Jacob ran away. He ran 400 miles away to Haran, and Abraham’s family. And now, he was only going back to Canaan because the God who had blessed him in spite of himself had clearly told him to go back without fear. It helped that we was also motivated to get out from under the thumb of abusive and oppressive Uncle Laban.
But he was still afraid of what Esau would be like. And the army of 400 hundred men approaching didn't look like terms of peace form Jacob's point of view. So, once again, Jacob did the best he could to improve his situation. He sent gifts ahead, with messengers to explain and perhaps appease his brother’s anger. I see his presentation of the gifts as very similar to what Jacob did among Laban’s flocks to increase his own prosperity. Then, he cut branches and notched the bark to make white spots on the limbs, to get spotted sheep. In both cases, Jacob did the best he could with the knowledge and information he had and the traditions of the culture he grew up in. He was trying to be wise and diplomatic. There's nothing wrong with that.
Earlier he had prayed this prayer: "“O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”"
After that, he got the idea for sending the gifts ahead. Perhaps it was inspired by God. But Jacob was still afraid it wouldn't work. He didn't have much faith in that. And it was also still true to his manipulative, conniving nature. So, it is highly significant that this is the night that Jacob really wrestled with God! He couldn't sleep! He was between a rock and hard place. And as he tossed and turned on his mat, thinking about what tomorrow may bring, he decided to get up and send his wives and all his possession to the other side of the river ahead of him so he could spend the night alone. That is when "a man" came and made Jacob's "wrestling with God" a most tangible event!
Before it was over, Jacob knew that this man could bless him. The blessing came in the form of the name change. And Jacob came to be called Israel. Truly it was a blessing to be changed from "deceiver" to "God fights." It represents a deep change in character, a change of heart. After it was over he declared that he had been face to face with God! A dawning awareness came with the dawn! And Jacob's faith in God grew to be greater than his faith in his own wisdom.
It was Jesus who came in answer to Jacob's own prayer. We know from the Bible that God always hears the prayers of his people and God answers those prayers to help (see Lk. 11:9). But sometimes God gives us what we really need, not what we think we need. This is why Jesus came to see Jacob. What Jacob really needed was to surrender himself to the Lord - not just his goats, donkeys, and children to Esau. He needed to be saved from his sin, and Jesus is the Savior who comes from heaven to give salvation to sinners. We know it was Jesus - that is, the Second Person of the Trinity, who later would be named Jesus - who came that night because Jacob said that he saw "God face to face" (Gen. 32:30). Jesus is the incarnate God who has a human face. The change of name, from Jacob to Israel, symbolizes Jacob’s rebirth into a new creature of saving faith.
And yet for all of that, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in Jacob's kids! The episode of the descendants of Jacob continued the "tradition" of manipulation and deception! When a sister was raped, they acted in anger, but instead of a direct confrontation of righteous judgement, they pretended to be friends and prepared to murder a whole village full of men for the sin of just one! Jacob's response is an accurate assessment. "You have ruined me! You’ve made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites."
And when you remember that these are the same guys who later almost kill their younger brother Joseph, and they don't change until they are nearly starved to death by famine, go to Egypt and get rescued by their younger brother and experience his grace toward them, you see how patient God is!
In the actual descriptions of these we see many different permutations of humans doing all kinds of different things good and bad. Above it all, and sovereign over all of it, we can perceive God as pursuing his dream of getting the humans to understand who he really is, what he is like and why their best interests would be best served by returning to God and walking faithfully with Him. We see this because, in spite of all the sins and failures of his people, God still said to Jacob, now called Israel, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
The point of all this is not just to teach us lessons about good morals and faithfulness toward God. The real point is to show how over and over again God maintains his faithfulness to his covenant and to the people of the covenant. In spite of human sinfulness, God makes sure that God’s will goes forward. Each person in the story is either God’s agent, when acting in obedience, or God’s instrument in spite of ignorance or rebellion.
It is always shown that faithfulness to God is better and more rewarding than any of the many kinds of things that we humans do to look out for our own interests. But the main thing is that in all these different stories we get more and more of a picture of God’s character and faithfulness. The Scriptures are not just to teach us morals. They are meant to introduce us to the one true God of the universe who loves us with an everlasting love, so that we believe in Him, receive his grace and forgiveness that we know is offered through Jesus our Savior, and learn to walk with him.
As we draw to a close, let’s look back at Gen 28:21. God spoke to Jacob at Bethel and promised him a great future. Jacob responded by building an altar to worship God. He prayed, “if God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God.” If, then. That’s conditional, as if Jacob thinks he can set the terms of a covenant between himself and God.
Then in Genesis 35, Jacob gets back to the same place. And God again offers the terms of the Covenant. “God blessed him, saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel. Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob. Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.
This time, Jacob simply makes an offering and says nothing. No deals, no ifs, ands or buts. What a difference the sanctification process makes when the Lord works in the life of His chosen. Also of note, even though the one who wrestled with Jacob at the river side did not give his name, this time, in this moment, God revealed his name, El-Shaddai.
Jacob knows who God is now. God has walked with him and wrestled with him and changed his name from Jacob, (which means deceiver), to Israel, (which means one who wrestles with God). He has found his place in the messianic lineage. As his grandfather Abraham before him, Israel too has been molded and changed.
Perhaps Israel is more contemplative now. He knows that he’s not necessarily who he thought that he was. He sees the struggles that his family is going through and the problems they are creating for others. It is a humbler man who stands here, more useful in his submission to God’s purposes. He has learned how it feels to be deceived. He has learned the value of commitment. And he knows the value of a good name.
God does a lot of name changing in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. There is significance in the way that God names his people. It shows his authority and sovereignty over us. It’s pretty much the same reason we get to name our own children. They are ours to name. Names are also an additional sign, besides the words of the Covenant, that God will care for and provide for his children. God is our Father.
We too, can give thanks to God for his patience with us. We learn from the Bible, as in Ephesians, 2:10, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance, for us to do.” Even Jacob lived this out and set an example before us of God’s faithfulness to mold us into usefulness for Him. It’s just amazing to consider! When we are born again, there’s a new name written down in glory!
Listen link: https://www.lcepc.org/Sermons
What’s in a name? Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” Naming things is a sign of authority and ownership. In the first pages of Genesis, Adam was given the task of naming all the animals, signifying his rule over them.
Parents name their children and we insist on that as a parental right. I really believe that most of the time people are trying to give good names to their kids. They also want unique names. If you have an ordinary name like Bob, there might be three or four of you in one class. Jason told me that happened to him. In one class his teacher said, “Jason, I need to speak with you.” And five boys got up and headed for the teacher’s desk. That’s not going to happen if your name is unique.
But there’s a lot of worse stuff that does happen to kids whose names are a little too strange. We might wonder about some of the names children are getting these days. There are some pretty strange ones out there. I googled it.[i]
Would you name your baby after your favorite car? Audi is alive today. How about: Adeline? Maybe for a girl, but there’s a boy out there with that name! I also found kids named Pilot Inspektor, Fifi Trixibelle, Daisy Boo, and Jermajesty Jackson. I read about kids named: Audio Science, Ocean, Moon Unit, and Buddy Bear (That’s not a nickname in this case!). Then there’s Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily (that’s one name people, for one unique child). Sometimes kids get named after things. There’s, Banjo, Facebook, Hashtag, and Camera (not Cameron, Camera! as in taking pictures). There’s Nutellla, Yoga, and Burger. Then there’s a little boy born in Sweden. They pronounce his name, Albin. But you just have to see how they spelled it (Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116). Ok, one last one for my grand finale on this fiasco of funny baby names. How would you like to grow up with the name, Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii?
Some governments do reserve the right to ban a name and prevent it from being used on a child. I’ll just share three real examples of that. The government of New Zealand barred a couple from using the names Fish and Chips, for their twins. In Norway, a woman was for jailed for two days for naming her child, Bridge. Then there’s Chow Tow. Thank goodness, the Malaysian government banned this name. Chow Tow translates to ‘Smelly Head’.
Maybe we can understand why government officials would step in sometimes to ban certain names. But, we still wouldn’t like it if a state law said that the local government should name all the children. It’s a parental right!
I wonder if the name Jacob was strange back when it was first used, back when a little boy earned that name just because he was holding on to his twin bother’s ankle as he was born. The name, Jacob, means “he grasps the heel.” That phrase is now a Hebrew idiom for “he deceives.” But I do have to wonder, is it that “grasps the heel” already meant “deceives” before Jacob was born? Or did a simple descriptive phrase that became a baby name, come to mean “he deceives” because of Jacob’s reputation?
The Bible says Jacob got his name from his first act as an infant. In that moment, Jacob wasn’t deceiving anybody. He was grasping at Esau. But God had said something about that little earlier. In Genesis 25:23, “The Lord said to [Rachel], “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
There’s nothing there about deceit, just ambition. But as Jacob grew up, there was something about his personality that came to shape his reputation, and led to every deceiver among the Jews being called a “Jacob.” When he took his brother Esau’s birth right, wasn’t that just a little too high a price for a bowl of stew? When God makes a promise, I don’t think we need to help him make it happen, or help him keep his own promise, by doing things that take advantage of other people, or hurt them in anyway. But Jacob, and his mom too, thought otherwise.
God chose one family for the purpose of building a new nation, but ultimately for the purpose of revealing himself to the world as a humble, approachable man named Jesus, who would offer himself to save the whole world from sin and death. We read about Abram, whose name God changed to Abraham. Then his son Isaac, whose name never changed because God gave it to him before he was born, and lastly Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.
The focus is on how God specifically cared for each one and made sure that His Covenant that began with Abram would be maintained through the descendants of Abraham that God himself chose for the purpose. The honest stories, showing the weaknesses and sins mixed in with the faith of these characters, prove that God’s sovereignty doesn’t depend on our obedience. That is not to say that God doesn’t care about our obedience. He certainly demands it of us as faithful stewards of the life and the gospel entrusted to our care and ministry.
Our story zooms in for a detailed look at Jacob’s reunion with his brother Esau after a 20-year absence. The reason this is important is because it is here, the night before they meet, that Jacob wrestles with God in prayer all night and receives the blessing anew, along with a new name, Israel.
Jacob was about to "face the music" with his angry brother. At least, all Jacob knew was that Esau was angry enough to kill Jacob. That's why Jacob ran away. He ran 400 miles away to Haran, and Abraham’s family. And now, he was only going back to Canaan because the God who had blessed him in spite of himself had clearly told him to go back without fear. It helped that we was also motivated to get out from under the thumb of abusive and oppressive Uncle Laban.
But he was still afraid of what Esau would be like. And the army of 400 hundred men approaching didn't look like terms of peace form Jacob's point of view. So, once again, Jacob did the best he could to improve his situation. He sent gifts ahead, with messengers to explain and perhaps appease his brother’s anger. I see his presentation of the gifts as very similar to what Jacob did among Laban’s flocks to increase his own prosperity. Then, he cut branches and notched the bark to make white spots on the limbs, to get spotted sheep. In both cases, Jacob did the best he could with the knowledge and information he had and the traditions of the culture he grew up in. He was trying to be wise and diplomatic. There's nothing wrong with that.
Earlier he had prayed this prayer: "“O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”"
After that, he got the idea for sending the gifts ahead. Perhaps it was inspired by God. But Jacob was still afraid it wouldn't work. He didn't have much faith in that. And it was also still true to his manipulative, conniving nature. So, it is highly significant that this is the night that Jacob really wrestled with God! He couldn't sleep! He was between a rock and hard place. And as he tossed and turned on his mat, thinking about what tomorrow may bring, he decided to get up and send his wives and all his possession to the other side of the river ahead of him so he could spend the night alone. That is when "a man" came and made Jacob's "wrestling with God" a most tangible event!
Before it was over, Jacob knew that this man could bless him. The blessing came in the form of the name change. And Jacob came to be called Israel. Truly it was a blessing to be changed from "deceiver" to "God fights." It represents a deep change in character, a change of heart. After it was over he declared that he had been face to face with God! A dawning awareness came with the dawn! And Jacob's faith in God grew to be greater than his faith in his own wisdom.
It was Jesus who came in answer to Jacob's own prayer. We know from the Bible that God always hears the prayers of his people and God answers those prayers to help (see Lk. 11:9). But sometimes God gives us what we really need, not what we think we need. This is why Jesus came to see Jacob. What Jacob really needed was to surrender himself to the Lord - not just his goats, donkeys, and children to Esau. He needed to be saved from his sin, and Jesus is the Savior who comes from heaven to give salvation to sinners. We know it was Jesus - that is, the Second Person of the Trinity, who later would be named Jesus - who came that night because Jacob said that he saw "God face to face" (Gen. 32:30). Jesus is the incarnate God who has a human face. The change of name, from Jacob to Israel, symbolizes Jacob’s rebirth into a new creature of saving faith.
And yet for all of that, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in Jacob's kids! The episode of the descendants of Jacob continued the "tradition" of manipulation and deception! When a sister was raped, they acted in anger, but instead of a direct confrontation of righteous judgement, they pretended to be friends and prepared to murder a whole village full of men for the sin of just one! Jacob's response is an accurate assessment. "You have ruined me! You’ve made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites."
And when you remember that these are the same guys who later almost kill their younger brother Joseph, and they don't change until they are nearly starved to death by famine, go to Egypt and get rescued by their younger brother and experience his grace toward them, you see how patient God is!
In the actual descriptions of these we see many different permutations of humans doing all kinds of different things good and bad. Above it all, and sovereign over all of it, we can perceive God as pursuing his dream of getting the humans to understand who he really is, what he is like and why their best interests would be best served by returning to God and walking faithfully with Him. We see this because, in spite of all the sins and failures of his people, God still said to Jacob, now called Israel, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
The point of all this is not just to teach us lessons about good morals and faithfulness toward God. The real point is to show how over and over again God maintains his faithfulness to his covenant and to the people of the covenant. In spite of human sinfulness, God makes sure that God’s will goes forward. Each person in the story is either God’s agent, when acting in obedience, or God’s instrument in spite of ignorance or rebellion.
It is always shown that faithfulness to God is better and more rewarding than any of the many kinds of things that we humans do to look out for our own interests. But the main thing is that in all these different stories we get more and more of a picture of God’s character and faithfulness. The Scriptures are not just to teach us morals. They are meant to introduce us to the one true God of the universe who loves us with an everlasting love, so that we believe in Him, receive his grace and forgiveness that we know is offered through Jesus our Savior, and learn to walk with him.
As we draw to a close, let’s look back at Gen 28:21. God spoke to Jacob at Bethel and promised him a great future. Jacob responded by building an altar to worship God. He prayed, “if God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God.” If, then. That’s conditional, as if Jacob thinks he can set the terms of a covenant between himself and God.
Then in Genesis 35, Jacob gets back to the same place. And God again offers the terms of the Covenant. “God blessed him, saying, “Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel. Then God said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations. Kings will be among your descendants! And I will give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give it to you and your descendants after you.” Then God went up from the place where he had spoken to Jacob. Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed the pillar with olive oil.
This time, Jacob simply makes an offering and says nothing. No deals, no ifs, ands or buts. What a difference the sanctification process makes when the Lord works in the life of His chosen. Also of note, even though the one who wrestled with Jacob at the river side did not give his name, this time, in this moment, God revealed his name, El-Shaddai.
Jacob knows who God is now. God has walked with him and wrestled with him and changed his name from Jacob, (which means deceiver), to Israel, (which means one who wrestles with God). He has found his place in the messianic lineage. As his grandfather Abraham before him, Israel too has been molded and changed.
Perhaps Israel is more contemplative now. He knows that he’s not necessarily who he thought that he was. He sees the struggles that his family is going through and the problems they are creating for others. It is a humbler man who stands here, more useful in his submission to God’s purposes. He has learned how it feels to be deceived. He has learned the value of commitment. And he knows the value of a good name.
God does a lot of name changing in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament. There is significance in the way that God names his people. It shows his authority and sovereignty over us. It’s pretty much the same reason we get to name our own children. They are ours to name. Names are also an additional sign, besides the words of the Covenant, that God will care for and provide for his children. God is our Father.
We too, can give thanks to God for his patience with us. We learn from the Bible, as in Ephesians, 2:10, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance, for us to do.” Even Jacob lived this out and set an example before us of God’s faithfulness to mold us into usefulness for Him. It’s just amazing to consider! When we are born again, there’s a new name written down in glory!
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