A New Name
Isaiah 43:1 ESV
“But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.’”
Understand Isaiah’s words, He is a mouthpiece for God, and he calls Jacob (which means deceiver), who at this point has been called Israel (which means “One who struggles with God) for about a thousand years. I know that this may not look like an upgrade, but it was a promotion for Jacob. He put away his deceptive ways and followed after God.
So why, in this passage, is Jacob referred to by both names? Some have suggested that the name Jacob represents his old nature and Israel his new. That is, he is called Jacob when functioning in his carnal old nature, but he is called Israel when he is acting out of his new nature.
That makes sense. The person I was in my twenties does not feel like the person I am now. I don’t have a different name, but the significance is staggering. I was not a bad person, I loved the Lord, I was just driven by my emotions too much. Every so often the person I was, rises up his head and I have to suppress him to remain who I was designed to be in my new nature.
In Jacob/Israel with two personalities rising up, God assures the nation called after his later name “Israel,” “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine.”
It doesn’t matter who we were yesterday, as long as today we rise to the occasion and become who God called us to be. Yesterday’s life is in the past, it cannot change, but we can change today, we can restart our future by being all we can be in the name of Jeus.
God changed Jacob’s name; it was his fresh start in life. It did not always work out, but all Jacob’s life he tried to rise higher, let’s do the same.
Prayer:
Lord God, You have redeemed us, You call us by Your name that You give us as Your children. The old is gone and the new stands before us. We bury the old nature and put on the new nature that conforms to Your Son. Thank You Lord God, Amen!