9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.
Now, I am confused. God told Jacob that his name from this point forth would be Israel. I like that because it clarifies for me that the children of Israel are God’s chosen and blessed children. However, I am disturbed by the scriptures that continually refer to Israel as Jacob and Jacob as Israel. We did not have that problem when Abram became Abraham or when Sarai become Sarah!
Perhaps that is why we have some fuzziness today regarding the preeminence of the children of Israel in God’s plan. We are reminded in scripture many times of the “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”, but how many times have you heard of the “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel’?
The light came on for me.
