The one who fights with God

What biblical names tell us about God's grace

"I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". 9 times in the Bible God introduces himself with these words. Unfortunately, only a few people know this: There is an incredibly touching message behind them! This becomes clear when you take a closer look at these 3 people and their names:

The name Abraham means "father of many nations". Of course, this reminds us of God's promise to give Abraham countless descendants. However, Abraham did not always trust this promise. When his wife Sarah remained childless for a long time, he finally slept with his slave Hagar. This produced Ishmael and with it the permanent conflict between the children of Sarah (the Jews) and the children of Hagar (the Arabs) predicted by the Bible. The name "father of many nations" is therefore inevitably also linked to Abraham's lack of trust in God and the resulting conflict between his descendants.

The name Isaac means "God made someone laugh". This alludes to the incredulous laughter of Abraham and Sarah when the angel announced to them that the old Sarah would become pregnant. Isaac thus always reminded Abraham and Sarah that their trust in God also went through difficult crises.

The name Jacob contains the Hebrew word for "to deceive". Indeed, Jacob did cheat, especially when he used drastic lies to obtain the blessing of the firstborn. Accordingly, his brother Esau asked, "Is that why he is called Jacob, because he has deceived me twice now?"

So this means that when God calls himself the "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", he also calls himself the God of the father of (too) many nations, the laugher and the deceiver! Is this not inconceivable?

Apparently God is not ashamed of this. The failure of these people, reflected even in their names, does not stop God from standing by them and linking their names directly to his own!

We often read in the Bible that God stands by flawed people. The unsparing honesty with which the Bible describes even the most shameful failures of the great biblical heroes of faith is astounding. And yet God blessed all these people and even made history with them!

And this despite the fact that God often had to struggle with them. In Jacob's case, this even resulted in a tangible wrestling match, which led to Jacob being renamed "Israel", which means, among other things, "He who fights with God". This name has remained the programme throughout Israel's eventful history. And despite all these struggles, God has not ceased to call himself the "God of Israel" and to stand faithfully by this people.

So these people with whom God wrote history were not blindly trusting obedience machines at all times. They were people with faults, with weaknesses, with fractures, with edges, with a will of their own that did not always fit streamlined with God's will.

Obviously, God can deal with that. For despite all these quirks, God is downright proud of these people and praises them in Hebrews 11 as heroes of faith in whom he delights and "who were too good for this world". Wow!

That comforts me. Because God often struggles with me too. And I with him when I don't understand him again. But when God stands by these people so enthusiastically, it gives me confidence that these wonderful words also apply to me and my name:

"But now, thus says the LORD who created you, Jacob, and who formed you, Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name, YOU ARE MINE." (Jesaja 43, 1)