CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jacob – What’s in a Name?
Selecting the right name for your business is important because it serves as a guide to you every day, always there to remind you of who you are, what you do and where you are going.
Great stress was placed on names during Bible times. A name reflected your heritage, your future and your character.
Abram (a high father) was changed by God to Abraham (father of a great multitude, or nation), describing the man and his vision. Ninety nine years old and childless, yet proclaiming before the whole world his vision of a nation of successors. Undoubtedly it also motivated Abraham to hold fast the dream of a great future. There is no discounting the value of a relevant name for your business and the need to proclaim it every day.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb.11:1)
Your name reflects the faith you have in your business, in yourself and your ability to achieve what you set out to do. In Biblical times a number of names were changed to reflect the believer’s new direction, new hopes and new faith in the future.
Simon - (hearing with acceptance or hears and obeys) was changed to Peter (a rock) unmovable, firm in his determination.
Saul - (asked for, demanded) was changed to Paul (little) a name describing his humility.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.(1Cor.15:9)
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;(Eph.3:8)
It fitted with his ministry of spreading the gospel to all – heathen and Jew.
While carrying the twins, Rebekah felt them kicking and struggling within her, and she went to inquire of the Lord, seeking assurance that all was well,
And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.(Gen.25:23)
Esau (the hairy one) was first to emerge, with Jacob hanging onto his heel. From birth he was called Jacob, a constant reminder of who he was and what was expected of him.
Jacob’s name means ‘supplanter’, one who replaces, who supersedes, who steps into the shoes of another. His name became his vision, his purpose and every time it was mentioned, he was reminded of his destiny. With this vision permanently engraved in his every move and thought, he set out to achieve his goals.
First, in a straight business deal, he bartered for Esau’s birthright, the right to inherit the larger portion of their father’s estate. Esau, only too happy to have his hungry flesh satisfied with a bowl of soup, agreed to the deal. No scheming or deception was necessary, but to seal the transaction and make it binding, Jacob needed his father’s blessing, but Isaac favored Esau, while Rebekah favored Jacob.
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.
And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:
My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. (Gen.27:1-13)
Jacob, free of the curse, could now become that which was his vision. Yes, he lied, to the blind Isaac, but Rebekah freed him of any guilt. Any doubts he may have had were removed and he received Isaac’s blessing.
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
(Gen.27:28-29)
What a blessing! With a blessing like that, one would expect the best of everything to fall into his lap. Good health, wealth, fame, but for Jacob quite the opposite happened.
Esau deceived, not only by Jacob but by his own mother, vented his anger, however, on the recipient of the blessing, threatening to kill Jacob the moment his father, Isaac, died. Faced with the prospect of death at the hands of a brother used to hunting and killing, Jacob fled to his uncle, Laban.
En route, Jacob had a dream, in which the Lord said that He would give the land, where Jacob slept, to him and his descendants, who would be as the dust of the earth, spread far and wide, and through them the families of the earth would be blessed. The Lord promised to be with him wherever he went and that He would bring him back. When he awoke, Jacob made a vow saying that
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: (Gen.28:20-21)
And God did indeed fulfill His promise, although it was to take another twenty years. Twenty years in which he met and fell in love with Rachel, but was tricked by Laban into marrying her sister, Leah. Twenty years in which he was cheated, and deceived, years in which he made deals with Laban, which Laban dishonored. But, in the end it was Jacob who came out the victor.
Deceiving his father had cost Jacob dearly in that he was forced to leave his home, he lost his beloved mother and had to start all over again, but in all his dealings thereafter, he was honest, and this brought him sons and great wealth at the expense of a conniving, cheating Laban.
So much so, that when Laban came to take back that which Jacob had earned with hard work and wisdom, Jacob was able to rebuke him from a high moral position and continue on his journey to his homeland, meeting Esau and making peace with his brother. The ‘Supplanter’ had supplanted both Laban and Esau in wealth and status. This is, however, not the end of the story of Jacob and his name.
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. (Gen.32:24-28)
No longer known as the ‘Supplanter’, but ‘Prince with God’, or ‘Contender with God’, or ‘Soldier of God’, or ‘Prevails with God’.
Whether ‘Prince, Contender, Soldier, Prevailer,’ all the world now knew Jacob as being ‘with God’. He carried his new name wherever he went.
The name of your business will describe you and what you do. It will advertise and draw people to you, tell them that you can be trusted and that, above all, you believe in what you do. It will be a flag above your front door, a beacon to those seeking that which you have. Consider your choice carefully; you have to live with it, perhaps for many years.