Good morning Believers in the finished work of Christ.
We give glory to God for the gift of another new day, we thank God for the privilege of life and for His unending mercy and grace upon us always. Praise God!
Isaiah Chapter 43…
In this Chapter, we can see another promise of restoration. Let’s read…
Isaiah 43:1
[1]But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
If we look deeply into the above verse, we will notice how Isaiah carefully used his vocabularies…
Jacob was created but Israel was formed.
What does that mean?
Meaning that God created Jacob but something went wrong in his life right from the womb.
The same way God created Adam and Eve and something went wrong right there in Eden.
Who did this? The devil of course. That’s why God, who already knew what would happen did not condemn Jacob but rather transformed his life so he doesn’t have to be a supplanter anymore.
God intervened in Eden so that Adam and Eve wouldn’t have to die spiritual death as a consequence of their actions.
God knew Jacob would be polluted and He already got a new name for him.
God knew human beings would be polluted by the devil and that’s why He gave us a new name in Christ Jesus.
Genesis 32:27-28
[27]And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
[28]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.
Let’s now pay attention to why there was need for a transformation…
From Strong’s Lexicon, the Hebrew transliteration for Jacob is called “ya‛ăqôb”
Pronounced as: /yah-ak-obe/
And it means: heel catcher or a supplanter.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to supplant means:
👉To supersede (another) especially by force or treachery.
👉To take the place of and serve as a substitute for especially by reason of superior excellence or power.
How did he supplant or how did he become a heel catcher?
It all started from the womb…let’s read…
Genesis 25:23-26
[23]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.
[24]And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
[25]And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
[26]And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
That’s why when Jacob became an adult, he committed the crime of supplanting his brother by taking advantage of him two major times (birthright and father’s blessings).
Genesis 27:36(KJV)
[36]And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
We all knew that what Jacob did was wrong, but many preachers always blame Esau without addressing Jacob’s actions.
Even God didn’t approve of what he did. Yes, it’s true there was a prophecy that the older shall serve the younger but not in a way that Jacob went about fulfilling it himself without allowing prophecy to run its course the right way.
For example, God says you will be pregnant by the end of the year and because of that you went and look for a short cut claiming that the end justifies the means that after all God has said you will be pregnant.
Don’t be surprised when you start facing the consequences because God didn’t intend you to be pregnant the way you are going about it yourself.
The above is just an example. It could also happen in several other ways men have been helping God to make prophecies come true.
And that’s why Jacob needed a transformation as described in Genesis 32:27-28 (a transformation from a state of sin into a state of redemption).
[27]And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
[28]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.
Let’s look at the meaning of his new name…Israel.
The Hebrew transliteration for Israel is: “yiώrâ’êl”
Pronounced as: /yis-raw-ale/
Let’s look at the various interpretations for the Hebrew transliteration above as provided by prominent Bible scholars:
👉Josephus’s commentary: It means one that struggled with the divine angel.
From Rashi’s commentary: one who has prevailed with God.
From Whiston commentary: a man seeing God.
From Strong’s commentary: he will rule as God.
For me, I resonate more with Strong’s because the name Israel opens my eyes to God’s original plan for man, which is to dominate or rule the earth. To have dominion over sin and the devil himself.
We can now see how God transformed the life of Jacob from someone who was a supplanter to someone who has dominion authority like God.
Genesis 1:26
[26]And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
What God did in the life of Jacob was the same transformation He did in the life of every Believer to transform us and restore us to His original plan for us.
And this is exactly what Christ came to do. He came not to only open our eyes to see this reality. He also perfected the whole process through His death and resurrection.
We are gods on earth. We must take our rightful positions and rule the earth. We have been given the authority already. We need to make use of it.
Ephesians 2:5-6
[5]Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
[6]And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
To be continued…
Our Prayers for everyone on this platform reading this message:
👉I declare that God, who is the inspiration and fountain of hope, fills you all to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in Him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your lives and families with His super-abundance until you radiate with hope and with His power, in Jesus name.
👉Hear me people of God: God had not intended that your faith be established on man’s wisdom, but by trusting in His Almighty Power. I declare, begin to live in this reality, Jesus name.
👉Begin to rule and have dominion over every circumstance and situations, in Jesus name.
Bible readings for today: 1Samuel Chapters 13, 14 & 15 with Proverbs 26:17-28
I call you blessed now and always.
Tuesday May 19, 2020 (DDMI)
