Jacob's New Name

This week in KPower, kids heard a story about what happens when God changes someone’s heart. Jacob, you may remember, didn’t start off very well. He was a lying deceiver who looked out only for his own interests. Nevertheless, God changed Jacob through quite a challenging circumstance.

Jacob separated from his brother and lived away for 20 years. During that time he had a family—a very large family! God compelled Jacob to return to his hometown in order to see Esau. Jacob learned that Esau was coming but that he had a large contingent of men with him. Jacob sent his family ahead of him and camped by a river.

During the night, Jacob wrestled with an angel who turned out to be God. In that meeting with God, God changed Jacob. In the morning, Jacob crossed the river. Instead of hiding behind his family in case Esau’s approaching group attacked, Jacob led his family to what was a glorious reunion.

Jacob’s meeting with God changed his life as reflected in his new name, Israel. Jesus came so that we might have a changed life, forgiven of sin (2 Cor. 5:17). Jesus’ death and resurrection provided sinful people with the way to be adopted into God’s family. When we are adopted into the family of God, we also receive a new name—children of God (John 1:12).

The Stolen Blessing

KPower continued its journey through God’s story by learning about a little sibling rivalry. Any child with a sibling can attest to the struggles that sometimes plague this special relationship. Jacob and Esau were no different. Jacob’s name means “heel grabber,” an apt description of who and what he was.

Esau despised his birthright in favor of some tasty stew that Jacob was making. The birthright was an important right in Hebrew culture, and for Esau to look on it with disdain was contrary to all that it was designed to do. Jacob took advantage of his brother and secured for himself a better familial position.

Jacob is a perfect example of why people need a Savior. He tricked his father into blessing him instead of his brother. Jacob lied and was a devious manipulator to gain something that wasn’t rightfully his. Like Jacob, we seek a birthright and a blessing that don’t belong to us, but we can’t lie, cheat, or deceive in order to gain it. Instead, Jesus shared His birthright and blessing with us when He paid for our sins on the cross and gave us His righteousness.

The Promise Reaffirmed

In the next installment of God’s story, we learned that God’s plan that began with Abraham extended far beyond his lifetime. When Isaac grew up, he started a family of his own. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, had twin boys, Jacob and Esau.

Today’s story is about the promise God gave Abraham. Abraham passed the knowledge of the promise to Isaac, who told the promise to his son, Jacob. In order to reaffirm the promise, God gave the promise to both Isaac and Jacob.

God’s plan didn’t stop with the promise He gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The promise was extended to Jacob’s descendants—and ultimately to an entire nation—leading to the birth of a baby boy named Jesus. Jesus fulfilled God’s plan to provide salvation and redemption for all of God’s people.