Jacob and Israel

For the Lord shall have mercy on Jacob, and will choose Israel,
and set them in their own land:
and the strangers shall be joined with them,
and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.

In reading in the Old Testament, we often see the pairing of two names, Jacob and Israel. These names have multiple meanings. The most obvious meaning is that Jacob and Israel are both names of a man. Jacob was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. He was given a new name, Israel, by God, after he repented of his earlier sins, and turned to God.

Jacob was the father of many sons, and so engendered the twelve tribes. The name of the father Israel therefore stands for the nation of Israel. Jacob is the name of a man who lived in sin, even though chosen by God. Israel is his name after he repented, and became the man God wanted him to be. Often the names of Jacob and Israel refer to the nation not the man, and are used in the some verse or sentence. In this case, they speak of the nation when in sin and separated from God (Jacob) and when in obedience to God (Israel).

The reference to God as the Father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob not only refers to God’s promises to these men and His relationship with the nation, but looks forward to the body of Christ. Jacob refers to the natural man, in sin and without God. Israel refers to the spirit-filled believer, in obedience to God.