Why didn’t God say “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Israel”? Instead he uses the name of Jacob.
That is a very interesting question. As most of us realize, Abraham’s name was originally, Abram. We read in Genesis 17:5, “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.” Abram means: Father is exalted. Abraham means: Father of a great multitude. The Lord changed Abram’s name to reflect the promise of God to him. He did indeed become the father of many nations for we read in Galatians 3:28-29, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Genesis 17:19 says, “And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.” Genesis 21:3, “And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.” Isaac means: He shall laugh. When Abraham was informed that he would become a father through his wife, Sarah, he laughed out loud in wonderment and joy. We read in Genesis 17:17, “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” When Sarah was informed that she would become pregnant, even though she was advanced in years, she laughed within herself in unbelief. We read in Genesis 18:12-14, “Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Sarah did not have the faith to believe the Lord could do what was seemingly impossible, and she laughed at the idea. What a question for us to consider…IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD? Dear friend, every single promise from the Lord in the Word of God will be fulfilled. What seems impossible to us, does not even cause our powerful God and Father to concern Himself. There is no problem, there is no cause, there is no difficulty that is too great for our Lord.
Now let’s consider Jacob. We do not have the time here to consider the life of Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Of their birth, we read in Genesis 25:25-26, “And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 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.” Isaac means: He will take by the heel, supplanter. Genesis 32:28 tells us, “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.” Israel means: He shall be prince of God. Notice that the meaning of both of these names point to the future…He will; He shall.
We read in Exodus 3:6, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” We have this expression several times in the scriptures. However, the scriptures do, at times, refer to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. 1 Kings 18:36 says, “Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel…” 1 Chronicles 29:18 says, “O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel…” We see both Jacob and Israel used. Considering that both are used, it seems that Jacob is often used to differentiate between the man Israel, the ‘children of Israel’, and the ‘nation of Israel’. Exodus 19:6 says, “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy NATION. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the CHILDREN of Israel.” (250.2)