Descendants of Jacob.

Now Faith in Jesus.

God’s chosen were the descendants of Jacob

Jacobs name was changed to Israel when he learned to let God prevail.

In the Bible, in the Old Testament, the area often referred to as Israel—and described as the chosen—was not a political nation-state as people think of today. It was the people of Canaan, Judah, the Promised Land, the descendants of Jacob. I think some people are confused because, in the Bible, the term nations refers to people as groups, not modern political entities. This is also true for the word neighbor. It does not mean the person next door; it means all people. What I see is widespread misguidance and confusion, even in simpler teachings—such as “do not swear.” That does not mean not to use a swear word; it means do not swear oaths on things. Simply answer truthfully with a yes or no. Swearing on things outside your agreements with God is a trap. That is the way of Satan. Don’t fall for the trick. Just answer yes or no, in truth.

God knows who He speaks to. When you speak to God, He already knows everything you will say—long before you say it. He knows the beginning and the end. No one can fool or trick God, but Satan works very hard to fool people. In the Bible, it is important not just to read, but to understand the words and their context. There are commandments from God, and Jesus outlined them clearly: love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and second to that, love everyone. You can read the entire Bible—Old Testament and New Testament—and everything important is rooted in love and truth from God to you, always grounded in love. The true answer to almost every question will express itself through love. This is a big story.

What I think is most confusing of all is that most people don’t know the fullness of the story. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Jacob demonstrated his willingness to let God prevail, and God changed his name to Israel—meaning, let God prevail. In the history of the story, the chosen were people, not borders. Today, I do what I always do: I search for truth. In searching for truth, I discover what I cannot change. Knowing the truth does not change the truth—it reveals it. Jacob being renamed Israel opened the door to misguidance that I could see. God’s chosen were the descendants of Jacob.

While the passage in Isaiah 44 specifically addresses the historical people of Israel as God’s chosen, The New Testament, being “chosen” is no longer based on ethnicity or lineage, but on a personal faith relationship with Jesus.

The New Testament makes clear that both Jews and Gentiles are invited into God’s people through faith. The focus shifts from national or ethnic identity to spiritual identity in Christ. Passages such as John 15, Romans 11, and Ephesians 1 explain this covenant relationship, where people are called, chosen, and grafted in by God’s grace through faith.

Historical Israel remains significant in biblical history and prophecy, but the means of belonging to God in the present age is through Jesus. This does not erase Israel’s story—it fulfills it.

Jacob’s Name Changed to Israel (Genesis 32)

Jacob rose in the night, took his wives, his eleven children, and all he owned, and crossed the Jabbok River. Afterward, Jacob remained alone.

A man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw he could not overpower Jacob, he struck Jacob’s hip and dislocated it. They continued wrestling, and the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have wrestled with God and with men and have prevailed.”

Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.”

But the man said, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.

Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” The sun rose as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. To this day, the people of Israel do not eat the muscle attached to the hip, because it was struck.

The Meaning of the Name Israel

God’s “chosen” were the descendants of the patriarch Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. The name Israel has several related interpretations, all centered on a struggle involving God.

The most common biblical explanation, given in Genesis 32:28, is that Israel means “you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” This reflects Jacob’s wrestling and endurance.

However, many Hebrew scholars also point to another valid interpretation: “God will rule” or “let God prevail.” In this reading, God is the subject of the action, not the one being acted upon. This emphasizes Jacob’s surrender—his willingness to let God be supreme.

Jacob’s original name meant “heel-grabber” or “supplanter,” reflecting his earlier life. The change to Israel marked transformation, humility, and alignment with God. From that moment on, his descendants were known as the children of Israel—not as a political state, but as a people in covenant with God.

In the Bible, Israel was never a political nation but a people. Nations meant groups of people, and “neighbor” meant everyone. God’s chosen were the descendants of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel when he learned to let God prevail. Yet the story does not end there. While Isaiah speaks to historical Israel, the New Testament reveals the fulfillment: being chosen is no longer about bloodline or borders, but about faith. Jews and Gentiles alike; All are invited into God’s people through and in Jesus. The focus shifts from ethnicity to the heart, from inheritance to choice. The end of the old covenant becomes a new beginning—where Jesus is the one to choose, and love and truth are being a Branch of the Vine of Jesus.

As Jesus said:
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:15–17

Love Wins & God is Love.
Truth, Love & Jesus
Amen. Amen.