The God of Jacob
At the beginning of 2026, Pastor Johnson exhorted the people of NorthStone to choose a favorite psalm. Many did just that. If Strength for Life had to choose a favorite psalm, it would be Psalm 46. One reason is that verse 1 is the Biblical theme for SFL: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
If you pay close attention to the text of the psalm, you may notice that verses 7 and 11 are identical: “the LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.” This repeated verse declares the central theme of the psalm. Psalm 46 declares that the redeemed find refuge in their ever-present God.
With that repeated verse in mind, someone recently asked a question, and I think it is a good one. What does it mean for God to be named the God of Jacob? God gives Himself a variety of names, and all of them are intentional. His names offer insight into His character, so we may learn to trust Him. What, then, does He intend to communicate by saying that He is the God of Jacob?
To begin answering the question, we should remember that verses of psalms are often divided into parallel halves. Each half states a common truth in a unique way. One example is from the same psalm. Verse 9 says that God “maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.” We can divide the verse into three parts. The first part, “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth” is explained by the next two pieces. He makes wars to cease when “he breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in sunder.” He also makes wars to cease when “he burneth the chariot in the fire.”
Another example of a psalm verse divided in half is Psalm 1:6. The verse states that “the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” In this case, the halves communicate the same truth about God’s character by contrasting the way He treats righteous and the wicked. God knows the way of one and destroys the way of the other because He loves righteousness and hates wickedness.
Our duplicate verses are also parallel. “The LORD of hosts is with us” and “the God of Jacob is our refuge” work together to communicate one truth. A host is an assembled group ready for battle. For example, in 1 Samuel 28, “when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.” When God calls Himself the LORD of hosts, He communicates to us that He is a commander with an army at His disposal.
I was surprised to learn that preparing for battle is what the God of Jacob does as well. Here are some examples.
Genesis 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel).
Psalms 20:1: The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee.
Psalms 76:6: At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
Psalms 114:7: Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.
By now you probably see the pattern in these verses. The God of Jacob fights for, defends, and protects His people. There is one final question to answer, however. Why is Jacob the man who gets this name of God?
Let’s take a flyover look at the life of Jacob. Most of his life Jacob was in a position, reaching for God’s promises. He was the younger twin, born holding the heel of his brother. Esau was his father’s favorite, and despite the promise of God, Isaac intended to give his blessing to his favorite older son instead of Jacob. After Jacob tricked his father into giving him the blessing instead, he was compelled to run for his life from Esau’s wrath. Jacob arrived at the house of his uncle and spent the better part of 40 years sparring with the conniving Laban.
Laban’s greed and God’s direction eventually moved Jacob back toward home. As he neared home, Jacob realized he would have to announce his arrival to his brother. The word he received back was that Esau was coming with 400 men to meet his family and servants. In desperation to avoid being killed, Jacob divided his family into groups and sent gifts ahead of his caravan. Jacob remained behind, “greatly afraid and distressed” (Gen. 32:7). Here is his prayer, and it is important to our understanding.
O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee—I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
That night, Jacob wrestled a Man, and his name was changed. “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” (Gen. 32:28). God prepared the heart of Esau, and their reunion was wet with tears instead of blood.
Jacob was in fear for his life at least one other time, when his sons killed an entire village of men. Later, he would live nearly 15 years of his life in mourning, thinking that his son Joseph was dead. However, God was faithful to Jacob all along the way. The LORD preserved his life, protected him from the scheming of Laban, and prevented his death at Esau’s hand. God answered Jacob’s prayer to return to his father’s house, and he was with Isaac when the old man died. At least twice, Jacob actually saw the host of the Lord. And when Jacob died, he was surrounded by all his children and grandchildren, and given prophetic sight into the future of the nation he had fathered. In fact, Jacob was the first one to use the title we have been investigating. He had lived long enough to recognize that God was His God.
The God of Jacob is the One with the power and protective grace for His people. Often, we are weak and sinful and make poor choices. Often, we are confronted with overwhelming or intimidating circumstances beyond our control. Often we have godly ambition, but the opportunities have not materialized No matter. In Christ, God has made promises to keep us and provide for our needs, and He will do it. He is the God of Jacob. He did it then, and He will do it again. When we look back at the end of our lives, we will see what Jacob saw: a great God keeping His servants all along the way.
The above article was written by Jonathan Kyser. He is a pastoral assistant at NorthStone Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL. To offer him your feedback, comment below or email us at strengthforlife461@gmail.com.
Every Tuesday, SFL publishes relevant Bible-based content. Check back next Tuesday to read the next SFL article.
More SFL...
Comments