Israel means everybody. Christ came to resolve Jacob’s iniquity. Christ told his disciples that he did not come to bring peace but instead a sword of division. Christ said that there would be division in every household (Luke 12:51-53). Christ brought a sword of division to prepare us to live in a world without kings. The problem began when the Children of Israel asked God for a king (1 Samuel 12:17). God considered it a wicked thing, but the Father gave them kings to allow them to learn for themselves (Hosea 13:11).

            To have a king causes us to worship God and man. When we worship God and man, we set out to be promoted over one another (Judges 9:9). When we have kings, we divide ourselves into groups. Christ brought division to break down our groups. Christ taught us not to identify even within our families saying, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother (Matthew 12:50).

            Christ taught us that it is the Father’s will that the Children of Israel be identified by their heart condition. The Father told Samuel, “the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Moses made a record of the Father’s judgment from beginning saying, “When the Most-High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of people according to the number of the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:8).  

            The Father commanded Abraham to enter everyone into the covenant saying, “All of you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins; and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of your seed (Genesis 17:11-12).

            This was a hard commandment for the Children of Israel to keep. The Father even commanded that the strangers who sojourned with them be worthy of an equal inheritance (Ezekiel 47:21-22). The Children of Israel wanted to remain an exclusive group. This was not the Father’s will. The Father blessed the mixing of Noah’s bloodline.

            Noah had three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Abraham was a descendant of Noah’s son Shem. His wife Sarah couldn’t conceive a child. Sarah allowed Abraham to have a child with her Egyptian handmaid Hagar. Hagar was a descendant of Noah’s son Ham. Hagar conceived Abram a son named Ishmael.

            After Ishmael was born, the Father told Abram, “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall your name any more be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations, I have made you (Genesis 17:4-5). The Father appended Ham to the end of Abram’s name after he mixed Ham into his bloodline. The Father blessed the mixing of the Nations of Shem and Ham.

            The Father did a similar thing when the descendants of all three of Noah’s sons came together. When Isaac and Rebecca conceived, they had two twins Esau and Jacob. While Rebecca was pregnant, the Lord told Rebecca, “two nations are in your womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from our bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:25). Esau came out red all over and hairy all over as we see with the descendants of Japheth.

            Rebecca helped Jacob to steal Issacs blessing by helping him pretend to be Esau. This caused Esau to become very upset with Jacob. Rebecca feared that Esau would kill Jacob, so she sent Jacob to live with her brother Laban (Genesis 27:42). Jacob lived with her brother and married his two daughters Leah and Rachel. Jacob made a deal with Laban that caused him to become very fortunate, but Jacob noticed that his uncle Laban was upset with him (Genesis 31:2).

            The Lord instructed Jacob to return to his homeland. Jacob feared his brother Esau on his way home. On his way, Jacob met with the Lord. Jacob wrestled with the Lord demanding that he bless him. The Lord dislocated his hip and told him, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince you have power with God and with men and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:27).

            When Jacob met with his brother Esau, Esau fell on his neck and kissed him (Genesis 33:4). Jacob settled in Shechem and bought a parcel of a field. When Jacob’s daughter Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land. She met Shechem who was the prince of the city. Shechem laid with Dinah and defiled her. His soul clave to her and he loved her (Genesis 34:2-3).

            Shechem and his father begged Jacob to allow Shechem to marry his daughter. Dinah’s brothers told them that they would have to become circumcised and enter into the covenant. Shechem was an honorable man and was able to convince all of his men to be circumcised and enter into the covenant (Genesis 34:14).

            Jacob’s sons Simon and Levi did not intend to join Shechem and his men. They waited until they were sore from being circumcised and slaughtered them. Jacob feared the people and God told him to return to the place where he fled from Esau (Genesis 35:1). When Jacob arrived, the Father reminded Jacob that his name was Israel (Genesis 35:10).

            Jacob did not realize why the Father called his name Israel. Jacob thought that he was Israel alone, but the Father called his name Israel because he had power with God and men. When Jacob fled “the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them” (Genesis 35), but Jacob fled because he alone did not have power with men.

            Jacob had power with men with his brother Esau and his uncle Ishmael. When Jacob met with his brother Esau, Esau was with a company of 400 men (Genesis 33:1). The Father called Jacob Israel because Jacob, his brother Esau, and his uncle Ishmael brought all of Noah’s sons together. Jacob was a descendant of Shem, Esau was a descendant of Japheth, and Ishmael was a descendant of Ham. The Father created the name Israel by combining the names of Isaac (IS), Rebecca (R), and Ishmael (AEL).

            Jacob’s was iniquitous for believing that he alone was Israel. Jacob later spoke of his sons Simon and Levi saying, Simeon and Levi are brethren, instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not you into their secret, unto their assembly, mine honor, be not you united, for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will, they dug down a wall (Genesis 49:5-6). Jacob later realized that Israel means everybody.