A supplanter, by definition, means “one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another.” We use other terms for this such as “claim jumper,” one who illegally occupies the property of another. Whatever word or phrase you choose to use for a supplanter, none of them are good. Yet, this is what Isaac and Rebekah named their second son. How would you like your name to be Supplanter, Claim Jumper, or Thief? Isaac and Rebekah had twins. Rebekah described them as having a wrestling match in her womb. Esau emerged first. He was reddish in color, so they named him Esau. Jacob came out second. He was clutching Esau’s ankle, so they named him Jacob/Supplanter. Little did they know how accurate that name would turn out to be.

The boys were quite different growing up. Esau loved to hunt and comes off as quite profane, meaning that he doesn’t appear to care very much about spiritual things. He’s willing to essentially sell his future to Jacob for a bowl of beans (part of this story is told earlier in Genesis). He cannot see past his immediate hunger for what is of much greater value, namely, his birthright as the eldest son and his father’s blessing as the firstborn.

Jacob, on the other hand, values these things. He is much more spiritual than Esau. He’s also a scoundrel! He doesn’t hesitate for a second to lie to and deceive his father. Rebekah cooked up the plan to deceive her husband, but she didn’t have to twist Jacob’s arm to carry it out.

None of this seems fair. Esau sells his future but regrets it. Rebekah conceives a plan for Jacob to supplant him. Isaac is deceived. Jacob gets away with it. Why then does the psalmist say, “For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself.” Why would he choose him – a scoundrel, supplanter, thief? The scriptures emphasize in many places that God’s choices may not be ours. We don’t know the hearts of people. God knows everything about us. He also knows what we can become.

Jacob doesn’t have an easy life. He has to flee from home so that Esau doesn’t kill him. He ends up with a father-in-law that is a bigger scoundrel than he is. Although God blesses him, when he finally leaves his father-in-law to return home, he hears that Esau and a large group of men are coming toward him. His chickens are coming home to roost.

However, God doesn’t see it that way. Jacob is a changed man. He is no longer a supplanter. He gives him a new name, Israel, which means God has persevered or God has contended. In one sense, it is Jacob who has persevered. He has survived his foolish youth. Yet, he seems to have been given that name because, when it comes to Jacob, God persevered. He never gave up on him, never quit working in his life to change him, never made it easy for him. Jacob changed, so his name was changed to God has persevered.

The name George means farmer. My grandparents and parents had green thumbs, but I do not. I’m not much of a farmer. I have never disliked my name, but I wonder what name God could give me when his work on me is done? Would it be something like God has Persevered, God has Lifted Up the Lowly, God has Made Something Out of Nothing?

Perhaps today we read this wondering what in the world God is up to in our lives. The story of Jacob reminds me that God may be unseen but that he isn’t through with me yet. His work may seem slow, too slow, but he is creating something out of me. When he’s done, I’m not totally certain what he will name me. Perhaps I’ll just keep the name George. But one thing I firmly believe: God will persevere.