Jacob the Deceiver: Grace for the Trickster. Jacob’s story is one of the most paradoxical in Scripture. Chosen by God before birth, yet marked by deceit and scheming, Jacob embodies the tension between divine election and human frailty. His name itself, Yaʿaqov (יַעֲקֹב), means “heel-grabber” or “supplanter,” pointing to his grasping nature.

Wrestling With God: Jacob at Peniel. Few passages in Scripture are as mysterious and arresting as Jacob’s night at the Jabbok, where he wrestles until daybreak with a divine figure. The account in Genesis 32 is not merely about physical struggle but about identity, blessing, and transformation. It is a story that touches on fear, persistence, weakness, and grace—all culminating in Jacob receiving a new name: Israel.

Jacob: The Deceiver Transformed into Israel. Jacob, the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah and the twin of Esau, is one of the central figures in Genesis. His life was marked by struggle, deceit, and divine encounters. Yet despite his flaws, God chose Jacob to carry forward the covenant, renaming him Israel and making him the father of the twelve tribes.

2 Chronicles Summary: Faithfulness, Failure, and the Fire That Never Goes Out. If 1 Chronicles focused on David, then 2 Chronicles centers on Solomon and the kings of Judah, leading up to the Babylonian exile. But this isn’t just another version of Kings. 2 Chronicles retells Judah’s story with a laser focus on the temple, worship, and revival. It ignores the northern kingdom of Israel almost entirely, zooming in on the line of David and the southern kingdom.

Zionism: Untangling the Political from the Biblical. Zionism is often understood in modern terms as a political movement for the re-establishment and support of a Jewish homeland in the historic land of Israel. However, many modern Christians conflate political Zionism with biblical prophecy and covenant theology, leading to doctrinal confusion, misplaced loyalties, and even theological error.

What The Bible Says About Israel. When most people hear the word “Israel,” they think of a modern nation in the Middle East. But Biblical Israel is not simply a country—it is a covenant people formed by God, for God. The Scriptures present Israel not as a mere geopolitical entity, but as a theological reality that unfolds across redemptive history.

Blessing Modern Israel: Should Christians Bless the Modern State of Israel Because of Genesis 12? Many Christians have heard the claim that supporting the modern state of Israel guarantees God’s blessing, based on Genesis 12:3—“I will bless those who bless you.” But is this really what the Bible teaches? This article takes a careful look at that assumption and shows why it oversimplifies both Scripture and history.