Happy is he who has the God of Jacob as his help
By Pastor Mitch
August 25, 2016
HAPPY IS HE WHO HAS THE GOD OF JACOB FOR HIS HELP
At 33,000 feet, the view of the world seems so much smaller. I was on my flight back to Singapore from Seoul in 2014 and I managed to catch this picturesque coastal view in the evening sun. Once again, I was reminded of the glory of the Lord reflected in all that He had created in this world. This was something that the Psalmist most probably thought about as he wrote these words in Psalm 146
“Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, who keeps truth forever,…” Psalm 146:5-6
He thought about how God was the One who powerfully created the heavens and the earth. He made the seas and all the creatures that are in it. This God of creation is also called the God of Jacob. Jacob as we know from Biblical history was not a good man at the beginning (Gen. 27). His name itself means “supplanter”. He was the one who schemed and deceived his father into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. He was indeed a man who sinned grievously. And yet God did not give up on him, turned around his life and blessed him. As Jacob sought to pray and exercised faith in the Lord, He slowly but surely transformed him. Young people, the God who created the universe with great power can also use this same power to change our life.
PLACING OUR FAITH IN THE GOD OF JACOB
When people exercise faith in God as their main source of help, they will experience a great sense of happiness. The Lord God can work in their life and bring about a definite change within them. This was something that the Lord also spoke to Isaiah about.
“When he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst. They will hallow My name, and hallow the Holy One of Jacob and fear the God of Israel. ” Isaiah 29:23-24
The Lord God is the Holy One of Jacob. Jacob (the nation of Israel) would see the work of the Lord’s hand in the life of his children. Israel would see how God had delivered the children and blessed them. The nation would hallow the Lord’s name. There would be that reverence for the God of Israel. The Lord God used two titles to described Himself in the above verse; the Holy One of Jacob and the God of Israel. There is significance to the change of name for the nation of Israel from Jacob to Israel. Even as Jacob, Isaac’s son, grew in faith to be transformed by God to become Israel (Gen. 35:10), the Lord would also do this work of changing the lives of “Jacob’s” children. Young people , let’s exercise faith in the God of Jacob. That power that made heaven and the earth can also change us as He changed the life of Jacob.
