"To Stand in Awe"

"Ye that fear the LORD, praise Him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and fear Him, all ye seed of Israel." (Psalms 22:23) As many of you should well know, Jacob and Israel are the one in the same, more or less; yet they are two different identities of people. Jacob is "the heel holder" or "supplanter", while Israel is a word the means "God Prevails", and when used of those that are His people, it speaks of "contender", or "Soldier of God". If you could have chosen which of these identities was yours, which one would you pick? In the grand scheme of things, we really do not have a choice, because when it all comes down to it, we are all both on one level or another; but when it comes to our inheritance, we are all "heel holders" of sorts to the greatest victory ever won. What are you talking about Rich? (I know that is what you are asking.) Think about this for a minute, and ask yourself how sin was defeated, and your answer will be, From Jesus' death upon the cross; now ask yourself how we have been granted eternal life, and your answer will be, Because Jesus rose from the grave; and then, ask yourself how we have been glorified, and your answer will be, Because Jesus is Glorified and sets at the right hand of the Father. Whether or not you are Jewish descendants of Abraham, or have been grafted into the tree of Abraham by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, each and every single one of us have been placed in Glory by what Jesus Christ has done, and it is nothing of our doing. To be perfectly honest, there was nothing we could have contributed to what Jesus has done, because everything required Him to do it; each and every thing that Jesus has accomplished for us to inherit eternal life in the presence of the Father, was only possible by His life, death, and Resurrection. Now then; let's look at His relationship to "Jacob" and "Israel", and see what that means towards us; because the word "supplanter", which is a given translation for "Jacob", means "one who takes the place or moves into the position of another", "to take the place of another, as through force"; and in relation to what Jesus Christ has done for us, He has taken our place when it comes to the penalty of sin; He paid the price for each and every one us, that we could stand free from sin before the Father; and yes, He did it by force! As the greatest 'Contenter' ever, Jesus defeated sin and death, thereby proving once and for all that 'God truly does prevail'...