What's in a name? Identity for one. They don't even have to be full names. All sports fans know Herschel, Hank, Michael, Bird, Magic, Gretzky, and Pele. The entertainment world is the same - Cher, Elton, Bing, Elvis, Lucy, Oprah. We even identify them as well by nicknames - the Babe, Old Blue Eyes, the Great One, Sweetness, The King, and Broadway Joe. Or initials - JFK, FDR, LBJ, and MLK
In Scripture, a person’s name identified them and stood for something specific. This is especially true of God. Naming carried special significance. It was a sign of authority and power. This is evident in the fact that God revealed His names to His people rather than allowing them to choose their names for Him. This is also seen in the fact that God often changed the names of His people: Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, Saul to Paul.
Some of my favorite names of God are El Shaddai - "God all sufficient" (no explanation needed there), Jehovah-Jireh - "the Lord will provide" (amen!), Jehovah-Rophe - "the Lord Who heals" (always fun!), and Jehovah-Sabaoth - "the Lord of Hosts", the Commander of the angelic hosts and the armies God (just cool to think about.)
Well, God has just revealed another of His names to me: Jehovah Heehee - "the Lord Who laughs at me, the jokester God." Yes, as I was in the middle of my 3 hour labor of love known as shoveling 14" of snow from my driveway and listening to various teachings on a local christian station, God made this revelation to me (sidenote - I spared my beautiful ladies the chore since they had actually shoveled after the 8" storm about a week prior).
Back to Jehovah-Heehee. Think about it. First, there's Adam and Eve. Really now, did you think you could hide from God in that little garden? Later, we see Joseph's brothers deciding enough's enough and selling their youngest brother to slave traders so that they are finally rid of him. God has the last laugh as they come to beg for food from Joseph years later. Then, we have Goliath blaspheming God and mocking the Israelites. So, God sends David, " a youth and ruddy with handsome appearance", out to conquer the warrior giant with a stick, 5 stones, and a sling. Down goes Goliath at the hands of Mr. GQ. Then we have grumpy ol' Jonah. First, he runs the other way when God tells him to go to Nineveh. Then, he gets thrown overboard, swallowed by some kind of swimming creature, the fish/whale vomits him up on shore, and Jonah gets mad at God. One because God eventually uses him to spare the sinners in Nineveh, and secondly because God caused the plant that was shading Jonah to die to prove a point to him. And then there's Saul who had been persecuting the followers of Jesus. One of the most feared men in his community. The Lord basically says to him, "Dude, what's your your problem? Why are you persecuting me?" God opens his eyes. Saul gets a name change to Paul and ends up giving his life serving the Jesus whom he had persecuted.
And then there's me. The one who hated the cold. The one who always joked about escaping from the frigid north as a child. So, how's the snow, cold, and wind working for me? Just laughing with God and learning to love it. Well, the snow anyway! Still praying for and asking Him for IHOP-Roatan, Honduras.
3 comments:
OK----an IHOP in Roatan would even be tempting for me to consider joining! Maybe I could lead the scuba diving outreach.
You'll need to contact Kay Arthur and others who have written books on the names of God - they'll need to know about your fresh revelation if they do a revised/updated version of their books.
I'm glad you're starting to like the snow - you've certainly been getting a lot to like this season.
Love you.
I'm there with ya in Roatan!! I feel the warm sand in my toes already!
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