What's in a Name?

I was about 10 weeks pregnant with my first child at the time. Gary and I hadn’t told anybody yet. Well actually, we had told some people, but only random strangers. We enjoyed having a secret; something to share with each other that was just ours. Nobody knew …and then a friend popped by the apartment and he saw a baby naming book lying on the coffee table. He correctly made the connection and he told two people, who told two people and so on. It wasn’t too long before almost everyone knew and it wasn’t a secret any longer. Almost immediately, we were asked the question, “What are you going to name the baby?” Hmmm, that was a difficult question. Baby naming is not as easy a task as one might think. Do you pick a random name from a book? After a deceased relative? After someone famous? Perhaps a Biblical name (for those that are a little more spiritual than the rest)? There’s a lot of pressure to pick the right name. And then when you finally pick a name, you have to sound it out with the last name; does it have the right feel when said out loud? What are the possible nicknames? How much difficulty will your child have in spelling their own name throughout their life? The list of questions, possibilities and scenarios that played through my mind as we picked the name for our child was long. However, never in our entire baby-naming decision making did I ever consider that the name we choose will bear our son’s character.

Current baby-naming practices are far removed from naming practices in the ancient world. Names indicated a person’s character. To know a person’s name was akin to an intimate exchange. God is one God who is called by many names; each name describes an attribute of him. In Genesis, we are introduced to him by several names, but not by YHWH, the name he calls himself. Yahweh, or LORD as our English Bible distinguishes it, means ‘the One who causes to exist’. The LORD introduced his name to Moses when Moses questions the LORD as to why God sent him to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt. The audacity of the request only fuelled Pharaoh’s anger and their oppression was made worse. The LORD’s response is to tell Moses his name, satisfying the complaint that he will act to fulfill the covenant he made with Abraham.

In class, we discussed covenant as resolution to exile crisis. However, before introducing crisis and resolution, before rectifying the “aloneness” of man, before all of that, God whose name is YHWH, created male and female to bear his image, his character, which is covenantal. Covenant is the basic issue of human life because covenanting, or “othering” to borrow a term from Walter Brueggemann, is part of our DNA. Brueggerman further writes, “this work of othering is inescapable because this process of interaction is the awesome truth of our life.” We can’t escape it.

There is no where we can go without encountering YHWH. Psalm 139 echoes feelings of elation and frustration in the totality of the LORD’s active presence. The Psalmist writes about the security of being hemmed in. The words conjure up visual images of being cocooned, warmth and acceptance, and in almost the same breath, the feeling of suffocation by not being able to loosen the presence, no matter where you go. A covenant relationship encompasses the life of those defined by the covenant; both parties live in relation to each other, unless there is a breach in the covenant.

Certainly this is an awesome theology if lived out to the fullest extent of the covenant promises; a theology that acts as a magnet to attract others. It’s not really a stretch for the mind to understand why humankind yearns for a covenantal agreement with the LORD. For those whose eyes are opened to discern the fallen/exiled state of humankind, we acknowledge we need a greater hope if there is supposed to be more. The amazing, incredible, radical, revolutionary aspect about the covenant is that the LORD enters into a covenant with us. The words of David come to mind, “What is man that you are mindful of him?” It truly is a mystery, and yet, going back to the beginning at the creation of male and female in the image of God, the LORD, we have our answer. God is relational and he chose us. Awesome!

During the discussion in class, a student offered the observation that perhaps we enter into a covenantal agreement without understanding the stipulations and requirements. Indeed. Marriage is the most formal covenant I’ve entered. I was 21; in hindsight, just a child to be able to make such a significant decision. Through fits and starts and near dissolution, I’ve learned a great deal about covenant and how serious the LORD considers the pledge. Ignorance does not release you from the covenant.

As we’ve read and reflected on the response by the exiled people, they are ignorant and perplexed. In my mind, I hear the whine of a child say, “But, I didn’t kno-oh!” And then, they want to know is that is for them? Is the game over? Has the covenant been nullified?

If we refer back to Leviticus, the LORD promises that he will remember his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and he will remember the land if they confess their sin and humble themselves. All of the curses outlined in verses 14-39 of the same chapter have come true. They have been scattered, humiliated, made to suffer 7x over but still there is hope. Additionally, the Davidic covenant establishes a King will reign from David’s line forever. The promise of an everlasting kingdom is not dependant on whether the Israelites keep the conditions of the covenant. So there is hope and restoration promised throughout the covenant despite their exile.

The question that still needs to be answered is where is the presence of the LORD? The disobedience which caused the exile nullified the portion of the covenant which promised God’s presence among them, so a new covenant is required. Jeremiah makes a proclamation of a new covenant, which is futuristic. It’s relevant to note the approximate date that Jeremiah was prophet to Judah. His prophetic ministry ends shortly after the capture of Jerusalem to Babylon, and the destruction of the temple. This is extremely hopeful news. Even as the old covenant was being broken, the LORD provides a new covenant, which reinforces his intention to be personal with his people. No longer will the law [of the covenant] be written on tablets of stone, known only by the officiating priests, but the new covenant includes everyone, from the least of them to the greatest.

This is good news! We are the church, we are the temple! No longer is there a circumcision of the body, but we have a circumcision of the heart. Our outward appearance should be modest, but we are no longer defined by physical appearance but by the fruit of the spirit, and we have all been made ministers of the covenant. Each one has the ability to know God. What puzzles me is why there isn’t a great return to the LORD in light of this new theology, the new way of thinking and relating to God. The presence of the LORD is among us. Emmanuel was the name given to Jesus – God with us. He made his dwelling with humans, and then he promised the Spirit when he ascended back to heaven. The covenant, although not completely fulfilled is imminent.

YHWH was the LORD’s response to Moses’ complaint. Emmanuel answers the question, where is God’s presence? What’s in a name? A lot is turns out. In the LORD’s name we have the answer to our crisis and the promise of a covenant fulfilled.