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Study Guide: Knowing Your Name

Sunday May 26, 2002 | Greg Boyd

Focus Scripture:

Brief Summary:

The names of people and places in the Bible are more meaningful than we might expect. The names are given and sometimes changed for important reasons, and the reasons stick with the person or place because of the clarity of the name to the people who use it.

Extended Summary:

So far our focus has been on the centrality of love and the problem of judgment. The most recent sermons have been centered on the question of “What went wrong?” We saw that the enemy told us a lie about God and a lie about ourselves, and we believed the lies. We no longer go to God as the center of our existence and life, but turn instead to ourselves and others. But, of course, we cannot fill an infinite need (our need for God, we were created with this need) with a finite supply (our own efforts and the efforts of those around us).

The cycle of the flesh is where we all begin in this world. Thankfully, it can and has been broken by Jesus Christ who makes it possible for us to live in the cycle of the Spirit. Christ does this by revealing the lies about God and about us to be false. This is done not only in what Christ says, but in Christ’s very being. We are then invited into this “new being” that Christ brings into the world. In Christ we have a new identity (recall the many verses that speak the truth about who we are in Christ). This means we also have a new name! This “new name” is given by the only One who truly has the power to define us: our Creator.

The names of people and places in the Bible are more meaningful than we might expect. The names are given and sometimes changed for important reasons and the reasons stick with the person or place because of the clarity of the name to the people who make use of it. For example: In Daniel 1:6-7 we hear of four Hebrew men whose names reflected the covenant that their people have with God. “Daniel” means “God is my Judge,” “Hananiah” means “The Lord is gracious,” “Mishael” means “Who is like God?” and “Azariah” means “The Lord is my helper.” In an effort to convert these men to the service of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar understood that they would need new names that reflect their new destiny and the new loyalties that the King intended for them. The new names were as follows: Daniel was renamed “Belteshazzar” which means “Bel watches over,” Hananiah was renamed “Shadrach” which means “Under AKU’s command [a Babylonian moon god],” Mishael was renamed “Meshach” which means “Who is like Sheshach? [a god of lust and drink],” and finally Azariah was renamed “Abednego” which means “Slave of Nebo [a god of fire].” If we look closely at the renaming, it is clear that the meanings of the names are related to the original meanings but with a replacement of the God of Israel with Babylonian deities. This is a powerful perversion of the true identity of these men.

Reflection Questions:

  1. Last week we recognized that we have all made mistakes growing up. Often we were ashamed of these and perhaps humiliated for our errors by people we respected as authorities in our lives. Do you still have the voices of people who were disappointed in you lingering in your mind? Did they give you any names that you still live with and identify yourself by?
  2. Consider how the names given to the four Jewish men in Daniel 1:6-7 contrasted with the names they were given at birth by their covenant communities. They knew their identity, and surely they could see the stark contrast with the names that the palace master gave to them. How do the names compare? What is similar? What is different?
  3. In the first question above we discussed some false names we live with. In the second we discovered names that were true about some Old Testament servants of God and noticed the contrast and relation between the Godly names and the worldly ones. You also have both Godly names and worldly names given to you and by now you have some idea what those are. Take some time and compare the two sets of names. Which Godly names can you find that will have transformative power over some worldly names that you have? Which names have more authority? Why?

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