Language Lesson

The first day of our tour begins with a language lesson.  Shimone, our sun-tanned, straw-hatted commentator, writes the following on paper and shows us:
                Yeshua
                Yehoshua
                Ishaya
                Yoshiya
                Hoshea
                Elisha
They are, of course, the Hebrew names for Jesus, Joshua, Isaiah, Josiah, Hosea, and Elisha.

“What do these names have in common? he asks. 

 We see the  similar suffixes:  forms of ua and ya.

He explains that Yeho  is from the Jeho in Jehovah used to identify Lord God and Ya is the word for savior.

 Then he talked about names ending in “el,” the word for God.

                Daniel—Dan means “judge,” “el” is God.  Daniel means to be judged by God.
                Gabriel --Gab means “taken over.“  Gabriel means “ to be taken over by God.”
                Nathaniel—Nathan means “given.” Nathaniel means given by God.
He tells us that his Hebrew language has something English does not have.  God is alive in the Hebrew words and names.  Most names end in some form of God, yah or el.

The lesson exploded with meaning inside me.  God left his name in Israel through the names of people and places.  His people  are an extension of his name. 

My given name is Deborah, a good Bible name.  In Hebrew, Debor means bee.  I’ve know that for a long time.  But I never knew that my name had God in it.  I am God’s bee.  I am God’s spreader of pollen.  I am God’s maker of honey.  I’ve never thought of myself that way. 

Unfortunately, many of our names are layered with other languages we do not know.  If our names have meanings, we have to look them up.  What if our language made us hear God s name when we are called by name?  What if to say our names we also had to say God’s name?  Would we begin to understand in a new way how much God wants to live in us?   Revelation 24:4 says that when we see God face to face, His name will be on our foreheads.   I’m not convinced that it will be a stick-on label.  I think it is something more indelibly connected to the identity he has formed in us. 

But I have to also ask myself if people could see God’s name on my forehead or hear his name contained in mine, would there be a disconnect? 

O God, write your name on my forehead in a way that I know it is there.  Help me live within the love and compassion, grace and respect that your name stands for.  May I never be guilty of misrepresentation.  May I never forget that Who you are will always take me farther than who I could be without you.