Whats in A Name?

I remember when my younger brother was enrolling for classes his freshman year of college. His entire life we called him Michael, not Mike, but Michael. As he went through the various lines and such he got his ID card which said Mike on it, no big deal right? Well, my father was not real thrilled about it and much to my brothers embarrassment brought it to the attention of the registrar and several others.

I remember thinking, "you have me as a son, whom you have called 'Bumper' for well over 20+ years now and you are worried about Mike versus Michael?"

Names are funny things aren't they? Think about couples who are expecting work through a list of names before they finally find the right one.

In the Hebrew , names are incredibly important. It was much more than what sounded good, or whether or not it is popular, names signify something about the person's character and was a reflection of who they were. This is one of the reasons we see in Scripture where God will change the name of a person as after their encounter with God, they need a new name as they are now reflecting, they are now something new, something different.

Think about the name of God! We could think about that for a very long time and still not reach the end. The Jews had such reverence, such respect, such fear for His name that they dared not even utter it, because they understood the weight that the name carried. They understood that the name meant holiness, justice, power, love, judgment, jealousy and so much more.

The "Name above all Names!" carries some big weight doesn't it?!