Consider a few situations where name changes occur in this society: adoptions, marriages/divorces; immigration; witness protection program; career reasons (i.e. entertainers, authors).
Typically, name changes occur when someone has a life altering situation, establishing a new identity out of necessity. Sometimes names are changed to reveal a corresponding trait to the new life secured (immigrants).
In Scripture, a name is more than a way to simply identify one from another; it is a placement of divine intention to describe to mankind who God is, what God is doing, and who we are becoming.
Names – whether person, place or event, the name expanded the depth of the revelation of God, and it unfolded the eternal picture of God’s grace to mankind. Liken it to when we designate a road, bridge, or building in someone’s name, God identifies us as to what He has done in us, and what He intends to do through us; we are a living monument to the nature of God.
Even in the secular worlds of the Bible there were always names changed at the bequest of the ruling sovereign. In Persia, Esther’s name was changed from the Hebrew Hadassah meaning “myrtle” and made into Esther, meaning “star”, where she did shine brightly. Additionally, Daniel and his Hebrew friends had their names changed in Babylon. God spoke through it.
It is well to note, however, that even though names were changed in these kingdoms, the godly nature of these participants did not change; God was their identity.
One might ask this question: With all the exactness of God’s placement of names, why would He ever change the names He established? A quick response is that God is not fully altering a name; He is adding to its fulness, its dimension. Literally, He is drawing a road map with designations of specific moments of life-changes and how they reveal the path of the cross.
This article will address the times when divine penmanship drew a new name, and drafted a more complete composite of the revealed will of God. For instance, when God named the first inhabitants in the Garden, He named them “Adam” (Genesis 5: 2). This was a name befitting the family of man, and it included Eve also. When Jesus Christ became the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15: 45-49), He was not physically named Adam; He was instead, the second tablets of stone, showing God’s eternal patience and grace. He came to bring to this first name, and undo the disgrace of the man Adam.
In the following portions of Scripture, certain name changes will be covered as to what they add to God’s spectrum, and how God fits us into this handiwork.
Genesis 17: 5,15 – Abram and Sarai. God altered their names to more adequately convey the changes in their lives; namely, their promised seed. Abram means “exalted father”, while Abraham means “father of multitude”. In view of the fact that Abram was a godly man and was exalted in his own state, God extended that blessing of what he could not see or conceive in his mind. This name change came out of a covenant relationship with God, much as our new life in 2 Corinthians 5: 17 shows new life out of spiritual death. Just as Sarai’s womb was dead so we needed divine seed to bring us to life – hence, we have an adoption certificate in Galatians 4: 1-7 and now carry God’s name as ours. From need to a seed.
Genesis 32: 28 – Jacob to Israel. God changed his name to reflect the victory over the natural or carnal nature. Jacob meant “supplanted, heel grabber, cheat, deceiver”. He had grabbed his twin brother Esau’s heel while in the womb, and continued displaying his carnal nature until He met someone stronger – God. (Parenthetically, when God cursed the serpent in Genesis 3: 15, He said that Satan would bruise the heel of the seed, while the seed would crush the serpent’s head – rendering the serpent ineffective. Jesus, the seed of the woman, crushed the devil, and Satan caused the bruising of the heel of the Savior (Isaiah 53: 4-5). Bruising occurs when a blow causes a deep wound, with bleeding inside the body.). Consequently, carnality was crushed at the cross, but like Jacob’s fight, a victory made a man a prince (the definition of Israel). In Genesis 35: 9-12 the Abrahamic covenant is renewed. From flight to the fight!!!
So far, Abraham speaks of new life in God, and Jacob speaks of the new power in God. In Jacob was the nature of the carnal man; in Israel was the nature of a supernatural God.
Isaiah 62: 2-4 Zion and Jerusalem. Sometimes name changes occurred in places/cities. It could reveal God’s forgiving nature to them and provide a hope for future existence. Here, as it is often portrayed in Scripture, the relationship of God to His city is seen as a woman loved. To correspond with the graces bestowed to her (crown, diadem – royal pieces), God renames her. No longer shall she be known as forsaken or desolate; her name is Hephzibah, meaning “a delight”, and Beulah, meaning “married”. There is a commitment here to this people. God reminds them that they are His betrothed, and that He chooses to be bound to her. Notice that the “…mouth of the Lord…” designated this (verse 2b). The mouth of the Lord is a phrase meaning “the Word of God”. God’s Word declares to us our wedded status to the Lamb. Read Ephesians 5: 25-32 regarding the Son and His bride. From Outside To The Bride.
Luke 6: 14 – Simon to Peter. Here, God adds a surname to Peter, not eradicating his basic person; Jesus was saying, in effect: here is what or who you were – my additive declares who you are in My eyes. Simon was a common Greek name, and here, Jesus is showing Simon that he is not like everyone else. The surname, Cephas or Peter, comes from the word “Petros”, and from the Aramaic word Kephas “fragment of a rock”. As seen in Matthew 16: 17-18, Peter was not the embodiment of the rock, but his confession of faith was the bedrock of the truth of Christ. He was, at this rendering, a chip of the old block. From an unsteady person, to a steady follower, this surname was a designation in stone. It is also a great reminder that followers need to see themselves through the eyes of the Master, and not through their own eyes of pain and failure. The name Simon, when he was not excised from his persona, meant “hearing”. Taking the whole name together was a reminder for Peter to hear what the Master said, and when Jesus resurrects and tells them to tell Peter particularly, Peter heard that he was still part of the work of Christ. Here we are brought to the Lordship of Jesus, and without His work in us, we are not complete. To Hear Him Clear.
Acts 7: 58; 13: 9 – Saul to Paul. Depending on the circles in which one traveled, a person could be known by more than one name. The apostle Paul was first known as Saul of Tarsus, a distinguished title as Tarsus was the capital of Cilicia – a rival of Alexandria and Athens in the arts and sciences. When Julius Caesar was there, the kindness of the city prompted a status of full rights as citizens of Rome for any people of Cilicia . Saul, meaning “asked for”, went to ask for letters of persecution. God knew Saul’s agenda. After his conversion, he also went by the name of Paul, a Roman name meaning. “little or dwarfish”. This could explain his self-comments in 2 Corinthians 10: 10; he knew he was nothing in and of himself. The name of Paul came forward after the Holy Spirit commissioned he and Barnabas. Once we are commissioned by the Holy Spirit to go forward, God allows us to keep a humble perspective of ourself (Romans 12: 3). Commission – Admission.
Revelation 2: 17; 3: 12 – A New Name in Glory. Since names are changed when a person comes into a new country, it would make sense that in coming into the eternal kingdom of God, our new identifications are fully realized. Revelation 2: 17 speaks to the church at Pergamum, a city 50 miles north of Smyrna. Christ is revealed as the One out of whose mouth comes the double-edged sword, and He promises the following for those who hold fast the name of Christ (verse 13): 1) hidden manna – the heavenly food provided by God for the Israelites (perhaps this food comes from the manna which has been hidden in the Ark of the Covenant since it ascended into heaven in the Old Testament); 2) a white stone (victory stone) – the white spoke of pardon; judges in those days had white and black stones by which they pronounced pardon or judgement; 3) a new name written on the white stone (conquerors were given white stones with their names inscribed). If a conqueror had a stone such as this given to him, he was entitled then to be supported for the rest of his life at public expense. This name, incidentally, is not known by anyone else – it is God’s writ of pardon and provision for all eternity. (To be prudent, read the entire portion of Scripture for the warnings therein). In Revelation 3: 12, a message goes to the church at Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Christ is seen here as the key of David; the One who opens the door to the Messiah’s kingdom. This is to those who have not denied His name (Revelation 3: 8): they will be a pillar in God’s temple, and His name will be inscribed on them (verse 12), as well as the name of the city of God, and the new name of the speaker, who is Jesus Christ. This is not speaking of the name of Jesus, which was a personal gift to this world, but it is speaking of the title Christ; Revelation will reveal Jesus as the One for whom the people of Israel have been waiting – Messiah, Anointed One. Everything appears to be designated as new: new heavens and earth, new Jerusalem, new names, and so forth. This newness means that God will bring forth the full array of His purpose in creation, in the name of the Son. New Name, No Shame.
From the beginning in Genesis to the consummation in Revelation, names were mile markers on the path to eternity. Names were changed, therefore, to make that way more clear; specifically, to show that Jesus is the way and the fulness of all things.
It should be no surprise, accordingly, that the final change of a name revolves around the Son. While God reveals who we are along the way, He reveals the fulness of who He is, when we meet full circle in eternity. Through the name changes in Scripture, God adopts us, becomes our husband, and travels with us into a new land – Beulah. We see this on two levels: the lens reflecting what He sees in us now, and the telescope surveying what He sees for His eternal plan.