What's in a name?

Like the pine trees lining a winding road,

I've got a name,  I've got a name.

Like a singing bird, and the croaking toad, 

I've got a name,  I've got a name.

And I carry it with me like daddy did,

But I'm living the dream, that he kept hid.

Jim Croce

   

     My parents divorced when I was 3 years old, and I was pretty much raised by my stepfather Howard.  Although I did not bear his name, I knew that most people in the small towns where we lived knew him and my mother.  Thus, I knew that my behavior reflected on them as people and parents.  Of my 5 brothers and 3 sisters, only me and two brothers carried the last name Ninas.  I was always proud of my Prussian last name.  I have done my level best to keep that name clean and of good repute to pass on to my son Stephen.
      I tried to pass onto my son that when he was out in the world the only thing he took of mine was our last name.  I emphasized that I gave it to him clean and he should conduct himself such that he could pass it on without stain and with a good reputation.
      With that introduction, let me pose a rhetorical question.  Why did God bring the Israelites out of captivity?  You might respond that He did it to keep his promise to them.  Or, you might say God brought them out because they were and are his chosen people.  As I was studying this with my discipleship group, I found a very personal answer to the question revealed to me.  Like most questions in the Bible it is best to go to the source for an answer.  So lets visit the book of Isaiah.  In particular let's visit Isaiah 48.  God is talking to Israel about destroying Babylon and releasing them from captivity.  Why is he doing this?  Allow me to pull a couple of passages that make God's point clear:

Isaiah 48:1-2  Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is his name.

Isaiah 48:9,11  “For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,

that I may not cut you off.  For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

Notice the bold underlined portions of the passage above.   God was protecting His name, and His reputation.  I asked myself why God made such a point of this.  The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, "He did it for you!"  Now wait a minute here, God released Israel from captivity in Babylon for me!?!?  Well, not me specifically but for . . .   Flash forward to the New Testament and my friend Paul.  Paul was called to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, not the Jews.  Flashback.  God freed Israel from captivity for His name sake.  Was God concerned about His name and reputation with the Jews.  My heart said no, God was concerned about the purity of His name and reputation for those who would receive the Gospel many years later . . . the Gentiles.  Wow!!  As I read Isaiah 48 again, God told me He was thinking of the Gentiles to whom Paul would bring the Gospel so many years later when He spoke in Isaiah about his "name sake."   Epiphany!  My God was thinking about the purity of His name and reputation among the Gentiles preparing the way for the Gospel before Paul was even born ... or even me for that matter.  

     Now that I type this out, it sounds strange to me.  I remember when the Holy Spirit spoke about this to me as I was reading through Isaiah.   It means a lot to me to know that God was laying the ground work for Paul's ministry, that over 2000 years later would see the Gospel safely delivered to me, in Israel's release from captivity.  Amazing!!!

     I covet your thoughts.