Name Calling
Opening Prayer
Begin by thanking God that you are who you are and that he knows you and loves you, too.
Read Isaiah 8:1-10
[1] The LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.” [2] So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me. [3] Then I made love to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. [4] For before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.” [5] The LORD spoke to me again: [6] “Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, [7] therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates- the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks [8] and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, Immanuel!” [9] Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered! [10] Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What might have been the significance of the boy's name?My dad turned quite pale as he explained he’d been to the registry office and had named me Elizabeth Ellen. Well, he couldn’t know that was only a nickname for the bump, and not exactly what my mother had in mind. But the name was now written down, and that was that! God makes very sure that Isaiah knows what he is to call his son: “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.” These four words, meaning “quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil” (NIV Bible Commentary), are shorthand for the fact that the mighty Assyrian army will come with great speed–probably within a couple of years (4)–and devastate the country. Prophets were often called to sum up God’s message and write them down for people to see (e.g. Hab. 2:2). This writing down of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’s name in front of two reliable witnesses (2) suggests a legal transaction or symbolic ritual of some importance. Not only would the words on the scroll be remembered far into the future, but Isaiah’s son would be a living embodiment of God’s message that would be impossible to ignore or forget.
Apply
Think about the name “Christian.” How effectively do you embody “Christ in” you? How can you do more?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, I’m grateful and proud to bear Your name. I want to do it in a way that honors You.
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