March 13, 2026 -What's in a Name
- brooks16055
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Psalms 72:17-19 NIV
[17] May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. [18] Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. [19] Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.
David is praying for God to bless him and the Israelites through him. His name does endure forever. Evident through our reading of these words. David the first true king of Israel and a man after God's own heart. He is considered the greatest king Israel ever had. The bible project article "David: What's the Big Deal" (linked below) talks about how he was a "No-Name Runt" when he was called to be king. Now his name lives on forever. Today's reading for me is all about the names.
Numbers 26:4 NIV
[4] “Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the Lord commanded Moses.” These were the Israelites who came out of Egypt:
God commanded the Israelites to kept records of their people. Name and numbers. He knew how important the record of the names would be for all of history. Not just for them to remember who they were and where they came from but for us to have evidence and historical support for the history of God's chosen people and Jesus' line.
Numbers 26:8-10 NIV
[8] The son of Pallu was Eliab, [9] and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. The same Dathan and Abiram were the community officials who rebelled against Moses and Aaron and were among Korah’s followers when they rebelled against the Lord. [10] The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire devoured the 250 men. And they served as a warning sign.
Many names are remembered, but not all names are remembered for all time because of the good they did. Dathan and Abiram's names are documented to remember but their names are not as important as what is documented about them. We read the story in Numbers 16 but it is recorded again here as part of the census. The census was recorded here in the book of Numbers, but it is likely that it was also recorded as its own document. There is not a recording of something that every clan did good or bad. This was important to be remembered about them because God wanted it to be a reminder and a warning for all time. Just as David is remembered as someone to model ourselves after Dathan and Abiram are warnings to us to not rebel against God.
Numbers 27:1-420 NIV
1The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward 2and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3“Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. 4Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”
Daughter's names were not normally recorded. Here we have a documentation not just of Zelophehad's daughters' names but the importance of a name. They ask, "Why should our father's name disappear from his clan because he had no son?" I am sure they also were seeking provision for themselves, but the importance of the name is what is appealed to.
Numbers 27:7-11 NIV
7“What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.
8“Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. 9If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’ ”
God answers not just with an answer for them but with a standing ordinance for the people. These women whose names would not have been remembered are now also remembered for all time.
John 10:3 NIV The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Psalms 139:16 NIV Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
God knows the name of every one of us. What's in a name? The very truth of God's great love for us. He knows us all by name and He knows all that we have done and will do, and He will never forget. We are not just known forever by our earthly standards, but our names are remembered for eternity by our creator who knew our names before we were ever created.
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